ISLAMIC LIES: TURKEY'S AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN CLAIMS THAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION IS PROTECTED IN TURKISH LAW
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Turkey’s ambassador to the Vatican, Lutfullah Goktas, has stated deceptively that “freedom of religion is protected under the Turkish constitution,” and that “Turkey has made significant progress regarding freedom of religion in its territory, such as restoring churches and synagogues.”Goktas was speaking at an event in Naples entitled “1929-2019: Ninety years of relations between state and religious groups.”Yet normative Islam does not recognize (let alone respect) any other religion but Islam, and to leave Islam renders one an apostate, worthy of death.The truth is that Turkey does not recognize the freedom of religion, as Goktas claims.The country’s governing party frames Christians as a “threat to the stability of the nation,” and Turkish Christian citizens are regarded as Western collaborators, instead of as real Turks. Since 2016, Turkey has “stepped up its war on Christianity by seizing all the churches in one city and declaring them state property.” And not just one denomination has been targeted by the Turkish leadership: “included in the seizures are Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, one of which is over 1,700 years old.” Turkey also continues to deny the Armenian genocide, and to add insult to injury, the Turkish government has also seized Armenian churches and land.In even more deception, “Goktas said Turkey was an important country for the Vatican in the sense of ensuring its communication with Catholics.” But as reported by the Catholic Herald:Turkish Christians suffer endless petty and not so petty discrimination at the hands of the state, and Christians in Turkey are also subject to random acts of violence for the simple offence of being Christian.What is sad is that the Turkish government does not seem to think that this a problem. There are very few Christians left in Turkey; soon there may be none at all. What does that tell you about the Turkish nationThe biggest problem is that the Vatican is not taking Christian persecution seriously enough in Turkey and elsewhere. Instead, the Pope has been bending over backwards to embrace Islamic supremacists everywhere, declaring Islam to be a religion of peace, and conjuring up ways for the flock to follow his example.“Freedom of religion protected by law in Turkey: envoy,” Yeni Safak, November 1, 2019:Freedom of religion is protected under the Turkish constitution, Turkey’s ambassador to the Vatican said Thursday.Lutfullah Goktas was speaking at a session on ‘The role of ambassadors in relations with the Vatican’ as part of an international symposium held at Napoli Federico II University in Naples titled ‘1929-2019: Ninety years of relations between state and religious groups.’
It was held on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Lateran Pacts between Italy and the Papacy.
Goktas said Turkey is a secular country and an overwhelming majority of its people are Muslims.
“Relations between the Papacy [Vatican] date back to the Ottoman [Empire] era. The establishment of diplomatic ties between Turkey and the Vatican, however, occurred in 1960 amid the reign of Pope John XXIII. We look forward to strengthening our relations further based on the principle of respecting differences.”
Since the early 2000s, according to Goktas, Turkey has made significant progress regarding freedom of religion in its territory, such as restoring churches and synagogues, resolving matters of immovable properties and registering legal entities.
“Based on the understanding of equal citizenship, our state is sensitive to the problems of members of other religions,” he said.
