It is well established that , before and during the Armenian Genocide , forced conversions ( involving forced circumcisions ) of Armenian boys and men were frequent . " In many cases young Armenian children were spared from deportation by local Turks who took them from their families . The children were coerced into denouncing Christianity and becoming Muslims , and were then given new Turkish names . For Armenian boys the forced conversion meant they each had to endure painful circumcision as required by Islamic custom . " During the Istanbul Pogrom in September 1955 , " many Greek men , including at least one priest , were subjected to forced circumcision . " As a result of the pogrom , the Greek minority eventually emigrated from Turkey . In 2002 there was a report that non-Muslim army recruits in Turkey had been threatened with forced circumcision . Cases are documented where Syro-Orthodox men serving in the Turkish military forces have been threatened with forced circumcision . In 1991 , a young Christian Turk , fleeing from forced circumcision in the Turkish military forces , was granted asylum in Germany
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Forced circumcision