A 74-year-old Catholic priest was attacked this week in Turkey. A man, who was described as mentally ill, was arrested in the knifing of Father Pierre Brunissen. The previous two were linked to Islamic opposition to Christian clergy. This, however, may be a personal case. Here's what the BBC wrote:
The man had allegedly made complaints about Fr Brunissen trying to convert people to his faith.
Reports said he was attacked in a busy street about 1km from his church.
"I hope this has nothing to with Islamic fundamentalism," Monsignor Luigi Padovese, the apostolic vicar for Anatolia, told the Associated Press news agency .
"The climate has changed... it is the Catholic priests that are being targeted."
Anonymously-sourced alleged complaints notwithstanding, this story really could have nothing to do with religious intolerance. But the secular situation in Turkey is very tenuous and worthy of deeper coverage. When I came across this article, I was also pointed to a months-old Washington Post story that looked at the situation in Turkey with a bit more depth. It showed how Muslims believe Roman Catholic missionaries are paying young Muslims to convert to Christianity. It also had this very amazing line:
The tension dates at least to the 13th century, when Christian Crusaders sacked what is today Istanbul.
Really? That's where the Muslim -- Christian tension in Istanbul comes from? From before it was a Muslim city? Interesting.
See, I thought that the great and ancient Christian city of Constantinople (or, as the Post says, "what is today Istanbul") withstood dozens of attacks from Muslims before finally falling to Sultan Mehmet II in 1453. I mean, yes, soldiers in the Fourth Crusade took over Constantinople -- from the Byzantine Christians. I don't think that's where Muslim-Christian conflict came from. And the Western-Eastern divide was centuries older, besides. However, I seem to recall there was a particularly brutal final 54-day siege and capture of the city.