ICC Note: Anti-Christian hatred was spewed amidst jihadist shouting as four men in Turkey were released from prison following a terrifying intrusion into a church in Turkey. It was immediately known that the men were jihadists through their anti-Christian shouts, which sources said is a new turn from past cases of basic harassment. Turkey has come under scrutiny from the European Union due to recent religious freedom setbacks. ICC prays that Erdogan adheres to the “Ataturk” principles in maintaining secular governance by prosecuting all threats directed at religious minorities.  In the case below, the jihadist attackers were clearly not afraid of the government or being caught as they looked right into the security cameras and smiled. They were rightly unafraid of the consequences because despite serious threats of assault on the property of a church building, they were released the next morning.  

3/3/2016 Turkey (Morning Star) – Four men detained by police for attacking a church building in the Black Sea region of Turkey last week shouted jihadist slogans when released from jail, a marked departure from past harassment, church leaders said.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, the four Muslims went to a building rented by the Agape Church Foundation in Samsun and tried to get someone to come to the door, pastor Orhan Pıçaklar told Morning Star News. Initially two of the four men rang the doorbell on the building, used by the church group for worship and teaching, but seconds later two others arrived who began banging on the door with their fists and then tried to kick the door open.

A small number of people were in the building when the men came, including one congregation member who acts as a church caretaker, but no one answered the door. Eventually the Muslims noticed a security camera and destroyed it, then left.

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