Monastery in Turkey: The endangered servants of God

    


Tur Abdin – KSTA — The Assyrians are a beleaguered minority. Today, only around 3000 that Syrian Orthodox Christians in Turkey. And even they are fighting for their identity: the Assyrian Mor Gabriel monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin is threatening the expropriation.

The Monastery of Mor Gabriel (Picture: Reuters) Because of oppression and persecution have in the past few decades, approximately 300 000 Assyrians leave the country. The village head three neighboring Kurdish villages in several court cases make the Mor Gabriel monastery land and buildings in dispute. Supported the village head of local politicians in the Islamic-conservative ruling party ACP. Before the administrative district of Midyat town was now negotiating the first place. After reading the plea was the procedure to 11 February 2009 postponed.

The Mor Gabriel monastery is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. It was the year 397 AD was founded. Mor Gabriel is one of the last Christian-preserved monuments in the Tur Abdin, a hilly upland that extends from the city of Mardin to the east to the Tigris covers. Tur Abdin his name, “Mountain of the servants of God”, won the territory from about 80 monasteries, here since 4 Century was founded. As the Christian Armenians, Assyrians were also in the Ottoman Empire in the First World War victims of persecution and expulsion. Assyrian sources indicate the number of victims to half a million. Until the early 70s of last century lived for about 30 000 Assyrians in the region. Most of them fled to Western Europe – partly for economic reasons but also because of state repression and increasing attacks of fanatical Muslims. Live in Germany approximately 90 000 Syriac Orthodox Christians.

Today Mor Gabriel belongs to the few remaining inhabited and Syriac Orthodox monasteries in Turkey. Here live Archbishop Timotheos Samuel Aktas, several monks, sisters and boarding students – a total of about 70 people. The monastery is not only a spiritual center of the Syriac Orthodox Christians in Turkey, it was also in this year of about 70 000 travelers visited. In recent times, draws the Assyrians in Turkey, new hope. It was based not least on EU candidacy and democratic reforms, the Islamic-conservative Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan began to implement.

Like other non-Muslim minorities in Turkey, which also promised that the Assyrians religious freedom and an end to discrimination and abuse. Several hundred Assyrians even returned from exile in western Europe and settled back again on the Tur Abdin, mainly in the vicinity of the Mor Gabriel monastery. With this return migration began the current conflict. For the returnees took decades before their abandoned houses back in possession and claimed their country, on the meanwhile the Kurds from neighboring villages grazing their cattle.

During the processes of the preceding Yayvantepe of villages, and Eglence Candarli against Bishop Timothy are strained, is about 100 hectares of land, which the monastery allegedly unlawfully appropriated should have. It is about the accusation of tax evasion, but also to alleged illegal activities mission – this is likely the core of the dispute lie. The Protestant Württemberg Bishop Frank Otfried July suspects the processes behind the attempt, “the inhabitants of the monastery and distribute the monastery as a Christian center erase.” After the Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner in a letter to Erdogan for the conservation of the monastery had, also wrote the Westphalian Chairman Alfred Buß to Erdogan. Responded the prime yet.

Prime Minister’s Office, as well as Turkish Foreign Ministry, it was however the political sensitivity of the subject conscious, say EU diplomats in Ankara. The EU countries underlined their interest in the case by the fact that a Swedish diplomat as common observers to the trial in the district town Midyat posted. Also on the future negotiating dates, the EU ambassador in Ankara to send observers.

Anyway, the religious freedom issue on the agenda of the accession negotiations, which since mid-2006 with Turkey be conducted. In Turkey, whose inhabitants to over 99 percent are Muslims, live about 100 000 Christians. Are the largest group of Orthodox Armenians. Also about 15 000 Catholics and Protestants live around 3000 in Turkey. Their churches are largely without rights.

EU diplomats in Ankara cherish the cautious hope that the threat of expropriation of the monastery away and can warn the Turkish judiciary now with massive political intervention to put pressure on: “That could at this stage rather counter-productive,” says the representative an EU country in Ankara – especially since the complaints themselves, according to Turkish lawyers on rather weak feet.