ABSTRACT
This article surveys how Turkish writings on missionaries developed chronologically and contextually over the years. It focuses on publications over three periods in the history of modern Turkey beginning with publications from the late 1920s and the 30s, which are studied as early examples of Turkish writings on missionaries. It also analyses the second wave of anti-missionary writings which came during the 1950s and 1960s. Lastly, this work looks at the writings on missionaries during the 1990s and early 2000s. These publications represent the elements of the general literature on missionary activities in modern Turkey, which are generally colored with nationalist sentiments in a broad sense. Although some of the works studied in this article might not be considered as academic as others in terms of their methods of approach, they are still very important in allowing us to better understand the development of the history of the intellectual discussions amongst Turkish writers on missionaries and their roles in the past and present. This study is an attempt to build a parallel correlation over three periods in order to better understand the roles of missionaries, the spaces they built and their status in the collective memory of Turkish people.