Priest of Assyrian Church Threatened in Turkey
By Ramazan Yavuz, Serdar Sunar / DHA
Following a referendum banning mosque minarets in Switzerland, three unidentified persons visited the 1,750-year-old Assyrian/Syriac Church of Virgin Mary in Diyarbakir, Turkey, and allegedly threatened the priest, Yusuf Akbulut, by saying, “Switzerland is banning minarets and we will ban bell towers to you. You will demolish the bell tower by next Friday.”
Akbulut informed the police of the threat to demolish the bell towers. He is now receiving protection by the police, and made the following statement:
“Last Friday, i.e. on the 4th of this month [December], my church and I were threatened. Three persons in their forties visited the church at 14:00 hours last Friday. They knocked on the door of my house inside the church and asked me to come outside. In the courtyard of the church, these three persons that I do not know asked me if the church had a bell tower. When I told them that it did, they said, “You will demolish this bell tower. Switzerland is banning minarets and we will ban bell towers to you. You will demolish this bell tower by next Friday.” When I told them that this was a historic church with an ancient bell tower and that the foundations (directorate) and the state would react, they said for the second time, “Go and complain to whoever you want. This bell tower will not remain here. We will take the necessary action,” and left. Then I filed a complaint to the police. Now the police are seeking the three persons who threatened me by checking the camera records.”
Noting that he would not destroy the 600-year-old church bell in any way, Akbulut stated that the minaret ban in Switzerland had nothing to do with him, and added: “We, the Syriacs, have been living in these territories for 6-7,000 years. We have a deep-rooted history. Who can dare demolish this bell tower by asserting the minaret ban in Switzerland as a pretext? We do not approve of the minaret ban. Switzerland should let them construct minarets in mosques. Everyone has the right to worship freely. We all pray to God.”
Noting that five families resided in the church, and around 10 other Christian families were in the city center of Diyarbakir, Akbulut said, “As the Syriac community, for centuries we led a peaceful life with the other people residing on these territories. We never did any harm to anyone. It is very wrong to hold us accountable for the minaret ban in Switzerland.”
Akbulut should NOT feel compelled to give his opinion on what happens in Switzerland or justify it to anyone especially turkish hooligans threatening him and his Church. That’s his business and no one elses. Why does Akbulut feel inclicned to explain his opinion on Swiss policies? Does he really think this will deter turkish fundamentalists from harming him or his Church? The mere notion is absurd.
“We do not approve of the minaret ban. Switzerland should let them construct minarets in mosques.”
THE SOURCE OF AKBULUT’S FRUSTRATION SHOULD BE THE THREAT NOT HIS OPINION ON THE MINARET BAN IN SWITZERLAND.
We all know the intentions of those three fundamentalist turkish zealots. For Akbulut to say the above is exactly what those 3 zealots wanted him to say in deference. These are classic turkish strategies of submission that have been practiced and perfected for centuries. They are meant to make minority groups “feel lucky” for the little they have while at the same time making their daily life miserable.
Very good comment Harry: “feel lucky” for the little they have while at the same time making their daily life miserable.
Today’s Turkey is partially Greece, partially Armenia, and partially Assyria. It is natural that today’s Turkey Government is highly attentive toward these minorities inside Turkey. Assyrians as well as Kurds do not have any state support from outside (they do not have independent statehood), so Turkish bribers, terrorists, enicheris and militiamen are free to violate Assyrians’ and Kurds’ civil and religious right, whereas they are afraid of Armenians, Greeks, Persians, and Arabs who are able to defend their citizens in the so-called Republic of Turkey. This article is one illustration of that double-standard situation of violation.
Why has the Armenian Apostolic Church in Diyarbekir, for which my paternal great-grandfather paid a large sum to restore in the 1880’s, been allowed to remain in ruins? Why is the Chaldean Catholic Church in Diyarbekir of my mother’s family also a ruin? Turks are upset that Switzerland will not allow minarets. This can not compare with Turkish laws that have not allowed churches to undergo any repairs, so that they will become ruins over time.
Enough is enough. What is it with muslims and their religion? They get up and move to the most open Western cultures, and then they want to impose their way of life, their ideals, their back-warded principles on everyone else. If they were so happy with that oppressive religion & culture then they should not migrate to these Western countries. We left the Middle East to get away from it all and now they are following us? Go figure!
Hye,
1 – Switzerland bans mosque minarets in Switzerland.
2 – “3 unidentified persons” – in Diarbakir – bravely – threatens Priest Yusuf Akbulut of Assyrian/Syriac Church of Virgin Mary in Diarbakir “to demolish bell tower by next Friday”…
Well, “3 unidentified persons”,
these “brave” persons act on behalf of their Ottoman leadership mode.
Possibly youngsters, again, who have been ingrained in the Turkish educational system to consider the Christians as those to be hated, as infidels, those to be ‘eliminated’…
Well, “3 unidentified persons,”
as in the policy of their own nation – bravely – feel they can threaten a church leader – to frighten the church man – or else! As was done to Hrant Dink…
Well, “3 unidentified persons”
sadly, when there is a Christian edifice standing the Ottoman mode has been
to use them as stables, and worse… or to just allow these ancient churches of the ancient Christian religious culture to fall to ruins – thus ‘eliminating’ still again, traces of the historic peoples who preceded the Turks – hordes from the Asian mountains – on the Armenians homeland. Still relentlessly – pursuing the Turkish Genocides into 2009 – into the 21st century.
Also, it appears it is fine for the Ottoman Muslim mosques to exist in all the other nations of the world – howsomever, the Muslim evidently, cannot tolerate another religion in a Turkey. Such is the mentality of the Ottoman turk – still the Ottoman thinking – still in the Genocide mode. 1915-2009.
Manooshag
Actually, what is wrong with Christianity that fills your heart with so much hate toward another religion? and excuse me, how many mosque did you say are left in Armenia?
Well, yes this is middle east; religion is just a motive to mask the racism:
http://www.zaman.com.tr/multimedya.do?tur=foto&aktifgaleri=7367
Selim, you Turks are fanatical people. You killed Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Albanians and then you started killing us Kurds.
YOU TURKS, demolished about 2300 Armenian churches, monasteries and crosses. How dare you challenge Armenia and Armenians about the number of mosques there? Don’t you people have any shame? The 3 idiots who threatened the venerable priest were TURKS. The reason this happeened in Diyarbekir was to shame us Kurds and blame the incident on Kurds, plain and simple. Why did not this happen in Turkish populated areas? Turks think they are smart, it happened in an overwhelmingly Kurdish city, so Chistians will blame “fanatical Kurds.” Well, Selim, your governments stupid and idiotic scheme failed. Non of these 3 idiots were Kurds. They were, like yourself, Turkish. These Christians were living amongst us Kurds for years, and now we are turning on them? Do you think we are like you?
And, before I forget, when are you leaving Turkish occupied Kurdistan and release our leader Ocalan?
Murderers and back stabbers.
Long live Kurdistan
Did some of the commenters read the article? It was a few hooligans who threatened the priest — not the Turkish people or state. But I don’t think trivial details like that matter to some people when the opportunity arises to engage in anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish rhetoric.
Really Selim? What did you say? For more than 94 years now the Turkish government and the people have been putting our old long Churches and Monasteries on blazing fire, and or using them as stables and toilets, but never never refurbishing thousands old our Monasteries and Churches, yet now you are saying that what is wrong with Christianity? This is a first for me. We didn’t have anything against the Turks when they came into our country and took over and started stealing our beautiful girls and boys and making them ‘yenicheris’ and using our gorgeous girls for their harems. Then both annihilations came of 300,000 first in 1895 by Abdul Hamid II and then the 1.5 millions In 1915 by Talaat Pasha and his murderers. Our martyrs’ bones have been scattered all over our historical homeland which is today’s so called Turkey, and our holy Churches and Monasteries have been used in the worse possible ways. Yet you happen to have the audacity to say what is wrong with Christianity? For goodness sake, look into the mirrors and say to yourselves, what is wrong with Islams that hate Christians so much to do so many murders and belligerent acts against God loving and God fearing Christians! It is not Christians who hated Moslems, but it was Moslems that hated us and killed us and used us in the worse possible ways; rather completely and solely got rid of us in most horrific ways.
It is us who should ask you people; what is wrong with Islams that hate Christians so much!
Hagop, there is not much of a fine line between the Turkish State and its para military and hooligan forces.
Selim, I often read of Muslims and Leftists throwing the racism accusation against those that are critical of Islam, but Islam is not a race! This accusation of racism is obfuscation and deceit.
Hy
Selim, since you are in/from Turkey you are able better to count the Armenian Christian churches which were used for other purposes: stables, storage areas and more – where Chrisitian Armenians were forced into and the buildings set afire…
You shall also be able to find the Armenian Christian churches which the Genocidal Turks converted to Muslim religious edifices. Too, the architecture of these Armenian religious structures display, where time has not ‘erased’ them – still embrace the symbolic Armenian crosses as well as the architecture, uniquely Armenian…
Now, marked with Muslim symbols and in use by Muslims many of these Armenian churches still bear the Christian Armenian crosses – which were built into the architecture – probably too high up on the building for the Muslim to bother removing… And, I donot hate any religion, except when a religion is misused for all the wrong reasons, including Genocides!
End of discussion. Manooshag
I find it most amusing of course, in a site like this where hardcore racists and bigots get together, denigrate other cultures and ethnicites, pump each other with Islamophobia and Turkophobia, and then without a trace of irony, complain about those so-called racist and bigoted Turks. It is just precious!