US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1511

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001511 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKISH IMAMS DELIVER ANTI-MISSIONARY SERMON 
 
REF: ANKARA 814 
 
Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
1. (U) Summary: Under instructions from the GOT's Directorate 
of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), imams across Turkey delivered 
a sermon March 11 depicting Christian missionaries as part of 
an organized force aiming to "steal the beliefs of our young 
people and children."  The sermon, part of a broader effort 
to combat the "threat" of missionaries, further accused 
missionaries of improperly "taking advantage" of social 
problems and natural disasters to divert Muslims from their 
faith.  Our EU contacts say they are concerned about the 
sermon, and predict the GOT's approach toward non-Muslim 
religions will pose problems for Turkey's EU candidacy.  The 
day after the sermon, an anti-Christian group threatened an 
Ankara church, although it is not clear whether the threat 
was related to the sermon.  End Summary. 
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Missionaries Depicted As New Crusaders 
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2. (U) The sermon, while not using the term "missionary," 
implies that missionaries in Turkey today are trying to 
achieve what the Crusades failed to accomplish in centuries 
past (see full text starting para 7).  It criticizes 
missionaries for "taking advantage of" problems such as 
ethnic discrimination, poverty, and natural disasters to turn 
Muslims away from "the only religion in the presence of 
Allah." 
 
3. (U) Imams across Turkey delivered the sermon under 
instructions from the Diyanet, which distributed the text to 
mosques.  The Diyanet, the GOT agency that oversees Turkey's 
mosques, routinely provides imams with content for the Friday 
sermon.  The March 11 message marked the opening gambit in 
the Diyanet's acknowledged program to combat the perceived 
"threat" of missionaries.  We have discussed the Diyanet's 
approach to missionaries with Diyanet Vice President Mehmet 
Gormez (reftel), whose influence is clearly visible in the 
sermon text.  Gormez has acknowledged to us the right of 
missionaries to operate in Turkey, but vows to "educate" 
Turks so that they do not fall prey to missionaries seeking 
to exploit their "ignorance."  When we asked him how the 
Turkish Government would react if Western countries conducted 
similar public campaigns against Muslim proselytizing, he 
asserted that Muslims migrate to the West to earn money, not 
convert Christians.  The March 11 sermon emphasizes the 
monotheistic nature of Islam, and implies that Christians are 
not monotheists; Gormez has averred to us that a Muslim would 
have to give up monotheism to convert to Christianity, 
because Christians believe in the Holy Trinity. 
 
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Anti-Christian Group Sends Email Threat 
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4. (U) The day after the sermon, a group calling itself the 
Turkish Revenge Brigade sent an email to the International 
Protestant Church of Ankara calling missionaries "dogs trying 
to divide the nation" and concluding that "therefore your 
murder is seen as an obligatory Islamic duty."  The email 
does not make reference to the sermon.  Ihsan Ozbek, pastor 
of the Church, told us the anti-Christian group has sent him 
many such emails over the years, but has not carried out any 
attacks on Christians in a decade.  "The purpose of the 
author of this message is to cause fear," Ozbek stated in an 
email.  "Of course, this doesn't mean they won't do small 
things." 
 
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EU Contact: GOT "Paranoid" About Christians 
------------------------------------------- 
 
5. (C) We discussed the sermon with diplomats from the 
German, Dutch and Danish embassies, which have been following 
the GOT's treatment of missionaries in the context of 
Turkey's EU accession drive.  The diplomats agreed the sermon 
represents an unacceptable approach to Christianity.  They 
also said the anti-Christian message will give ammunition to 
those in Europe who argue that Turkey's Islamic faith and 
intolerance toward other religions render it unqualified for 
EU membership.  "This is the number-one argument used by 
opponents of Turkish membership," the Danish diplomat said, 
adding, "this is not going to be well received in 
Copenhagen."  Our German colleague emphasized that German 
officials are fed up with PM Erdogan's repeated complaints 
that the EU is a "Christian club."  He said such comments are 
particularly hypocritical given the GOT's "paranoid" reaction 
to the small number of Christian missionaries in Turkey.  The 
diplomats said religious freedom is one of the weakest areas 
in the GOT's reform efforts, and predicted it will become an 
obstacle at some point in Turkey's EU accession effort (Note: 
We will report septel on the overall lack of progress on 
religious freedom.  End Note). 
 
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Sermon Text 
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6. (U) The following is a translation of the sermon text: 
 
7. (U) My esteemed brothers, 
8. (U) Our supreme God sent the last Prophet Muhammed to show 
everyone his mercy.  He delivered the religion of Islam to 
all mankind through the Prophet Muhammed.  The basis of this 
religion was to believe in the existence of Allah, to accept 
that Allah is one (and only), not to claim that someone else 
is equal (to God) and to worship him.  This divine message 
also invited mankind to good morals based on rightfulness, 
truth, justice, information and wisdom.  It made an appeal 
for renouncing oppression, ignorance and mischief and 
protecting the poor, needy, orphans and those abandoned in 
the street, and not going to bed with a full stomach when 
one's neighbor is hungry. 
 
9. (U) In a short time this universal call resonated in the 
hearts of people around the world.  Islam, which began with 
the delivery (of the message) by one person, in a short time 
became the fastest spreading religion that compassionately 
embraced people.  In less than a century, people were honored 
with Islam from Asia to North Africa and from the Atlantic 
Ocean to the Great Wall of China. 
 
10. (U) My dear brothers who have reached the happiness of 
being Muslim! 
 
11. (U) Many powers, which could not tolerate the fact that 
Islam, the only religion in the presence of Allah, was 
accepted so quickly and by such great masses of people, 
resorted to all means to prevent Islam's progress and to 
prevent people from opening their hearts to Islam.  In order 
to erase Islam and Muslims from history, they established 
so-called holy armies but they could not achieve their final 
goal because the (Muslim) people they were facing were 
members of a supreme religion that contains values such as 
monotheism, justice, fear of God, self-confidence and 
opposition to oppression, polytheism, blasphemy and injustice. 
 
12. (U) Esteemed Believers! 
 
13. (U) Just as it was in history, the same powers today 
regard Islam as the biggest obstacle to their interests and 
hegemony.  They work in a planned and organized manner in 
order to cut the ties of our citizens with this religion.  By 
taking advantage especially of ethnic discrimination, 
sectarian differences, economic and social problems and even 
catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods and famines, they 
are trying to steal the beliefs of our young people and 
children.  In particular people who have weak religious 
knowledge and those who have problems within their families 
and with others are becoming priority targets of such 
centers. 
 
14. (U) We have full confidence that all these efforts will 
fail.  But on this issue, important duties fall on us 
Muslims.  First of all we need to appreciate the value of our 
religion.  We must strongly embrace the belief, worship and 
moral principles of Islam, beginning with the belief in 
monotheism.  We must teach  our children and young people our 
beliefs and values.  And in interpersonal relations, we must 
leave aside personal benefits and temporary worldly desires 
and instead take as the basis justice, affection, tolerance 
and mutual assistance.  We must claim our religion and moral 
values. 
 
15. (U) I'm finishing my sermon with the following 
translation of the verse from the Koran that descended the 
last:  "Today I elevated your religion to perfection for you. 
 I completed my blessing for you and selected only Islam as 
the religion for you." 
 
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Comment 
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16. (C) Turks tend to be profoundly hypocritical on issues 
relating to Islam and Christianity.  Hypersensitive to any 
perceived Western slights or misconceptions about Islam, they 
routinely spread misinformation about Christianity and sow 
fear about missionaries.  Gormez, like other pious Turks, 
considers conversion to Islam a natural progression, but is 
deeply resentful of Muslims who convert to Christianity.  It 
is important to remember that this insidiously anti-Christian 
sermon was prepared not by a private Islamic group but by one 
of the largest branches of the GOT bureaucracy. 
 
EDELMAN