Anatolia is marked by footprints of faithful men of old. In the first century of our common era, the early Christians established congregations on Anatolian soil. The areas included Galatia (Ankara), Smyrna (Izmir), Pergamum (Bergama), Thyatira (Akhisar), Philadelphia (Alasehir), Laodicea (Denizli), and Ephesus (Efes) to name just a few. During this time, the apostle Paul entered Anatolia by way of the city of Antioch and traveled all the way to the Aegean Sea, with the purpose of organizing and visiting the congregations in this area. In modern times Jehovah’s Witnesses have sought to restore the pure, simple religion of those early followers of Jesus Christ in hundreds of countries and islands around the world. In Turkey, this modern-day activity began with a visit to Istanbul in 1891 by a zealous preacher named Charles Taze Russell. Four decades passed before a milestone was reached. It was in 1933 that five persons were baptized as Christian Witnesses and 22 persons assembled for the annual Memorial, the commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ. The years 1947 through 1950 saw the number of Witnesses increase to 60. But as in the first century, even this modest growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses did not go unnoticed. YEARS OF TURBULENCEFor a period of time, Article 163 of the Turkish Penal Law was used to determine the legality of religious activities. The purpose of this law is to prohibit the domination of the political structure of the State by religion. It was, however, misapplied to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are internationally recognized for their political neutrality. From the 1940’s until the end of the 1980’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses experienced religious persecution. Each year, individual Witnesses were detained for questioning or arrested. Some remained in jail for months. During this period Jehovah’s Witnesses had no houses of worship, and so meetings were held in private homes. When neighbors reported a meeting to the police, the house was raided and the Witnesses attending the meeting were taken to the local police station, where they usually spent the night. Within 40 years, more than 50 court cases were brought against Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses were never convicted in any of them. In 1971, the 5th High Criminal Court of Istanbul handed down a final acquittal based on the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not seek political influence and have no intention to change the functions of the State in accord with any religious belief. (E.1970/66 and K.1971/212, 19/2/1971) But there was another issue to be resolved. Do Jehovah’s Witnesses have religious connections with other existing religions, or are they a completely separate religion? In order to determine this, the court was petitioned to declare and document the nature and status of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This was brought before the 20th Civil Court of First Instance in Istanbul. (E.973/1412) Before appointing a commission of experts, the court preferred to consult directly with the religious authorities. The Directorate of Religion of the Republic of Turkey, the Armenian Patriachate, the Greek Patriachate, and the Chief Rabbinate were consulted as to whether Jehovah’s Witnesses constitute a separate religious group or not. In the end, these religious authorities actually helped to establish the facts, albeit unintentionally. Their statements concurred that a movement known as Jehovah’s Witnesses does exist but that this movement has absolutely no religious or political connections with Islam, the Armenian Church, the Greek Orthodox Church or Judaism. And this was exactly what Jehovah’s Witnesses were trying to prove in the first place. THE BIBLE COURSES SOCIETYOn July 10, 1974, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Turkey founded the Bible Courses Society. This Society gave Jehovah’s Witnesses a foundation with legal recognition. Until June 1, 1980, local and national meetings were also organized by this Society. Police officers were assigned to attend and observe the larger meetings. They followed all the proceedings, taking meticulous notes, and then they prepared a report. Some of the officers were fascinated at what they observed. Because of the respectful and orderly manner in which the attendees conducted themselves, one policeman said: “If only all groups were like you, then we would have much less work to do.” The Bible Courses Society also made possible the opening of “Halls for Worship” (known as Kingdom Halls in other countries). Meetings, which had been held in private homes up until 1975, could be officially held in these “Halls for Worship,” just as Jehovah’s Witnesses do in all parts of the earth. As its name implies, this Society also produced literature for Bible study. Although this literature was thoroughly scrutinized, not one publication was confiscated or forbidden by the Attorney General’s Office for Printed Matter. THE REPRESENTATIVE COMMITTEEThe Witnesses in Turkey desired to be recognized as a religious organization. A committee of faithful Christians had been organizing the activities of the Witnesses for some time. They formed the Representative Committee of Jehovah’s Witnesses and in 1980 opened an office. This Committee was responsible for all the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which included organizing congregation meetings and appointing responsible persons to take the lead. The Bible Courses Society no longer organized meetings for worship. Because the members of the Representative Committee had opened an office, they were charged with breaking the law concerning societies. They were acquitted, once again, by the Beyoglu 1st Criminal Court of First Instance. (E.984/829 and K.985/547, 17/7/1985) Only five months after the office was opened and full responsibility transferred to the Representative Committee, namely in September 1980, martial law suspended the activities of all societies. But this did not affect the meetings for worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses, since these were now organized, not by the Bible Courses Society, but by the Representative Committee. However, one year later the police and officials who dealt with enforcement of the martial law raided the Worship (Kingdom) Hall in a section of Istanbul and took those in charge of the meeting in for interrogation. Because activities of all societies were banned at that time, they were charged with carrying out activities of the banned Bible Courses Society and were haled into court. But this religious meeting had not been organized by the Bible Courses Society. As evidence, the Representative Committee had a certified copy of the application, which had been sent to officials who were taking care of such matters. The court found that the transfer of responsibility for the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses to the newly formed Representative Committee could not have been fraudulent, since it would not have been possible to know five months in advance that a ban would be placed on the activities of societies. Therefore, at the request of the martial prosecutor, the defendants were acquitted. SUPREME COURT DECISIONIn 1980 a case was filed against the Izmir branch of the Bible Courses Society; however, the decision by the General Assembly of the Supreme Criminal Court was not to sentence Jehovah’s Witnesses in Izmir without cause. The court applied a form of logic similar to that found in the Bible, in chapter 5 of the book of Acts, verses 34-39. In those verses the “Professor of the Law of Moses,” Gamaliel, reminded the official High Court of the Jews (Sanhedrin) that if God is behind the activities of the followers of Jesus, nobody would be able to stop them, and to continue to fight against their activities would actually mean opposing God. In its wisdom, the General Assembly of the Supreme Criminal Court expressed it similarly:
PERSECUTION HITS A PEAKThe period of persecution reached its peak in the years 1984-85. On June 14, 1984, the security police began arresting most of the Witnesses in Ankara. Here the Witnesses experienced treatment they had never been exposed to before. All the Witnesses who were brought before the National Security Court were arrested and were detained for almost a year before the Supreme Court finally reached a decision. In the meantime, a district convention held in Izmir, for which clearance had been authorized by the military rule, was closed down by the police. Eight Witnesses who had given talks on the first day were taken in for interrogation and were later arrested and taken to military prison. Among the eight Witnesses arrested were three members of the Representative Committee in Turkey. The case was heard by the Izmir State Security Court. The first session resulted in the accused being released, and in the second they were acquitted unanimously on the recommendation of the martial prosecutor. As for the case in Ankara, it went to the General Assembly of the Supreme Criminal Court. This time the verdict spoke out even more openly in support of protecting the rights and religious activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses:
With this landmark decision in 1986, the investigations and trials against Jehovah’s Witnesses ceased. The constitutional rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses were thus recognized. This second favorable decision of the General Assembly of the Supreme Criminal Court placed the matter beyond any further dispute. Those being held in confinement in Izmir were acquitted and freed in March 1985, and the Witnesses in Ankara were acquitted and freed in June 1985. OUR MEETINGS AND PUBLIC MINISTRYToday, congregations and groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses are found in as many as 30 provinces and administrative districts of Turkey. On average 70 persons attend each of these congregations. Those who attend typically do so because they are eager to learn how they can become more productive members in their communities. Among those attending, you will find people from all walks of life. There are those who are highly educated, those who have had a general education, and those with limited education. But at the same time you will notice that they are a community showing true brotherhood, where there is no partiality based on social, racial or national background. All of Jehovah’s Witnesses are preachers of the good news of God’s heavenly Kingdom. There is no clergy class among them. All feel the same sense of responsibility to make known the good news of God’s Kingdom. In so doing, they certainly do not intend to disturb people or force their religion upon them. People who have been visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses know this. When you open your door to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you are often greeted by a smiling face and may be offered a booklet or a magazine enhanced by meaningful pictures. If you are interested and ask questions, the Witness will enjoy speaking with you and will try to answer your questions. If you do not want to talk with them or to accept literature pertaining to the Bible, the Witnesses will cordially depart. But whatever the case may be, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not turn away from anyone who sincerely wants to learn from and study the Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that, whether young or old, each person has the right to search for the answers to questions about God and the future. JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES AND THE GOVERNMENTWhether they believe in the Bible or not, many people quote from it when they say: “Pay Caesar’s things to Caesar!” It was Jesus Christ who first spoke these words when he showed the principle to be followed in connection with paying taxes to the State. The Bible quotes Jesus as saying further: “Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one. And he said to them: “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to him: “Caesar’s.” Jesus then said: “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.”—Mark 12:15-17. This is a main principle that guides Jehovah’s Witnesses as to their responsibility to governments. Thus, their consciences direct them to give the State what taxes are rightly due. They also obey other laws of the State, including traffic laws, with the same conscientiousness. But the Witnesses do not forget the words Jesus said immediately after the quotation above, ‘but pay God’s things to God.’ Their consciences do not allow them to pay something that rightly belongs to God to someone else. HOW ARE FUNDS PROVIDED?Among the accusations made against Jehovah’s Witnesses is: “You receive payment for your preaching work.” But in reality, it is just the opposite. It is obvious that any contributions received for their literature do not cover all the costs of printing or the effort and expense involved in distributing it. Jehovah’s Witnesses contribute voluntarily from their own personal funds to support the continuation of the work. Even that is done completely without solicitation and anonymously, and no person is shown favoritism because of what he donates. In fact, no Witness is aware of the amount another Witness contributes. On this matter, Jesus counseled: “But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.”—Matthew 6:3, 4. OTHER ACTIVITIESThe best way to learn about the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses is to get to know Jehovah’s Witnesses personally. They are Christians, followers of Christ and students of the Bible, who endeavor to apply the truths it contains. Just as was true in the first century, faithful Witnesses of Jehovah are now active on Turkish soil, and once again there are congregations in many different cities. Jehovah’s Witnesses come to the doorsteps of their neighbors with the desire to encourage people by sharing Bible truths with them. It is the earnest hope of Jehovah’s Witnesses that people will impartially listen to their message.
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