Turkey Detains 5 In Bible Shootings

Police Now Holding 10 Suspects In Slaying Of 3 At Bible Publishing Company

(AP)  Police detained five more people Thursday in connection with an attack on a Christian publishing house that killed three employees, doubling the number of suspects in custody, a Turkish official said.

One group of suspects detained in the slayings Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles told investigators they carried out the killings to protect Islam, a Turkish newspaper reported.

The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether this predominantly Muslim country — which is bidding for EU membership — can protect its religious minorities. It also underlined concerns about rising Turkish nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims.

"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion," Hurriyet newspaper quoted a suspect as saying. "Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."

The paper did not name the suspect. Local media said the suspects were students, and that the residence where they were staying belongs to an Islamic foundation.

On Wednesday, police detained four youths, aged 19-20, as well as a fifth who underwent surgery for head injuries after he apparently tried to escape by jumping from a window at the Zirve publishing house in the central city of Malatya.

Malatya Gov. Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said another five suspects, detained Thursday, were of the same age as those taken into custody on the day of the attack.

He did not say whether the group detained on Thursday had been at the scene of the attack, saying only that they had been picked up at "various locations."

The three victims — a German and two Turkish citizens — were found with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit at the publishing house. Police went to the scene after receiving calls about a fight, Milliyet newspaper reported.

The five suspects detained Wednesday had each had been carrying copies of a letter that read: "We five are brothers. We are going to our deaths. We may not return," according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the attack had hurt his country's image abroad, and was aimed at "Turkey's peace, Turkey's tradition of tolerance and Turkey's stability."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the attack as "savagery."

The German and one of the Turkish victims were found dead, and the third victim died in a hospital, Malatya Governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said. The German man had been living in Malatya since 2003, he said. Anatolia identified him as 46-year-old Tilman Ekkehart Geske.

It was the latest in a string of attacks on Turkey's Christian community — which comprises less than 1 percent of the 70-million population.

In February 2006, a Turkish teenager shot a Catholic priest dead as he prayed in his church, and two other Catholic priests were attacked later that year. A November visit by Pope Benedict XVI was greeted by several peaceful protests. Earlier this year, a suspected nationalist killed Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink.

Authorities had vowed to deal with extremist attacks after Dink's murder, but Wednesday's assault showed the violence was not slowing down.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," and said he expected Turkish authorities would "do everything to clear up this crime completely and bring those responsible to justice."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat Party — which opposes Turkey's bid to join the EU — said the attacks showed the country's shortcomings in protecting religious freedoms.

"The Turkish state is still far from the freedom of religion that marks Europe," the party's general secretary, Ronald Pofalla, said in a statement.

Turkey began EU membership negotiations in October 2005 but talks have stalled over Turkey's refusal to formally recognize EU-member Cyprus. The country is under intense pressure to improve human rights and to expand religious freedoms and free speech as part of its membership bid.

A group of 150 lit candles and unfolded a banner that read "We are all Christians" in downtown Istanbul to protest the attack and show solidarity with the Christian community. But there was far less public outcry than with Dink's murder, which was followed by widespread protests and condemnations. More than 100,000 people marched at Dink's funeral.

Malatya is known as a hotbed of nationalists, and is also the hometown of Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981.

The Zirve publishing house has been the site of previous protests by nationalists accusing it of proselytizing, Dogan news agency reported. Zirve's general manager said his employees had recently been threatened.

[finewoven]

That is a violation against Allah. You can't do that.
Posted by zoltaric at 10:21 AM : Apr 20, 2007

That's nonsense. Muslims believe Jesus is a prophet, it's in their Koran. This is one of those ploys that extremists use to control their flock. Besides, give me one, just one instance where Mohammed healed his people--this is where they are lacking. Jesus healed a multitude of people; and adopting Christian percepts would perhaps heal this cancer you suggest Muslims have.

Do you hold extremist beliefs too?

[zoltaric]

I can't beleive the ignorance on this board.

These people were trying to force Christianity down the theoughts of a native Muslim population. They are a cancer in the Muslim body. Like cancer from your body, it must be excised.

You talk about "freedom of religion". Why not let the Turks have the freedom to practice Islam without outsiders interfering?

Why was the German there? Germans don't like Turks. He was trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. That is a violation against Allah. You can't do that.

[toolmangler-2009]

worked really well in communist countries.... NOT!!

hahahahaha
Posted by lars008 at 04:40 PM : Apr 19, 2007

Not that they didn't try. The entire world was fighting them on it also. This is one time when I don't want to be a "I tol' ya so"!

[antoniof123]

You are correct about religion it is nothing more than a ***. God will one day come and destroy those who claim to believe and yet they kill for there own power. Of course the religious right wing nuts from around the world will never understand that one. There learning cure is too long and I do not even thing God would be that tollorant.

[lars008-2009]

The time will come when 'religion' of any type will be banned from all societies in selfdefense.
Posted by ToolMangler at 02:25 PM : Apr 19, 2007

worked really well in communist countries.... NOT!!

hahahahaha

[toolmangler-2009]

"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion (Islam)" Hurriyet newspaper quoted a suspect as saying. "Our religion is being destroyed (from within).
Posted by Krotec54


Of course it is, people that try to force 'religion' down someone elses throat with Laws and weapons ultimately hurt the 'religion' many times more than they help it. Islam will be destroyed from 'within' by its own members hatred and so will Christianity.
The time will come when 'religion' of any type will be banned from all societies in selfdefense.

[lars008-2009]

Demonstrators display a banner that reads "Solidarity against fascism. We are all Christians" and hold placards that read: "Let's defend living together" during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 18, 2007, following an attract to a publishing house in eastern Turkey.
Turkey Detains 5 In Bible Shootings
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/world/main2703596.shtml

FASCIST NAZI ISLAM / PERFECT EXAMPLE OF FASCISM!!!

Fascist nazi islam is intent on killing or enslaving all non muslims......

The most notable characteristic of a fascist country is the separation and persecution or denial of equality to a specific segment of the population based upon superficial qualities or belief systems.
Simply stated, a fascist government always has one class of citizens that is considered superior (good) to another (bad) based upon race, creed or origin. It is possible to be both a republic and a fascist state. The preferred class lives in a republic while the oppressed class lives in a fascist state.
http://www.couplescompany.com/Features/Politics/Structure3.htm

[karlimhof]

karlimhof, then who slaughtered the tens of thousands every year before Bush went in Iraq???

Since 9/11 Muslims have carried out over 7800 terrorist attacks in the world in places like....

Posted by Gaye5

good list of countries - but we're talking about Iraq and there were no terrorist attacks in Iraq before, up to, and in the immediate aftermath of the Bush War - terrorism today in Iraq is because of the Bush War.

the "tens of thousands" slaughtered BEFORE the Bush War, you ask who did it? Not the Iraqis !

or do you want to say that the Bush War in Iraq has reduced terrorism? And now there are less acts of terrorism world-wide?

as the song goes, any way you look at it you're wrong.

[adventurepa]

"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion," Hurriyet newspaper quoted a suspect as saying. "Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."

Another example of people hijacking a religion and is the danger with all religions.
From the crusades to terrorists, it has happened time and time again. It's about control people.

[gaye5]

karlimhof, then who slaughtered the tens of thousands every year before Bush went in Iraq???

Since 9/11 Muslims have carried out over 7800 terrorist attacks in the world in places like Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chad, Chechnya, Dagestan, Denmark, East Timor, Egypt, England, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ingushetia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Jordan-Iraq, Kabardino-Balkans,
Kenya, Kosovo,Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gaza-Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka , Sudan ,
Syria , Tajikistan, Thailand , Tunisia , Turkey , United Arab Emirates, United Arab Republic , United States , Uzbekistan and Yemen, etc etc.
I wonder why they get upset when we criticism them, and no one seems to wonder as to why there is NO outrage from moderate Muslims or their clerics/Imams...
The media doesnt talk about attacks from pirates but More than 1100 incidents of piracy have been reported worldwide since 1999 ...hmmm