Protestants, Pastors Also Targeted by Turkey Post-Coup Crackdown
Two American pastors -- Ryan Keating and Andrew Brunson -- recently were detained in Turkey and deemed "threats to national security" there. "Protestant or Christian churches are seen as an American influence, and now that Turkey is anti-American, they are being targeted even more," said Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former member of the Turkish parliament.
Analysts said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is targeting American Christians in retaliation for U.S. officials not extraditing Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, as demanded by the Turkish government, reports RNS. Gulen is a former Erdogan ally, who is the spiritual leader of a different brand of Islam than the president's Justice and Development Party. The Turkish leader alleges the U.S.-based imam was behind a failed coup attempt last July....
Dr. Steven J. Lawson | 10/11/2009
