Turkey Named as One of World’s Worst Religious Freedom Violators

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Turkey was listed in the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) 2012 annual report as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for “systematic and egregious limitations” of religious freedom. Other nations recommended to the Secretary of State for CPC designation were Burma, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The treatment of its Christian minority, as well as of other non-Muslim religious groups, put Turkey on the list. The USCIRF’s report said that restrictions on non-Muslim communities, such as limiting their right to train clergy and own places of worship, “have led to their decline, and in some cases, their virtual disappearance”. Source: Barnabas Fund