Tag: Turkey

Why the Uyghurs are under pressure in Xinjiang

June 15, 2017 China Communism, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, Uyghurs, Xinjiang

As in July 2009 the Chinese government again shows its muscles in Xinjiang province, north-west China, during an anti-terror mass rally in February, this time in the southern city of Hotan. Tensions have flared up regularly in this area where the Uyghur people struggle for self-determination.

Both Muslims and Christians in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in north-west China find themselves under increased pressure from the Chinese authorities. An anti-terror mass rally in the southern city of Hotan in February, an increase in surveillance measures in public places, and the introduction of new anti-terror policies, are all . . . Read More

Half of Syria and Iraq’s Christians have left since 2011, says report

June 6, 2017 Europe, Germany, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, Lebanon, Migrants, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Refugees, Sweden, Syria, Turkey

Three years to the day since the Islamic State group took control of the Iraqi city of Mosul, a new report estimates that – of their Christian populations – 50% have left Iraq since 2006, while 80% have emigrated from Syria since the start of its civil war in 2011. The arrival of IS was only . . . Read More

Iraqi bishops seek $262m for post-IS ‘Marshall Plan’

May 20, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, Lebanon, Nineveh Plains, Tel Skuf, Turkey

Church leaders in northern Iraq are launching an ambitious US$262 million “Marshall Plan” for the reconstruction of Christian-majority villages devastated by the occupation of Islamic State (IS) jihadists – but knowing they could be subjected to attacks while they implement it. The ecumenical Bishops’ Emergency Committee (BEC) hopes to raise the . . . Read More

US Commission urges Trump administration to prioritise international religious freedom

May 18, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Abune Antonios, Andrew Brunson, Central African Republic, China, Donald Trump, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Iran, Mike Pence, Myanmar, Nguyen Cong Chinh, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Religious freedom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

An influential US government commission that monitors religious freedom around the world is urging President Donald Trump and his new administration to take concrete steps to make advocacy of universal religious rights a priority in American foreign policy. “Our foreign policy should not simply be about US self-interest – you know, . . . Read More

Turkish court halts expropriation of Armenian cathedral

April 11, 2017 Turkey Churches, Diyarbakir, Kurds, Middle East, PKK, Surp Giragos, Turkey

The Turkish government’s expropriation a year ago of the largest Armenian cathedral in the Middle East has been halted by a Council of State court decision, the Armenian weekly Agos reports. Located in the historic heart of Diyarbakir, the largest city in southeast Turkey, the Surp (Saint) Giragos Apostolic Armenian . . . Read More

Turkish state interferes in Armenian Church elections

March 28, 2017 Turkey Armenians, Istanbul, Minorities, Turkey

A years-long saga on the leadership gap in Turkey’s Armenian Church has reached still another snag, Al-Monitor reported on March 22. The debilitating illness of the spiritual leader of Turkey’s largest Christian community has left Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan alive, but unable to fulfill his church duties since 2008. . . . Read More

Film shows desperate plight of drowning refugees

January 27, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Europe, Greece, Middle East, Migrants, Refugees, Turkey

An Oscar-nominated documentary film shows the heroic efforts of the Greek Coastguard to rescue some of the 600,000 refugees attempting to cross the 4.1-mile stretch of water between Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos from 2015 to 2016. The 21-minute film, 4.1 Miles (embedded below), is an uncomfortable and . . . Read More

Erdogan: ‘Only Sunni Muslims should live in Mosul’

October 7, 2016 Al-Qaeda, Ankawa, Arabs, Assyrians, Erbil, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Qatar, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared that only Sunni Muslims should be allowed to live in the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul once it has been liberated from Islamic State control. Interviewed by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on the Saudi Arabia-based TV station Rotana Khalejia on 2 Oct., . . . Read More

Faked ‘news’ targets Turkey’s Patriarch

September 7, 2016 Turkey Coup, Fethullah Gülen, Patriarch Bartholomew I, Turkey

Turkey’s national media published a spate of fabricated reports in late August, in backing the 15 July coup attempt against the Turkish government. The strongly pro-government Aksam newspaper first broke the alleged “news” in a front-page article on 30 Aug., headlined “Patriarchate-CIA Gulen Alliance.” The story quoted an article posted . . . Read More

Unprecedented Muslim prayer call at Haghia Sophia

July 5, 2016 Turkey Haghia Sophia, Islamic extremism, Istanbul, Turkey

In what called an “international incident,” a Turkish muezzin has for the first time in 85 years sounded the morning Muslim call to prayer from inside Istanbul’s historic Haghia Sophia. It was the first official Islamic use of the former cathedral and mosque since the ancient building was designated a . . . Read More

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