Fifteen Turkish congregants and their leaders have been targeted since August 27th by a strident campaign of death threats sent to their Facebook pages, email addresses, websites and mobile phones. The threats followed the style and jargon typically used by Islamic State (IS/ISIS), vowing to kill, massacre and behead apostates whose messages have allegedly "chosen the path that denies Allah" and "dragged others into believing...."
"Threats are not anything new for the Protestant community who live in this country and want to raise their children here," explains a representative of the Association of Protestant Christians in Turkey during a press release. "But with the recent increase in systematic threats...we think these messages, coming close together and resembling each other, are from the same source."
The majority of these Turkish congregation members are former Muslims who have converted to Christianity. In contrast to most Muslim-majority nations, Turkish citizens have the legal right to change their religious identity or leave the religion column on their identification card blank. For more information on the persecution of Christians in Turkey, please go to our Turkey Country Report.
Let's uphold in prayer these Turkish believers who have been threatened, asking that the Lord's protection and reassuring presence be evident among them. Pray also for the country's authorities; in particular, those who are endeavouring to thwart the perpetrators of violent acts throughout the Middle East. In the midst of these present challenges, may God continue overseeing the growth of His church in Turkey, calling to repentance and salvation even those who want to render harm to His people.
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