Türkiye (MNN) — Türkiye prepares for yet another five-year term under the newly re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan secured his win on Sunday after a first-of-its-kind runoff vote.
When the votes were counted Sunday, Erdogan came out on top with 52.1% of the ballots. Challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu only secured 47.9% of votes.
Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “The status quo has been protected in this election. [Voters decided,] ‘We’re going to keep the leader we have; we’re going to keep moving in the direction we’re moving,’ which in the case of Türkiye is a more Islamic direction.”
Turkish flag (Photo courtesy of Meg Jerrard/Unsplash)
It doesn’t change much for believers. Nettleton explains, “Most persecution in Türkiye is not coming from the government level. Mostly it is coming at the family level [or] at the employment level. So, in that sense, this doesn’t make a difference in terms of persecution; but Erdogan has taken Türkiye in a less secular, more Islamic direction, and he is promising to do that even further over the next five years.”
At the same time, Türkiye’s many challenges present opportunities for believers.
For example, Christians were on the ground immediately after the catastrophic earthquakes in southern Türkiye, giving food and shelter in the name of Jesus.
“For most Turks, being Muslim is a part of being Turkish; they see the two as being hand-in-hand, so to be helped by Turkish Christians is a very eye-opening experience. They’re like, ‘Wait a minute. So, you’re Turkish, and you’re a follower of Jesus. How did that happen? How did that work?’”
Pray believers will be courageous and use these opportunities to share the Gospel.
Header photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, courtesy of Pixabay.
