(Bonn, 09.09.2025) On August 14, 2025, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) organized a virtual Hearing on “Freedom of Religion or Belief in Turkey”.
The official announcement of the hearing stated:
“USCIRF’s visit to Turkey in September 2024 and subsequent reporting have confirmed that the Turkish government continues to restrict religious freedom through a variety of means, including administrative, educational, and judicial. This hearing will assess these areas of FoRB restrictions and how they impact Turkey’s many religious communities: Alevis, Protestant Christians, Orthodox and Apostolic Christians, Jews, Sunni Muslims, secularists, and others. It will also consider how the United States can leverage bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to support FoRB for all who call Turkey home. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Turkey for the U.S. Department of State’s Special Watch List, or SWL, for engaging in systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).”
After opening remarks by the Chair of USCIRF, Vicky Hartzler, and the Vice Chair of USCIRF, Asif Mahmood, witnesses discussed “potential next steps to advance freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Turkey and to improve conditions for members of the country’s religious minority and majority communities alike.” Among the witnesses were the Congressman of the 12th District of Florida, Gus M. Bilirakis, the Chair of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey (Protestan Kiliseler Derneği) and Senior Pastor of the Antalya Evangelical Churches, Ramazan Arkan, the President of the Alevi Foundations Federation, Haydar Baki Dogan, the Beyer Family Senior Fellow and Director of the Turkish Research Program, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Soner Cagaptay, and the President of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) and the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), Thomas Paul Schirrmacher.
Downloads and Links
- Photo 1 and photo 2: Screenshots of the hearing
- The official announcement of the USCIRF, the full recording of the hearing, and the full testimonies of : https://uscirf.gov/events/hearings/freedom-religion-or-belief-turkey
- The statement of Thomas Paul Schirrmacher: https://thomasschirrmacher.net/?p=24272, https://uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Schirrmacher%20Turkey%20USCIRF%202025%20FINAL.pdf
