Erdogan signs decree turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque

submitted by Jacinda from jihadwatch.org

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[–][deleted] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Probably because he seemed more "European" than muslim.

I've known quite a few Turks, they were all very nice people and integrated very well into my small Québécoise nation. But they were all Christians, so that "might" have something to do with it.

EDIT: Wow, I just looked it up and Turkey is now almost exclusively muslim. I could swear it used to have a large proportion of Christians.

Yep, according to shittypedia:

Christianity in Turkey has had a long history dating back to the 1st-century AD. In modern times the percentage of Christians in Turkey has declined from 20–25 percent in 1914 to 3–5.5 percent in 1927, to 0.3–0.4% today[1][2] roughly translating to 200,000–320,000 devotees.

[–]asterias 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Maybe they were Turkish citizens of Greek nationality who had to flee Turkey because of their religion and nationality?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_pogrom

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Dunno maybe, or Turks of Turkish ethnicity and nationality who fled Turkey because of their religion? Very likely, given how many Christians used to live in Turkey.

[–]asterias 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Those Christians were not Turks, they were Greek, Armenian and Assyrian, which is why they were victims of genocide by the Turks (who considered Islam to be a vital part of their identity and non-Muslims were considered inferior). After the Turkification period many were obliged to use Turkish names and speak Turkish.

So there were (and still are) many Christians who have to keep their faith secret. There is also a small number of Turks who decided to become Christians and faced severe prosecutions, but this occured on an individual basis.

During the Ottoman period, the punishment for a Turk who decided to become a Christian was death, usually after torture.

EDIT: Here is an account of a family that had to flee Turkey:

https://greekcitytimes.com/2019/09/07/september6-7-1955-turkeys-kristallnacht/

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Wow. Thanks for the education. That is not a nice outcome, but very consistent with many things we still see today.