Epress.am News from Armenia
Christianity, of course, has a certain connection with Turkey. Especially when Turks from Central Asia use the names of philosophers from the Ionic school, including Thales of Miletus and Pythagoras of Samos, when they want to show that Turkey “without a doubt” is a part of Europe, writes German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, millions of Christians (among other religious minorities) continued to live in the empire of the Turks, who at the time called themselves Ottomans.
In Turkey today, there are almost no Christians. Their number is so low that it’s not even taken into account in statistics. Subsequently, making a significant contribution to this cause was first, the pan-Islamic forces, then the predominantly nationalist factions within the Young Turks. The Armenian Genocide, which was the reflection of the policy adopted by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, became the first major incident when so much Christian blood was shed, writes the German paper.
Today’s Turkey considers itself a secular state, but denies basic rights to Christians. Murders of Christians in recent years, including Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, are attributed to nationalists, for whom the small number of Christians poses a huge threat for the Turkish state, the basic concept of which was developed by Ataturk.
In Germany, Muslims can practice their religion freely, and some are even freer than in their homeland. The number of mosques is growing. Programs are developed which are aimed at the education of German imams. It would be fair if Germany’s president recalled religious freedom and spoke in support of protecting the rights of Christians, writes Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.