As Turkey continues its Islamization under Erdogan, it becomes increasingly hostile to Christians and Christianity. This fact should give pause to the fond and foolish purveyors of “Muslim-Christian dialogue” and Christian “outreach” to Muslims, but it won’t.
“Erdogan Seizes 50 Syriac Churches and Monasteries, Declares Them Turkish State Property,” by Patrick Poole, PJ Media, June 27, 2017:
The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has seized control of at least 50 Syriac churches, monasteries, and cemeteries in Mardin province, report media sources from Turkey…
After Mardin became a Metropolitan Municipality, its villages were officially turned into neighbourhoods as per the law and attached to the provincial administration. Following the legislative amendment introduced in late 2012, the Governorate of Mardin established a liquidation committee. The Liquidation Committee started to redistribute in the city, the property of institutions whose legal entity had expired. The transfer and liquidation procedures are still ongoing.
In 2016, the Transfer, Liquidation and Redistribution Committee of Mardin Governorate transferred to primarily the Treasury as well as other relevant public institutions numerous churches, monasteries, cemeteries and other assets of the Syriac community in the districts of Mardin.
The Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation appealed to the decision yet the liquidation committee rejected their appeal last May. The churches, monasteries and cemeteries whose ownerships were given to the Treasury were then transferred to the Diyanet.
Inquiries of the Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation revealed that dozens of churches and monasteries had been transferred to the Treasury first and then allocated to the Diyanet. And the cemeteries have been transferred to the Metropolitan Municipality of Mardin. The maintenance of some of the churches and monasteries are currently being provided by the Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation and they are opened to worship on certain days. Similarly, the cemeteries are still actively used by the Syriac community who visits them and performs burial procedures. The Syriacs have appealed to the Court for the cancellation of the decision.
“We started to file lawsuits and in the meantime our enquiries continued” said Kuryakos Ergün, the Chairman of Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation. Ergün said they would appeal to the court for the cancellation of nearly 30 title deed registries.
Included in the seizure is the 1600-year-old Mor Gabriel Monastery:
Foundation of Mor Gabriel Monastery, filed a court case at the Civil Court of First Instance in Mardin against the registration of title deed records in the name of Treasury.
In the petition filed to the court it has been noted that the properties subject to the court case had been, since ancient times, under the possession and ownership of the Foundation and the significance of Mor Gabriel Monastery has been underlined; “Its history dates back to the 4th century AD. The Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in the world which is still active and is one of the most ancient religious centers of Syriacs and the entire world with its history of more than 1600 years.
Midyat Syriac Deyrulumur Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation had been established on the basis of the imperial order of Sultan Abdülmecid Han during the Ottoman Empire in “1267 Islamic calendar (1851/1852 Gregorian calendar) and its status was redefined, became a legal entity, on the basis of the Foundations Law of 13.06.1935 with no 2762.
The Foundation had been recognised as “a religious community foundation” on the basis of a Regulation issued in 2002 by the Directorate General of Foundation and was included in the List of Religious Community Foundations drafted same year. Foundations that I’m not included in this list are in not recognised as religious community foundations.”…
somehistory says
The only surprise is that he hasn’t done it before now. We can expect heavy state persecution of those who have lost their real estate. Blood lust from the government.
JW_Reader says
I am surprised, Erdogan still calls his country Republic of Turkey and not Islamic Republic of Turkey!! There are so many Islamic Republic around, that are doing very well. I will not be surprised if he wants to join the club.
Budvarakbar says
No hurry to change a name – now is there? — do not be so dense!
WPM says
He will rebrand it Erdoganstan , I bet European Union is so proud to have this little Hitler in their group. They the EU went after Poland and Hungry after both leaders of those countries refused to accept any “refugees”. What will they say after the tin pot forming at the mouth lunatic Erdogan steals land ,churches, from Christians and kills Kurds in Turkey? All European bound Islamic Refugees should be exposed to Erdoganstan.
WPM says
exported not exposed
JW_Reader says
Now is a good time for Pope Francis to wash Erdogan’s feet!
Catherine Hutchins says
lol… sadly funny.
Jim says
Seriously, I’d like to hear what the Pope has to say about Turkey now. Tho he hasn’t had much to say about the ongoing genocide of Christians, why would he care about churches?
Bob says
The west GENERALLY has had nothing to say about the persecution of Christians – why should the pope be any different?
Bob says
The west GENERALLY has had nothing to say about the persecution of Christians – why should the pope be any different? I’m told that this is a duplicate…
Seabird says
CB-a lot of what you say is true but the only country Turkey will listen to is Russia and Russia recently signed a pipeline deal with the Turks which allowed Turkey to invade Syria- so you won’t hear any protest from them which could jeopardize that deal.
Likewise, Russia sells $billions in weapons to the dictator Aliyev of Azerbaijan who uses these weapons on nearly a daily basis to kill Christian defenders of Nagorno Karabahk (now Artsahk).
Russian was also trying to sell $100 billion of contracts to Saudi Arabia through the disgraced Gen Flynn (who was also working for the Turks).
And let’s not forget the $billions in weapons sold to the fanatical Iranians to prop-up that disgraceful Govt. and repress its citizens.
It has also been reported that in the near future, the Russian Military could be 40% Muslim with access to some of the deadliest weapons on the planet. No need for concern there?
Because of Russia’s actions, your belief that Russia is somehow the “defender of Christians” is being questioned by the very Christians in the region (non-Russian Orthodox) you claim they support.
Russia is no different from the West in that, apparently, once you’ve signed those multi-billion $ defense contracts-all your past sins are quickly forgiven (and forgotten).
Even in Russia, “money talks” ànd “everything has its price”.
Tony says
The Ottoman Turks should have all been killed after 1918.
Lydia says
“If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. But they will treat you like this on account of My name, because they do not know the One who sent Me. John 15; 20-21
“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” Matthew 24; 9
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and celebrate, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.” Matthew 5; 10-12
“Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.” Hebrews 10; 33-34
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.” Philippians 1; 27-30
The previous verses are meant as a consolation to fellow Christians, not as a justification for the persecution. As Christians, we have a higher calling and are subject to ways that are above and beyond the natural ways of man. The natural man cannot comprehend the things of the Spirit.
But as Christians, it is predicted that we will be persecuted and this has been the fact throughout church history. There are spiritual forces at work behind what is happening in the physical realm. I just want to share the perspective of these things from this standpoint. Of course these things should be resisted in certain ways, legal battles and such.
God bless.
Frank Anderson says
I agree with your quotation of the verses (There is no question in my mind as to their correctness and authenticity) The problem I have is they support nothing less than suicide because someone else is evil. Dead people have a hard time worshiping a living God. 1400 years ought to be enough to demonstrate that Islam teaches and practices evil, and that it has as its goal nothing less than domination of the entire world through murder and slavery. If God is a God of Life, Light and Liberty, those are the duty of all his children who accept him to strive to create and maintain. There are 2 messages to be found in The Exodus: 1) God wants His children (all who accept his guidance) to be free and live; 2) No matter how things start they change. Slaves rebelled against a totalitarian state about 3700 year ago. People have been forced ever since to fight for liberty. It is still a matter of who will live and who should not.
pandainc says
Well said. Jesus once sent his disciples on a missionary trip and asked “Do any of you have a sword?” I don’t think he intended it to be used to cut fruit off trees …
Ragheads need dead.
Enos says
SO how many heads were chopped off by the disciples pighead?
Kay says
Thank you Lydia.
rightrightright says
The Religion of Loot loots on. Like a vampire it needs its regular fix.
WPM says
Hitler before he rounded up the Jews he had the German government pass laws to confiscate money property, jobs, made laws to subdue and humiliate them. Erdogan is on the same plan with Christians in Turkey the world will react the same way it did to the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s to will do nothing and will not let them immigrate. Erdogan is on the path for exterminate the Christians in Turkey.
Michael Copeland says
“Christianity should be destroyed and wiped from the face of the earth.”
“Islamic Power has returned upon the face of the earth and the Revived Global Caliphate has set eyes on the West to once and for all rid the world of Christianity and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Sheik Farook al-Mohammedi,
“The Global Islamic Civilization: The Power of a Nation Revived”, United Muslim Nations International
https://libertygb.org.uk/news/islams-vision-destruction-muslims-speak
Mark Swan says
A Multinational Caliphate will form in the Middle East.
Mohamed Bouazizi was trying to support his family as a street vendor when Tunisian police confiscated his vegetable cart and produce…In protest…he burned himself to death in an act that sparked a wave of protests leading to the toppling of Tunisia’s 26-year-old Ben Ali regime…so the story goes.
This set off a series of further protests across the Middle East in what some have called the Tunisian Wind…Did the Tunisian Wind become a Storm of Radical Islam that will change the political and social landscape of the Middle East…Commentators struggle to find a context.
But do they recognize the likelihood…the danger…that more Islam governments may be on the horizon…Islam political philosophy advocates the rule of nations (and eventually the whole world…through conversion or conquest) by the many centuries of Sharia law built on the foundation of the Muslim book…the Qu’ran.
Frequently…when Muslim-majority nations have the opportunity to hold democratic elections to choose their government…they elect Islam candidates…even when those candidates oppose the very democracy that allowed their election.
When voters in the Palestinian Authority territories chose members of the Palestinian Legislative Council…A plurality voted for Hamas…Since then…Hamas has gained strength among Palestinians…few believe that the organization is truly committed to democracy…Votes or not…it is assumed…Hamas will continue to press its agenda of Islam theocracy and Sharia law…a Caliphate in miniature.
Iran is an Islam republic…with an Islam constitution…It wasn’t until the impeachment of secular President Abulhassan Banisadr…that clerical dominance in the Iranian regime became clear…Iran Strongly Influences Iraq…Syria…and Lebanon…and anywhere where else it can.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan…currently Prime Minister of Turkey…a devout Muslim…He once quipped (Democracy is like a streetcar…You ride it until you arrive at your destination and then you step off).
In Egypt…95 percent of Muslims said that it is good for Islam to play a large role in politics…80 percent said that it would be bad for Islam to play a small role in politics…It is little wonder that Muslims frequently vote for Islam parties when they are permitted a choice.
Saudi Arabia…Kuwait…Bahrain…Yemen…the United Arab Emirates…Are Islam Governments and have regional influence.
The term Caliphate means the dominion of a Caliph and refers to the system of government originally established under Islam…Under the Caliphate…the head of state is the Caliph who governs in accordance with Islam’s law…also known as Sharia…a major event could cause most of these countries to elect a Caliph…and declare a Caliphate.
Is it a major step to go from dictatorship to Sharia law…and an even to go from Sharia law to a Caliphate…but support for such a development seems widespread across the Middle East…Middle East use of democracy…has led some in the West to envision Western-style democracies taking root…However…we should remember that under Sunni Islam…the Caliph is elected…A democratic restoration of the Caliphate may now be thinkable.
If a Multinational Caliphate is established in the Middle East…it can have an effect on the collective identity of the Europeans…It has been less than 300 years since Europe last faced the threat of Muslim invasion…a threat that was instrumental in the formation of a shared European identity throughout the Middle Ages…Now there is again a perceived and stated threat from Islam…as Muslim call for holy war and restoration of the Caliphate.
Hassan al-Banna…the founder of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood…wrote (Andalusia [the Muslim name for Spain]…Sicily…the Balkans…south Italy…and the Roman sea islands were all Islamic lands that have to be restored to the homeland of Islam…it is our right to restore the Islam Empire its glory)…If the Islam Caliphate is restored…it can have an effect on Europe…The religious winds that are blowing across the Middle East can blow across Europe as well.
For more than 30 years…an uneasy peace has been maintained between Egypt and Israel…But has it been a popular peace…We should remember that…because of his efforts for peace…Egypt’s Sadat was assassinated…by a group of Islam nationalists associated with the Muslim Brotherhood…who are kept out of power…for now…by the Military leadership imposed on the country.
God prophesied that in the decades just prior to Christ’s return…the Jews will have returned to Judea and Jerusalem…where they will be opposed by the surrounding nations… “In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:6)…In past decades…this remarkable prophecy has been fulfilled before our eyes. We have witnessed Israel put down multinational attack from surrounding Arab neighbors.
The Bible reveals that later in this same time period…a great religio-political power will arise…in Europe….the same Europe (North of Jerusalem) that was threatened by attacks from the Caliphate for more than a thousand years…This power will be an alliance of nations or groups of nations…(Daniel 2:31–46)…This power will be involved in a treaty that will allow the Jews to resume their sacrifices somewhere at or around the Temple Mount (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Such a revival of this Jewish practice would galvanize Muslim opposition…yet preparations for those sacrifices are being made today by Orthodox Jews familiar with the ancient rituals.
Biblical prophecy also reveals that a power will arise…to the south of Jerusalem ( either Saudi Arabia or Egypt will have this caliph, a leader which controls the whole Caliphate)…that will “push at” or provoke this powerful king of the north…The northern power will defeat this king of the south powerfully…and in the process Jerusalem will be overrun and occupied (Daniel 11:40–45).
Finally…when the Temple Mount sacrifices are stopped…the prophesied Great Tribulation will begin…culminating with the return of Jesus Christ…just 3 1/2 years after the tribulation begins.
So a Substantial Caliphate will form in the Middle East…it will have a serious conflict…with a power far greater than its own…it will be completely defeated…so says the Bible.
Jayell says
‘Muslim-Christian dialogue’? I tried to think of a convincing spoof verbal exchange to post here, but all that came to mind was a scenario where a door-to-door salesman (with a horrible big bushy beard) tries to con a genteel housewife into buying a load of lethal pirates rubbish using advertising slogans stolen from the opposition company’s intellectual property, and the scene ends where it transpires that he’s not actually a salesman at all but a con-artist frontman for a gang of vicious burglars who then push their into the house, take it over and proceed to wreck the place whilst also committing all sorts of unmentionable criminal acts against any residents they happen to find. The trouble is that my excuse for a ‘dialogue scene’ would just be a depiction of what’s actually already going on.
Catherine Hutchins says
True. well said, and sad. but true.
Andrew Kraneveld says
Ah! The end is near… Pour me another one before it’s too late.
Charli Main says
Muslim- Christian dialogue ???
Christians. Islam is a wonderful religion of peace, love and charity and we love our Muslims brothers.
Muslims. You Christians are apes and pigs and everything you own is ours, especially your women and children.
See, that wasn’t difficult now, was it??
Marcello Luciano says
Erdogan does what Muhammad started 1400+ years ago , then that did not surprised me.
Ståle Urbye says
This act may be regarded as a declaration of war against Christianity. What about Germany confiscating an equal numer of mosques financed by Turkey?
As the traditional cold war is over there is no need for Turkey in NATO. Get Turkey out!
WPM says
But if Germany did that the German citizens with dual German, Turkish citizenship that vote in a block will get upset. The Islamic citizens in Germany start blow up and killing more people in Germany, running them over with trucks ect. Merkel needs more Islamic refugees to become German citizens keep them voting for her to keep her in power.
bob sykes says
One wonders how this will affect the low level alliance between Russia and Turkey. Putin has been promoting a revival of the Russian Orthodox Church and Islamic-Christian relations.
Merdilli says
My grandparents’ generation in Merdin were either murdered or forced to flee their homes, churches, monasteries and properties 100 years ago during the genocides in the Merdin area. Fast forward 100 years and the Islamic government of Erdogan (essentially the same people who committed the genocides then)are now stealing whatever property still belongs to the Syrian community. I guess we should thank them they waited 100 years to do so…. This being the nature of the beast, it is not surprising a Muslim power would behave this way, but rather the norm. What is quite telling to me is that 1400 years of Muslim abuse and no one destroyed or confiscated Deir Mor Gabriel, until Erdogan….
Jake says
We know the tree by the fruit it bears. The Republic of Turkey and its dictator, or Caliph?, has covertly supported ISIS through illegal sales of stolen oil and by allowing the flow of recruits free access across Turkey. This in violation of their NATO treaty obligations.
Anne Smith says
It is hard to understand why Western politicians cannot see through Erdogan. Even harder to understand why David Cameron (one of the worst Prime Ministers we have ever had) was so desperate for Turkey to join the EU. It would fail nearly all criteria for membership.
Erdogan started quietly but his revolution has been gaining strength and power. The civilised citizens of Turkey are said to be very alarmed at his ascendancy but the more primitive peasant and uneducated population are cheering him on. He is just their sort of person.
Sooner or later the Western politicians are going to have to decide whose side they are on.
Frank Anderson says
Anne, when Hitler was taking control of Germany there were very few well-known examples of wolves pretending to be sheep (war-mongers pretending to be peace advocates). Only people who know nothing about Islam except their delusional “I heard that. . .” will continue to deny what is intended for all of us. Please take a look at Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning to see his theory of the “delusion of reprieve”.
“Those who cannot remember the lessons of the past. . .” Jorge Santayana, The Life of Reason (1905). Another lesson lost on the deliberately ignorant.
notmoron says
This doesn’t make news in the lame MSM .
Just imagine if those were mosques!
Valkyrie Ziege says
; Surprize! Tolerance isn’t a two-way street with Muhammadans.
Charli Main says
Muslims are the masters of give and take.
Christians give and Muslims take.
Mark Swan says
Good One Charli Main
Guest says
And not a whimper from Christians, but if the West closed 50 mosques in Europe, they would be starting WW3.
Tom says
“Assimilation is a crime against humanity. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam, Islam is Islam. The mosques are our barracks, The minorets are our bayonets, The cupolas our helmets, and the faithful our soldiers.” Tyyip Erdogan, President of Turkey
Need any more be said ???
Mark Swan says
Not A Word More, Tom.
mortimer says
Part of jihad is to humiliate and persecute the dirty disbelieving kufaar, so as to force them to join Islam in order to escape persecution.
Hummer says
Erdogan one of Obama’s good buddies and now we know why. He’s right about one thing it’s the Cross against the crescent.
TR says
Time for another Zaporozhian Cossack letter to this Sultan of Turkey!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reply_of_the_Zaporozhian_Cossacks
Cannot repeat the letter’s content, here you can see the painting and the words!
WPM says
Nice letter no leader of the world east or west will write one like it in the 21 century. Islam is the devil,s joke on man to get him to live a life of envy, hate, stupid pride and lust, and after death to join the devil to serve as a slave to him in hell till the end of time. The devil hates to be mocked or butt of jokes, or question or debated like Islam.
Karen says
“The Liquidation Committee started to redistribute in the city, the property of institutions whose legal entity had expired.”
Now there’s a chilling statement. How does one’s “legal entity” expire, if established by contract and law? Well, I guess because Erdogan says so. Funny, absent are the usual claims of ‘public safety’ the Left is so fond of; the sole justification is a municipal reorganization which doesn’t seem to include any mosques.
Very sad, Turkey has gone the way of the Roman Republic.
Frank Anderson says
-Karen, and any who may be thinking about going to law school, please approach the idea with extreme caution, figure out how to pay the better part of more than a quarter of a million dollars in tuition, fees and living expenses for 3 years of non-paying work, add in the cost of losing 3 years’ pay at work you can already do, and the need to be in the top 10 percent of the class in the top quarter of the law schools to approach the television dream of success. In addition to taking the LSAT it is extremely important in my experience to obtain vocational counselling, including taking 1 or more of the tests which identify work you will ENJOY (Strong, Briggs-Myers, MAPP). It is not a matter of what you CAN do but what you LIKE to do that will make you successful.
Now that the explanation has been given, please permit me to share one of the earliest lectures on the law of Property: Property always depends on the power of the government to protect the claim. When a person “owns” property, the property may be used or not, wasted or improved, others may be excluded from it, It may be rented, sold, given or passed upon death. But when the “state” takes away its grant of support for the enforcement of those rights, property ceases to exist.
That is why the Founders included the property right in the Constitution, “Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” Turkey has no constitution that protects the individual against the government. Turkey is showing, like Obama openly advocated, constitutions should state what the government can do to the individual, including denying what US citizens take to be rights. Why do you think the dictator of Turkey was Obama’s closest friend?
The Liberal idea starts with the proposition that the “masses”. US/WE, are idiots; and the genius liberals are here to tell US what is best for us. They have taught for over a hundred years that the Constitution is a “living document” that changes, and morphs from day to day to adapt to “new realities”. With no fixed rights, all the claims of “rights” we imagine are under threat whenever another liberal gets on the Court because a single vote is all it can take to destroy what we have as “rights” here. There is no similar right in Turkey.
In these few paragraphs I believe I have explained the core of a year, 2×3 semester hours of Real Property in an accredited law school. There was a paper written in the 70’s by a (later) prominent member of the Clinton administration, Robert Reich, who was also a noted scholar. The conclusion of the article is that property is what the government says it is.
It could be that the story attributed to Jesus about Peter’s (?) stolen cloak is worth considering: Jesus told the furious Peter to go and find the man who stole it and give him Peter’s coat also. At that time men wore 3 garments, a coat, a cloak and a loincloth. But Jesus said “peace of mind” is worth more than earthly possessions. I think the injustice of that situation could be hard to accept. Given the vile nature of Islam and those who would conquer the world for it, it could be a good time to get real and accept they really mean for infidels to “convert, submit or die” and have no intention whatever at “peaceful coexistence”. Think of the half of Germany’s Jews who believed what Hitler had written, spoken and practiced in time to try to escape. Think of the other half who just couldn’t believe he was serious. Mohammed was serious about his plans for infidels as his followers have shown steadily for 1400 years. Should the words “RESIST or ESCAPE” be added to the options given to us for the future? Is any property, real or personal, worth my life?