Pray for Muslims in Mugla province, south-west Turkey

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Mugla province is situated at the south-western tip of Turkey. It has a population of about 700,000, and its physical size is about 13,500 sq km (slightly larger than the state of Connecticut in the USA or half the size of Brittany in France).

Tourism brings openness to Turkey

Outside of Turkey, Mugla province is known for its popular seaside resorts such as Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye, but other coastal towns are drawing more and more tourists every year. Of all Turkish provinces, Mugla has the most beaches. Because of tourism, Turkish people in the area have the opportunity to express their opinion relatively freely, since the environment is less penetrated by Islam and more secular in its orientation. On the other hand, the presence of loosely-dressed and sometimes drunk seaside tourists from the West easily leads Muslims to think that all Christians are like that. This reflects badly on the gospel and on (what they suppose is) the Christian way of life. This is only one reason why Turkish people normally don’t even consider Christianity as an option for life. Even though most natives in this area don’t seriously practise the Islamic religion, 99 per cent of the population consider themselves Muslims.

In the first centuries AD though, many inhabitants of the region must have been Christians (Greeks). The town of Knidos, mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 27:7) is situated in this province, and the Greek islands Kos and Rhodes (Acts 21:1) are just off the coast. One of the distinctive signs of the area is a specially-shaped chimney, still visible on many roofs today. Seen from above, the chimney has the shape of a cross. Apparently, it was developed by the Christians who formerly lived in this area.

A difficult life in Turkey

Approximately 50,000 inhabitants live in the capital town of the province, also called Mugla, which is known for its historical town centre. It has several secondary schools and quite a large university. Compared to the seaside resorts, only a few foreigners live here. However, there are many young people. Up to now, Mugla province has only a few Turkish Christians. Christian communities modelled on the New Testament example are needed, for believers to be able to have fellowship and learn more about the Word of God. Even though the province seems to be quite tolerant and open, the few people who do convert from Islam to Christianity experience significant pressure from society and their families. Life is difficult for them, particularly when seeking a job or a Christian spouse.

Prayer for Turkey:

* Pray that God will help the indigenous people in Mugla province to see the difference between nominal and dedicated Christians. Tourists who are believers in Jesus Christ can easily leave a powerful testimony in this region.

* Pray that the indigenous Christians will grow in numbers and maturity (church elders are needed).

* Pray that the people of the provincial capital and other towns will discover the gospel. Pray that many students will be reached.

* Pray for the few Christian workers doing church-planting. Pray that they may receive long-term prayer support; also pray for wisdom for their work. Pray for more labourers, especially in Fethiye.

Background on Turkey (World Factbook)

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk, or “Father of the Turks.” Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power.

Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a “post-modern coup” - of the then Islamic-oriented government.

Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - now known as the People’s Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military’s attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group’s leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey, mainly to northern Iraq.

In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy, enabling it to begin accession membership talks with the European Union.

Economy of Turkey

Turkey’s dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that still accounts for more than 35% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey’s export mix. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001.

Statistics on Turkey

Population: 71,892,807 (July 2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.14 years

Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)

Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the Europe part of Turkey

Literacy: 87.4% — Male: 95.3%, Female: 79.6%