06/03/2021 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – The Turkish DNA project, created to help Turks learn more about their genealogy, called for a boycott of Ancestry.com. In a now-deleted tweet, the group claimed that Ancestry.com “demonized” Turks.
The original tweet included screenshots from the website that outlined how Pontian Greeks were forced to assimilate, including learning Turkish and adopting Islam to gain better opportunities. Greeks and Armenians, in particular, were forced to assimilate, denying their Christian heritage and often facing ethnic cleansing under the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey’s persistent refusal to recognize the historical persecution of minorities in its borders often causes more suffering for those same groups. Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut said in a tweet responding to the Turkish DNA project, “Why are Turkish nationalists so terrified of the truth? Because if they face it, the lies they’ve come up with will be shattered to the ground. Through these lies, hatred has grown which made them commit so many crimes against Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and others.”
And yet, companies like Ancestry.com have led many Turks to discover their own heritage and that they are in fact Islamized Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks. These Turks then often explore Christianity again as they delve into their cultural and religious backgrounds.