AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES GOT ANTI-MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN WITH A FILIBUSTERING MINISTER AYDIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002313

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TU OSCE
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES GOT ANTI-MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN WITH A FILIBUSTERING MINISTER AYDIN

REF: A. ANKARA 1511

B. ANKARA 1935

(U) Classified by Ambassador Eric S. Edelman; reasons 1.4 b
and d.


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador has emphasized to State
Minister Aydin serious U.S. concerns about the GOT's
anti-Christian missionary campaign, including a written
statement by Aydin defining missionaries as a threat to the
State and maligning Christianity. The U.S. has long urged
the EU to support Turkey's candidacy, but it will be
difficult to do so while the GOT is campaigning against
Christianity. The Ambassador warned that anti-Christian
rhetoric could lead to violence, and urged Aydin to speak in
support of the rights of Christians in Turkey. In response,
Aydin accused missionaries in Turkey of using anti-Islamic
rhetoric, and complained that the U.S. media have said "awful
things" about Turkey. After the meeting, we learned that a
Protestant church building had been attacked in Ankara. End
Summary.

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Congress Concerned About Anti-Christian Rhetoric
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2. (U) Calling on Aydin April 21, the Ambassador noted that
the U.S., in its support for Turkey's EU candidacy, has long
maintained that the EU should not be a Christian club.
President Bush and the U.S. Congress have frequently
emphasized their commitment to religious freedom and
tolerance among faiths. Now, however, members of Congress
are highly concerned about the GOT's campaign against
Christian missionaries. The anti-missionary sermon drafted
by the GOT's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and
delivered by imams across the country March 11 (reftel A),as
well as Aydin's own written response to a question from an MP
on the "threat" of missionaries (reftel B),depict missionary
activity in Turkey as political rather than religious. Both
documents imply that missionaries are a threat to the State.


3. (C) The GOT's actions, the Ambassador continued, give the
impression that Turkey, whose population is officially 99
percent Muslim, has no room for Christians. The USG's 2005
International Religious Freedom Report (IRF),to be released
in September, will reflect these negative developments. If
these problems are not addressed, the report will be quite
critical. Moreover, these developments threaten Turkey's EU
candidacy.

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Aydin: Missionaries Use "Non-Theological" Approach
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4. (U) In a long, filibustering answer, Aydin defensively
acknowledged that he signed the statement on missionaries,
but said the text was prepared by others, as is the practice.
Although Aydin oversees the Diyanet, he claimed he has no
direct authority over its sermons. However, he went on to
defend indirectly the contents of the sermon and statement.
Aydin asserted that missionaries in Turkey are "cheating" by
using "non-theological arguments" in attempts to convert
Muslims. These arguments often associate Islam with
terrorism. For example, missionaries claim that unless "the
light of Jesus" is spread throughout the Islamic world,
Muslim terrorists will kill everyone. If missionaries were
using theological arguments, he asserted, he would "defend
them to the end."


5. (C) Aydin mused that if he were a "powerful Christian," he
would focus his missionary activities in a Western city like
London, where church attendance is down. Or maybe in the
U.S., where, he said, an 11-year-old boy recently shot his
parents. But not in a poor, Muslim country like Turkey
(Note: Diyanet officials have accused missionaries of
improperly "taking advantage" of poverty in Turkey as a lever
for converting Muslims. At the same time core institutions
of the Turkish State -- including CHOD Ozkok in his landmark
April 20 speech -- accuse Islamist groups of exploiting poor
people to undermine the authority of the secular system. End
Note).


6. (U) Aydin opined that the 2005 IRF will be positive,
because there are no problems (sic) with the "authentic"
religious minorities in Turkey -- the Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox, and Jews. The controversy only involves
others who have come to Turkey recently to convert Muslims.

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U.S. Respects Freedom For Muslims
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7. (C) The Ambassador said it is not up to the GOT, or any
other government, to determine which arguments are
"theological" and which are not. There are many mosques in
the U.S., where many imams who are not U.S. citizens preach.
The USG does not restrict their activities or control the
content of their sermons. In fact, many preach beliefs that
are inimical to the U.S., as demonstrated by a recent Freedom
House study on Saudi hate propaganda in U.S. mosques. Yet
the GOT sees fit to combat the "threat" of a tiny Protestant
community whose missionaries, according to Aydin's own
statement, have converted 368 Turks in 12 years.


8. (U) Charging that Muslims are no longer given free rein in
the U.S., Aydin accused U.S. authorities of now closely
monitoring mosque activities for security reasons. When the
Ambassador denied this, Aydin said the USG might not monitor
mosques, but private groups do (Note: He was apparently
referring to the Freedom House study. End Note).


9. (C) The Ambassador reiterated that the GOT's actions have
raised serious concerns in Congress, at a time when lawmakers
are preparing to review a resolution on the Armenian
"genocide." Both the sermon and Aydin's statement imply that
missionaries in Turkey today are equivalent to the soldiers
of the Crusades. They also imply that Christianity is a
polytheistic religion, the same argument used by Muslim
extremists such as terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
When Aydin denied the GOT made such an implication, the
Ambassador quoted from the sermon, which states that the
Crusades failed because Islam "contains values such as
monotheism, justice, fear of God, self confidence, and
opposition to oppression, polytheism, blasphemy and
injustice." Aydin replied that the sermon made a "general
comparison" between the two religions.


10. (U) Aydin asserted that the U.S. media have said "awful
things" about Turkey, and the USG claims it can take no
action because it respects freedom of speech. The GOT, in
similar fashion, has to respect the rights of the Diyanet to
express itself. The Ambassador replied that the Diyanet is a
state institution, whose sermons are delivered by imams
across the country. Aydin blandly asserted that the Diyanet
is "as independent as any Catholic institution," and claimed
he has only "friendly influence" over it.

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Rhetoric Could Lead to Violence
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11. (C) The Ambassador urged Aydin to use his influence to
promote tolerance toward religious minorities. Leaders of
Turkey's tiny Protestant community, numbering approximately
3,000, have been receiving increasing telephone and email
threats as anti-missionary rhetoric from the government and
media has emerged in recent months. The GOT's
anti-missionary campaign could lead to violence, especially
given the rise of nationalism in Turkey these days. Aydin
said he does not expect violence, and averred that he, like
most Turks, would feel "awful" if Muslims attacked
Christians. The Ambassador said Aydin and other GOT leaders
could help lower tensions by publicly stating that Christians
are welcome in Turkey and that missionary activity is
accepted. Aydin claimed he has made such statements in the
past.


12. (U) Shortly after the meeting, a contact informed us that
two people threw Molotov cocktails into the International
Protestant Church of Ankara in the early morning hours of
April 21. The building was empty at the time. We will
report in more detail septel.

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Comment
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13. (C) Aydin spent the meeting scrambling and rambling to
avoid responsibility for his comments about Christianity.
First he asserted he only "signed" the statement and has only
"influence" over the Diyanet, then he tried repeatedly to
change the subject. When pinned down, he could only defend
his statements with wild, unsubstantiated allegations that
missionaries in Turkey (across the board, apparently) use
anti-Islamic arguments. Frankly, we expected a bit more from
a scholar of theology.


14. (C) Aydin started the meeting by criticizing incoming
Pope Benedict XVI for comments he made as a cardinal stating
that Turkey, as a Muslim country, should not be accepted in
the EU. Now that he is Pope, Aydin averred, Benedict should
promote dialogue and understanding among religions, building
on the efforts of Pope John Paul II. We can only hope that
Aydin, whose surname means "enlightened," learns to heed his
own advice.
EDELMAN