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Cihan News Agency (CNA), Turkey
July 30, 2014 Wednesday
US says Turkey favors Sunni Islam over other creeds
ISTANBUL (CIHAN)- A US State Department report has claimed that the
Turkish government is prejudiced in favor of its Sunni Islamic
citizens and neglects the needs of members of the country's other
minority religions, in addition to frequently employing anti-Semitic
rhetoric.
The US State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
released its 2013 "International Religious Freedom Report" on Monday.
In its Turkey section, the report said that the US government
estimated the Turkish population to be 80.7 million as of July 2013.
The report also mentioned that according to the Turkish government,
religious affiliation within the country is 99 percent Muslim, with
the majority practicing Hanafi Sunni Islam, but "representatives of
other religious groups state the actual percentage of Muslims is
slightly lower."
The report says that academics estimate there are between 15-20
million Alevis in Turkey, and that "other religious groups, mostly
concentrated in Istanbul and other large cities, together constitute
less than 1 percent of the population."
Mentioning that there are no exact figures available, the report
stated that there are: "500,000 Shiite Jaferi Muslims; 90,000 Armenian
Orthodox Christians (of which an estimated 60,000 are citizens and an
estimated 30,000 are undocumented immigrants from Armenia); 25,000
Roman Catholics (mostly recent immigrants from Africa and the
Philippines); 21,000 Jews; 20,000 Syrian Orthodox Christians (also
known as Syriacs or Suriyanis); 15,000 Russian Orthodox Christians
(mostly recent immigrants from Russia who hold residence permits);
10,000 Bahais; 5,000 Yezidis; 5,000 Jehovah's Witnesses; 7,000 members
of other Protestant denominations; 3,000 Iraqi Chaldean Christians;
and up to 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians" in Turkey.
According to the report, some groups estimate that approximately 2
percent of the population is atheist.
The State Department report added: "Non-Sunni Muslims, Christians,
Bahais and members of other minority religious groups faced threats
and societal suspicion, and Jewish leaders reported some elements of
society continued to express anti-Semitic sentiments. Because
ethnicity and religion were often inextricably linked, it was
difficult to categorize many incidents specifically as ethnic or
religious intolerance."
The report expressed the concern of many Jewish leaders, some of whom
" attribute anti-Semitic graffiti and threats to events in the Middle
East and anti-Semitic rhetoric by Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip]
Erdogan and other government officials."
The Gezi Park protests which started in Istanbul last summer were
described in the report as "anti-government protests." The report also
said that "Erdogan and several senior government officials repeatedly
and publicly blamed 'shadowy' international groups for the unrest,
including ... an 'international Jewish conspiracy' [and an]
'interest-rate lobby'." The report pointed out that in July last year,
"Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay blamed the 'Jewish diaspora' for
the Gezi Park unrest, [and that] these statements by senior political
leaders were accompanied by anti-Semitic reports and commentaries in
media outlets friendly to the government."
According to the report, "[the Turkish Constitution] and other laws
and policies generally protect religious freedom, although there were
some constitutional provisions, laws and policies that restrict
religious freedom." While the report praised the government for
lifting the ban on headscarves in public except for judges,
prosecutors, police and the military, it criticized the failure to
approve the opening of the Greek Orthodox Halki seminary, which has
been closed more than 40 years.
The report also cited the government's announcement that it will
return "disputed land to the Mor Gabriel Syriac Orthodox Monastery" as
a positive development.
Problem of Alevi places of worship
The government continues to refuse to recognize Alevi places of
worship (cemevis) as legal places of worship, according to the report.
The Turkish government considers Alevism a heterodox Muslim sect and
does not financially support Alevi religious practices.
The report also described Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as a
"well-known Sunni theologian," while mentioning his support for three
Alevi and three Sunni businessmen who conducted a ground-breaking
ceremony in Ankara in September for a religious and cultural complex
which included -- for the first time -- a mosque and a cemevi side by
side. However, 11 Alevi foundations last year released a statement
condemning the construction, calling it a "project of assimilation."
"Although religious speech and conversions are legal, some Muslims,
Christians, and Bahais faced government restrictions, surveillance,
and harassment for alleged proselytizing," said the report. The report
mentioned that it was "generally not possible" for foreigners to
obtain a "religious worker visa" in Turkey, although the government
claims it is possible. Several foreigners, including US citizens, who
resided in Turkey under other visa categories "were deported after
requesting religious worker residence permits," the report claimed.
Persons wishing to convert from Islam, according to the report,
experienced harassment and violence from relatives and neighbors.
"The government continued not to recognize the status of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate as the leader of the world's 300 million
Orthodox Christians, consistent with its stance there was no legal
obligation to do so," the report said. Turkey says the Patriarch is
not "'ecumenical,' but only the religious leader of the country's
Greek Orthodox minority population."
According to the report, Bahais, Alevis and Yezidis are unable to have
their religious identity stated on their national identity cards
because their groups are not listed as options. (Cihan/Today's Zaman)
CIHAN
July 30, 2014 Wednesday
US says Turkey favors Sunni Islam over other creeds
ISTANBUL (CIHAN)- A US State Department report has claimed that the
Turkish government is prejudiced in favor of its Sunni Islamic
citizens and neglects the needs of members of the country's other
minority religions, in addition to frequently employing anti-Semitic
rhetoric.
The US State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
released its 2013 "International Religious Freedom Report" on Monday.
In its Turkey section, the report said that the US government
estimated the Turkish population to be 80.7 million as of July 2013.
The report also mentioned that according to the Turkish government,
religious affiliation within the country is 99 percent Muslim, with
the majority practicing Hanafi Sunni Islam, but "representatives of
other religious groups state the actual percentage of Muslims is
slightly lower."
The report says that academics estimate there are between 15-20
million Alevis in Turkey, and that "other religious groups, mostly
concentrated in Istanbul and other large cities, together constitute
less than 1 percent of the population."
Mentioning that there are no exact figures available, the report
stated that there are: "500,000 Shiite Jaferi Muslims; 90,000 Armenian
Orthodox Christians (of which an estimated 60,000 are citizens and an
estimated 30,000 are undocumented immigrants from Armenia); 25,000
Roman Catholics (mostly recent immigrants from Africa and the
Philippines); 21,000 Jews; 20,000 Syrian Orthodox Christians (also
known as Syriacs or Suriyanis); 15,000 Russian Orthodox Christians
(mostly recent immigrants from Russia who hold residence permits);
10,000 Bahais; 5,000 Yezidis; 5,000 Jehovah's Witnesses; 7,000 members
of other Protestant denominations; 3,000 Iraqi Chaldean Christians;
and up to 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians" in Turkey.
According to the report, some groups estimate that approximately 2
percent of the population is atheist.
The State Department report added: "Non-Sunni Muslims, Christians,
Bahais and members of other minority religious groups faced threats
and societal suspicion, and Jewish leaders reported some elements of
society continued to express anti-Semitic sentiments. Because
ethnicity and religion were often inextricably linked, it was
difficult to categorize many incidents specifically as ethnic or
religious intolerance."
The report expressed the concern of many Jewish leaders, some of whom
" attribute anti-Semitic graffiti and threats to events in the Middle
East and anti-Semitic rhetoric by Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip]
Erdogan and other government officials."
The Gezi Park protests which started in Istanbul last summer were
described in the report as "anti-government protests." The report also
said that "Erdogan and several senior government officials repeatedly
and publicly blamed 'shadowy' international groups for the unrest,
including ... an 'international Jewish conspiracy' [and an]
'interest-rate lobby'." The report pointed out that in July last year,
"Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay blamed the 'Jewish diaspora' for
the Gezi Park unrest, [and that] these statements by senior political
leaders were accompanied by anti-Semitic reports and commentaries in
media outlets friendly to the government."
According to the report, "[the Turkish Constitution] and other laws
and policies generally protect religious freedom, although there were
some constitutional provisions, laws and policies that restrict
religious freedom." While the report praised the government for
lifting the ban on headscarves in public except for judges,
prosecutors, police and the military, it criticized the failure to
approve the opening of the Greek Orthodox Halki seminary, which has
been closed more than 40 years.
The report also cited the government's announcement that it will
return "disputed land to the Mor Gabriel Syriac Orthodox Monastery" as
a positive development.
Problem of Alevi places of worship
The government continues to refuse to recognize Alevi places of
worship (cemevis) as legal places of worship, according to the report.
The Turkish government considers Alevism a heterodox Muslim sect and
does not financially support Alevi religious practices.
The report also described Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as a
"well-known Sunni theologian," while mentioning his support for three
Alevi and three Sunni businessmen who conducted a ground-breaking
ceremony in Ankara in September for a religious and cultural complex
which included -- for the first time -- a mosque and a cemevi side by
side. However, 11 Alevi foundations last year released a statement
condemning the construction, calling it a "project of assimilation."
"Although religious speech and conversions are legal, some Muslims,
Christians, and Bahais faced government restrictions, surveillance,
and harassment for alleged proselytizing," said the report. The report
mentioned that it was "generally not possible" for foreigners to
obtain a "religious worker visa" in Turkey, although the government
claims it is possible. Several foreigners, including US citizens, who
resided in Turkey under other visa categories "were deported after
requesting religious worker residence permits," the report claimed.
Persons wishing to convert from Islam, according to the report,
experienced harassment and violence from relatives and neighbors.
"The government continued not to recognize the status of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate as the leader of the world's 300 million
Orthodox Christians, consistent with its stance there was no legal
obligation to do so," the report said. Turkey says the Patriarch is
not "'ecumenical,' but only the religious leader of the country's
Greek Orthodox minority population."
According to the report, Bahais, Alevis and Yezidis are unable to have
their religious identity stated on their national identity cards
because their groups are not listed as options. (Cihan/Today's Zaman)
CIHAN