Analyst: Why Iran respects Christian heritage while Turkey destroys it

Political analyst Stepan Danielyan has drawn a sharp contrast between the approaches of Iran and Turkey toward Christian heritage, arguing that their attitudes reflect deep cultural and historical differences.

In a social media post on Thursday, Danielyan said Iran treats Christian churches and culture with respect, seeing them as part of its broader civilizational legacy. “Iran has a rich cultural and religious heritage and does not suffer from an inferiority complex about its past,” he wrote. “The Iranian civilization did not begin with Islam, nor will it end with it.”

By contrast, Danielyan argued that modern Turkey’s attitude stems from insecurity about its origins. He described the Turkish nation as “a melting pot of converts” that built its identity primarily through Islam. “Remove Islam and there is nothing left,” he claimed. According to Danielyan, this insecurity drives the destruction or conversion of Christian churches into mosques to assert dominance over pre-Islamic cultures.

He added that former Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk tried to create a civic Turkish identity, but his effort raised questions that “undermined Turkish self-perception”. The analyst highlighted that many former church-museums have once again been turned into mosques in recent years.

Danielyan stated that Turkey’s hostility toward Armenia is rooted not in current politics but in a deeper psychological struggle with its own past. “Their hatred is not about us. It is about their history which they try to forget,” he added.