Kurdish Bible translation project looks to the future

TURKEY — In November, Tempo, a weekly news magazine with a circulation of 120,000, printed a four-page article about the Kurdish New Testament published recently by the Bible Society in Turkey. The article helpfully pointed out that the publication of the New Testament was completely legal, was funded not by overseas contributions but by the Bible Society itself, and that it had not had the effect of dividing the Turkish nation, a charge often levelled at Christian missionaries.

A crowded pedestrian street in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: UBS/Dag Smemo (TUR05DJ-69.JPG)

The Bible Society has not actively courted publicity of the Kurdish translation and Tamar Karasu, the General Secretary, found the article a pleasant surprise. “It is good promotion for the Kurdish New Testament, and for the Bible Society,” she said. The New Testament in Kurdish represents eight years’ work. Those involved in the project reckon that completing the Old Testament translation will take another eight years.

Whole story

Finishing the translation is not the whole story, though. Given the restrictions imposed on the Kurds in Turkey, most of them would be afraid to be found with a copy of the Kurdish Bible in their homes. Thus, although some 2000 copies of the Kurdish New Testament have been distributed around Europe, almost none have been distributed in Turkey. If a Kurd were found to have a copy of the Kurdish New Testament, he would be dealt with as an ‘insurgent’, says the translator. But at the same time, he adds, Kurds want to read the Scriptures. As evidence of this, he cites the fact that the four Gospels in Kurdish, published by the Society before the New Testament was complete, ran to three printings – some 13,000 copies in all.

Official pressure

Kurdish Christians, he thinks, total “a few thousand”: numbers are hard to find because they are not allowed their own churches and any who admit to being Christian can face serious consequences.

Furthermore, such is the official pressure on the Kurds to use Turkish, that he reckons fewer than five per cent of Kurdish people can now read their own language.

Like many Kurds, the translator is setting great store by Turkey’s overwhelming desire to gain full membership of the European Union. In return for welcoming Turkey into membership, he thinks, the EU will want the government to make some concessions to the Kurds. He is hoping that official recognition for the Kurdish language will be just one of them.

Earlier this year, when Austria and France were raising objections to its application, it was widely predicted that Turkey would gain EU membership in ten years’ time. If that proves correct, and provided the desired concessions have been granted on the Kurdish language, the Kurdish Bible, due for completion two years beforehand, will be the subject of great interest.

This story refers to project 88100. (WR 399/12 - 01/02.06) [3 photos]