“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.”
– Revelation 6:11
Once a predominately Christian nation, today, Turkey is a Muslim-majority country with an estimated Christian population of less than half of a percent. Turkish Christians are accused of being Western collaborators and not real Turks. Churches are often targets of extremism with very little government protection. But in spite of extreme opposition, the number of Christians from Muslim backgrounds continues to grow.
Converts from Islam face extreme persecution — rejection from families, loss of jobs, pressure from local authorities, and more. Converting to Christianity is considered a great shame. In a culture where honor and shame are the fabric of society, conversion comes at a high price.
Some pay with their lives — or the lives of those they love. Not unlike Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel and Tilmann Geske, who were murdered in their office at Zirve Publising in Malatya, Turkey on April 18, 2007. Those who were responsible for the murders of Necati, Ugur, and Tilman weren’t all strangers to these men or their families. On the contrary, one of the murderers had sought Necati out earlier, pretending to be interested in his Christian faith. Necati was suspicious of this young man from the beginning. He and his wife, Semse, discussed this, and concluded that in spite of the young man’s motives, a meeting would still offer an opportunity to share the message of Jesus with him. Later, Semse would refer to those who were responsible for the murders of her husband, Ugur, and Tilman as “their Judas.”
The day following the brutal murder of her husband, Semse, along with the widow of one of the other martyrs, went on national TV and offered forgiveness to her husband’s killers.
“It was not easy for me to say that I forgive the killers,” Semse said later at the memorial service. “To be honest, my heart is broken and my life feels shattered. I really loved Necati. He was the love of my life, my closest friend. But there is no one I love more than Jesus. Only because of this, I can bear it.”
Today, Jesus continues to meet modern day Sauls of Tarsus on their “Damascus Roads.” Ananias House is there, on the ground, assisting with resources to enable the Church to be the place for restoration, healing and hope.
Please pray for local churches in Turkey and their new believers.
