Berlin/Izmir – Making Muslim Turkey a part of the European Union would improve the lot of its few Christians. That’s the opinion of Ertan Cevik, the Baptist pastor of Izmir. At the invitation of the Christian-Democratic Evangelical Working Group of the CDU/CSU in Germany, Cevik spoke recently at a meeting of this party’s parliamentary members. His lecture was entitled: ‘On Those Who are Persecuted for their Faith – Persecution and Discrimination of Christians in the 21^st Century’. Cervik reported that the Turkish state grants in principle religious freedom and its judicial protection. Problems arise though in their implementation. Radical Islamists persecute and discriminate Christians. An improvement of their lot can only occur if society reconsiders its position. For that to occur, schoolbooks and the media will need to report in a more neutral and balanced fashion on Christians. A social transition must occur by which Christians are no longer regarded as threatening and dangerous. Cevik is convinced that Turkey’s Christian communities can only survive if aided by the state: ‘There are segments of society in which we are not welcome.’

The situation for Christians has clearly worsened since the murder of three Christians in Malatya three years ago, Cevik reported. Christians elsewhere are now also threatened; he himself is living under constant police protection. As a result, the number of persons attending his church has dropped by half. It was therefore especially encouraging to him that four persons who began attending his church were converted and baptised during the past year. Cevik also called on German believers to visit more than just beaches and cultural sites when they come to Turkey – Christian congregations should also be on their itinerary. This will help improve the public standing of Christians.

The Baptist congregation in Izmir, founded in 1999, presently has 32 members. A second Baptist congregation is located in Samsun on the Black Sea. Cevik estimates there are 90.000 Christians among the country’s population of over 72 million; most of these are of Orthodox faith. The majority of them live in large cities where the social pressure to conform is weakest. European Baptist Press Service helped facilitate Cevik’s invitation to speak at this political gathering.

Primary lecturer at the event was Prof. Thomas Schirrmacher (Bonn), spokesper­son for Human Rights for the World Evangelical Alliance. He noted that it makes sense when Western governments protest against infractions of religious liberty and human rights. Many governments refrain from even worse actions if they know they are being watched. Martin Schindehütte (Hannover), Bishop for congregations belonging to the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) outside of Germany, maintained that Christians and Muslims have ‘a fundamentally different understanding of God’. For him it is no coincidence that the concern for human rights comes out of the Judaic-Christian tradition. The CDU’s General-Secretary, Hermann Gröhe, suggested that one point out infractions against human rights to parliamentary members during the consultation hours they hold for members of the general public. The topic could thereby become one of daily political discourse. Those who make the names of threatened Christians public can help keep infractions of human rights from occurring.