TURKEY — Hasan Çam, 23, is working on the stand of the only other Christian publisher present at the Tüyap Bookfair, Love Publishing, which is associated with Call of Hope, a Bible agency based in Germany.

Like so many other Christians you meet in Turkey, he comes from a Muslim family – though he was an atheist rather than a committed adherent.

Connection

“For a long time I was searching to prove that God does not exist,” he says. “I had contact with many religions and their Holy Books. I also read both the Old and the New Testaments. These books surprised me, because I found that there was a close connection between them: the Old Testament promised and prophesied that a Saviour would come, and the New Testament declared that the prophecy was fulfilled and that the Saviour had come.”

Surprised into becoming a Christian, he began attending a Roman Catholic Church and for two years studied the Catechism as a preparation for being baptised.

Disillusioned

After a while, however, he began questioning some of the teaching and became disillusioned. Discussions with a friend led him to join a growing Baptist fellowship – now 40 strong – in Izmir. He says the teaching there seemed to be more overtly in line with what he read in the Bible and in 2004, at the age of 23, he was baptised there.

His decision produced a strong reaction from his family – though not because they were devout Muslims: they were more concerned that his decision might result in a physical attack; most Turkish people believe that being Turkish means being a Muslim and some might be prepared to punish Hasan for his apostasy.

Now, while working part-time for Love Publishing to support himself, he is in the final year of his university degree in Political Science. Eager to share his faith with his fellow students, he finds that this is not particularly easy.

“They are open to religious discussions,” he says, “but they don’t want God to spoil their enjoyment of life.” (WR 400/21 - 03.06) [3 photos]