Turkey is cleansing itself of Christians by kicking out all of the missionaries. Since 2020, Turkey has deported or denied entry to at least 350 foreign Christians and their families, labeling them as “national security threats” under internal codes N-82 and G-87, according to ADF International.
These designations — issued without formal charges — have disrupted many Protestant communities, which often rely on foreign pastors. A recent Turkish court ruling upheld the bans and even publicly named affected individuals, sparking online threats.
The targeted Christians come from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. They immigrate legally, apply for visas, are educated, do not use any public assistance or welfare, contribute to the economy by starting companies and giving jobs to local people, and many of them had lived in Turkey for years without any legal issues.
However, Turkish courts have upheld the bans, deeming these Christians as a threat to national security.
Turkey is also launching an all out assault to restrict Christian education and worship spaces, and converting churches into mosques.
The Protestant Association’s 2024 report documents growing hostility, including church shootings, job discrimination, vandalism, and online harassment, revealing a worsening state of religious freedom in Turkey despite constitutional guarantees.
“Basically our living situation is three months in and three months out,” one missionary in Turkey wrote in a message this week after living in Turkey for several years. “At least for the next year we do not see the possibility of getting long term visas.”
Andrew Brunson, a former American missionary to Turkey, was arrested for preaching the Gospel and thrown in prison. He shared his experience with BTJ missionaries from China at an underground house church meeting in Vietnam several years ago.
Turkey is a nation built on Christian persecution. After the fall of Constantinople, Christians were slaughtered by the tens of thousands, women were raped, and children were enslaved. The word ‘genocide’ was invented in Turkey to describe the heinous systematic killing of Christian Armenians.
For a short period of time after WWII, Turkey attempted to be more secular and less Muslim with aspirations of joining the European Union. Those ambitions of being more secular and tolerant towards Christians seems to be over for the time being.
