by MARY CHASTAIN5 Aug 2015
In his latest book, Christian Persecution in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy, author George J. Marlin explores the fall of Christianity in its birthplace, documenting the suffering of those people who face death simply for being a Christian.
The most well-known persecution occurs at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). For over a year, ISIS has worked to destroy historical sites while persecuting those who do not submit to their sadistic interpretation of Islamic law. Mosul, Iraq, was home to one of the largest Christian communities in the world where they lived peacefully with Muslims. But ISIS ended that in June 2014 when they invaded the town and either murdered or expelled all the Christians.
Marlin, who runs the group Aid to the Church in Need, explores not only the damage done by the Islamic State but that committed by those who should be America’s allies. Devout Muslim Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rules NATO-member Turkey with an iron fist as president. His actions since he became prime minister point to a desire to re-establish the Ottoman Empire. His anti-Semitic views make headlines, but hardly anyone touches on the downfall of Christianity in the country during his tenure.
The Christian population of Turkey is evaporating rapidly. The nation, a NATO member since 1952, has experienced a reduction in its Christian population from 20 percent 100 years ago to only 0.2 percent today. Istanbul was once known as Constantinople, founded by Roman Emperor Constantine in 324. He made it the capital of Rome before it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. They made it their capital until the empire collapsed after World War I. Modern-day Turkey officially renamed it Istanbul in 1923.
“You have to remember that the AKP–the Justice and Development Party in Turkey–is a spinoff of the Muslim Brotherhood,” described Jonathan Schanzer, from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “This is an organization that is founded on Islamist principles. Mr. Erdogan sees himself as an Islamist and a Turk first and foremost. And so he’s synthesizing Turkish nationalism with the Muslim Brotherhood.”