War on Christianity > Turkey is labeling Christian leaders as national security threats; Sudan Muslims try again to take over Christian school

 

Turkey Classifies Christians as ‘National Security Threats,’ Prompting Deportations and Global Concern

Turkey is labeling Christian leaders as national security threats, leading to widespread deportations and renewed fears of religious discrimination globally and sparking growing international concern. 

Amber Ginter

Updated Oct 15, 2025

Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? If you haven't, you're among the few. If you have, you're in the majority. Sadly, this persecution isn't just happening in the U.S., but all over the world. At the top of the list is Turkey's recent classification of Christian leaders and missionaries as "national security threats." Deporting hundreds of foreign Christians and blocking their return with this label, the international legal advocacy group reports that this move has led to deportations and renewed fears of religious discrimination. 

Since 2020, over 350 foreign Christian workers and their families have been barred from the country under these threats. Internal security codes N-82 and G-87, according to the ADF International reports, prevent re-entry or deny residency permits, most times without charges or evidence of wrongdoing. Such persecution isn't just unfair, but highly common in other countries such as the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Latin America, and Europe. 

Today, advocates and human rights organizations are attempting to take a stand against a multi-year issue. Again, since 2019-2020, Turkey has deported dozens of Christians, often without a valid reason or explanation. In fact, ADF International reports that "Christians are the most persecuted religious group internationally, and yet this issue receives limited attention from the international community.  In Turkey, the government is systematically targeting Christians and their families by banning their reentry into the country, despite their long-term legal residence."

Turkish authorities may continue to cite "security concerns" under vague laws, but Christians continue to argue that this persecution is due exclusively to their expression and commitment to faith. Not so sure? Consider the case of Andrew Brunson, which began in October 2016. After being imprisoned for two years, Brunson was accused of being involved with the Fethullah Gülen movement. Turkish government authorities blamed this discrepancy and continued to hold Brunson hostage in harsh conditions and with potential 35-year sentences. It was not until October 2018, following significant pressure from the United States government, that Brunson walked free.  

International Christian Concern, one of many advocacy groups on the frontlines of cases like Brunson's, explains this situation best: The deportations and imprisonments aren't about security, they're about silencing Christians. As the U.S. and European religious freedom organizations continue to raise alarms, Christians must stand on guard: “Turkey’s targeting of Christians raises serious concerns about freedom of religion or belief" (USCIRF). 

The Church has always faced persecution, but cases like these remind us of the need for immediate intercession, fasting, and prayer. Will we stand for the gospel even in the face of advancing hardship? Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 reveal to us that persecution is in our future, but if we hold fast to what we know is true, we will stand the test of time: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (NIV).

Christ Jesus Himself is with us through it all. As we pray for wisdom in our own persecutions, let us not forget to pray for our global leaders, too. Our Turkish brothers and sisters in Christ, believers in God Almighty, need courageous prayers. And our prayers can make a difference.

Sudan: Muslims attempt to seize Christian school

Oct 15, 2025 3:00 pm By Robert Spencer4 Comments

Imagine the outcry if the roles were reversed, which they would not be and should not be. But there will be no outcry over this. Multiply incidents of this kind over 1,400 years and you see how the Islamic world was created.

Muslims Attempt to Seize Christian School in Sudan

Morning Star News, 

September 30, 2025:

JUBA, Sudan (Morning Star News) – A years-long Islamist attempt to seize a Christian school in Sudan continued this month even as people displaced by war have taken refuge in the facility, sources said.

An Islamic business interest sent three Muslims who forcefully entered the embattled Evangelical School of Sudan, in Omdurman across the Nile River from Khartoum, on Sept. 3 and threatened hundreds of mostly Christian people displaced by internal war, telling them to leave the compound, said an area church leader whose name was withheld for security reasons.

The intruders made their way to the office of the headmaster of the school, which belong to the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC), and broke the office door, the church leader said. Without giving a deadline, the intruders threatened to take the facility by force, he said.

The institution suffered numerous attacks during the regime of deposed President Omar al Bashir, mainly raids by supporters of the Muslim businessman who has sought to seize the land by force accompanied by police.

On April 3, 2017, a church leader was stabbed while defending Christian women at the facility during an attempt by assailants to take it over; elder Younan Abdullah Kambu of the nearby Bahri Evangelical Church later died in a hospital.

During the same raid, elder Ayoub Kamama was also stabbed in the chest and the hand as he tried to snatch a knife from one of the assailants….

Sweden to Refugees: Find a Bed or Go Back to Germany… But Don’t Look for Them at IKEA

As Germany ‘downgrades’ Syrian refugee status

© Robert Nyholm / Reuters

Sweden’s migration minister warned refugees that if they don’t find their own accommodation, they will be deported back to Germany or Denmark. The news comes as Europe’s refugee influx had depleted IKEA’s stockpiles of beds.

The Swedish government told media on Friday that it will no longer be able to provide housing for refugees and migrants arriving in the country, despite Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson’s claims that the migration crisis is not putting “acute” pressure on public finances.

“Those who come here may be met by the message that we can’t arrange housing for them,” Migration Minister Morgan Johansson told reporters. “Either you’ll have to arrange it yourself, or you have to go back to Germany or Denmark again.”

Europe’s refugee crisis has been dubbed the worst since WWII, with tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa in hopes of starting a new life in Europe.

Amid the climbing number of refugees coming to Sweden, IKEA has announced that it is running extremely low on beds and mattresses in both Sweden and Germany.

“There are some shortages of bunk beds, mattresses and duvets” in several German and Swedish stores, an IKEA spokeswoman, Josefin Thorell, told Bloomberg. “If the situation persists we expect that it will be difficult to keep up and maintain sufficient supply.”

IKEA has been helping out local authorities with accommodation for refugees.

Sweden, a country of 10 million, has received 120,000 refugees and migrants so far in 2015, with another 190,000 still expected to arrive.

The Swedish Migration Agency has become so desperate that it allowed around 50 refugees to sleep on the floor in its head office on Thursday night, as it had failed to find any other accommodation for them.

Germany ‘downgrades’ Syrian refugee status

Meanwhile, Germany is also taking a step back from its welcoming policy towards refugees from Syria by striking out a law allowing the families of migrants to join them in Germany, the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported.

The paper also revealed that the German government is scaling back on the legal protections available for newly arrived Syrians.

As a result of the policy change, each Syrian refugee can only qualify for one residence permit for up to one year, and will not have the ability to invite the rest of their immediate family to join them in Germany.

“The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has been ordered to only grant secondary protection for refugees from Syria’s civil war,” the FAZ cited an interior ministry document as saying.

Previously, Germany had given “primary protection” to refugees, including three-year residence permits and the right of family reunification.

The German and Swedish governments have been accepting towards the refugees coming to their countries so far, but their resources are running thin.

Germany, with a population of 80 million people, may receive 1.5 million asylum seekers in this year alone. It has already accepted more asylum applications than any other European nation, with a number of critics pointing to the high number of uneducated and illiterate refugees arriving in the country.

According to the latest data cited by FAZ, in August Germany received 55,600 refugee applications from Syrians, of which 38,600 were granted residency.

Germany’s population remains divided on the government’s response to help refugees, however. The right-wing PEGIDA movement (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident) has been growing in popularity, with activists taking to the streets of Dresden for anti-refugee demonstrations that are often met with counter-protesters, which often leads to clashes.

Serious consequences
While undoubtedly necessary, ending the right to family reunification may have some serious consequences. For one, it will greatly temper migrant's joy at arriving in Germany expediting the day when they become disenchanted and eventually angry. The other serious effect could be that family left behind in Syria may decide that they too have to make the perilous trip to freedom if they ever want to rejoin their husbands, sons, or fathers.