Tanyar also notes that, for many months, the Government has been held up by successive crises in domestic politics, such as the problems around lifting the ban on the wearing of headscarves by female university students and the recent lawsuit aiming to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Like many other reforms, legal steps that need to be taken for better protection of everyone's freedom of religion or belief are postponed, while the government deals with what it regards as more urgent matters. However, concrete steps must be taken in this direction, otherwise this goal can never be achieved.
But despite the progress that has been made in the legal sphere, even the steps that have been taken are sadly incomplete. The long-promised new Foundations Law does not allow Muslim or non-Muslim religious communities to legally exist as themselves, and so they are not themselves allowed to own their own places of worship. As Dilek Kurban of the Istanbul-based TESEV Foundation noted, the Law is "incompatible with the principle of freedom of association, which is guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne".
Tanyar is clear that, as a community, the Protestant Churches do not wish to become simply a tool for the political ends of various groups. In this context he points to politicians who exaggerate the level of missionary activities and numbers of those who have converted to Christianity as a result of these activities. Such politicians do this to reinforce criticism of the Government which has enacted legislation making spreading a religion a legal activity.
Amid all these debates, it seems that the small Protestant community's own voice is not heard by the Turkish public and state officials. There is no forum or tool whereby the community could effectively respond to allegations, or take part in a meaningful discussion, involving all Turkish citizens, that might contribute to clarification and allow for the Protestant perspective to be heard. In addition it lacks the resources to respond to everything that is said in public about it. The voice of Turkey's other smaller religious communities also needs to be heard by our fellow Turks.
While it is difficult to remain hopeful about what the future might hold for Turks in general and religious or belief communities in particular, it is vitally important to continue to strive for better protection of freedom of religion or belief. In this context I believe four concrete steps which would have the effect of better protection for all belief communities are essential.
The first step in the right direction would be for relevant state officials and institutions to engage in dialogue with leaders of believers of both religions that have existed in Turkey for centuries and those groups that are new. This would of course also include atheists and agnostics, as freedom of religion or belief is also a right for non-believers. Such a dialogue would enable individuals and communities to voice the difficulties they encounter in the exercise of their right to freedom of religion or belief. It would also send a strong message to Turkish society that the secular State is "equally close to all religions", as the authorities like to proclaim. Such a dialogue would also enhance the prestige and societal acceptance of groups that now face intolerance.
