Population
65.7 million
Turks (85%)
Kurds (12%)
misc. Islamic
Armenians
Jews
Capital City
Ankara
Leadership
Prime Minister
Bülent Ecevit
Religion
Muslim
Turkey
Ambassador
to the
U.S.
Ambassador
O. Faruk Loğoğlu
Embassy of the
Republic of Turkey
2525 Massachusetts
Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 612-6700
Fax: (202) 612-6744
Email:
turkish@erols.com
BIO
Like so many other Muslim countries, the Christian minority in Turkey is constantly threatened with
accusations and allegations suggesting blasphemy or
similar offenses.
You may remember the story of Kemal
Timur, the 32-
year-old Turkish Christian who was put on trial for
allegedly called the prophet Mohammed a "sorcerer," a
supposed
violation of Article 175 of the Turkish penal
code, which prohibits the slander
of God, the prophets or
the holy books.
It is likely that Mr. Timur has been
a target for some time,
since he converted from Islam to Christianity. And
some
suppose that he was merely arrested as a means to stop
his Christian
activities, since his trial seemed laughable.
After six postponements and
multiple discrepancies
between complainants' statements, the judge finally
dropped the case in June 2002.
Despite Mr. Timur's successful exoneration, the threat
remains, and one
can be certain that future trumped up
charges against Christians in the
region will emerge.
Can you recommend some
other Turkey web sites?