Turkish nationalists accuse church of ‘treason’

SAMSUN, Turkey — Nationalists in Turkey’s northern city of Samsun have stepped up a two-year campaign against a Protestant church, denouncing in the media the legally registered congregation’s right to exist.

Izzet Altunbas, chairman of the Samsun Association of Balkan Turks and a prominent member of the local Nationalist Movement Party, publicly attacked the Agape Protestant Church in vicious terms in mid-June.

In speeches broadcast over three local TV channels June 16, Altunbas declared that establishment of the church, officially registered as the Agape Church Association, revealed “extensive damage” to the nation.

He claimed that establishing the church reflected Turkey’s compliance with European Union legal norms, strengthening a dangerous “assimilation” drive against both Turkish ethnicity and Islam.

“I find this association and its secret activities a huge danger for Samsun and for Islam,” Altunbas said. “This is treason against our Muslim and Turkish identity.”