“Please Do Not Erase Us: An Open Letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Leaders of the World.”

TO:

His Excellency Recep Tayyip ErdoğanPresident of the Republic of TürkiyeChairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)President associated with the 2026–2035 Decade of Family and Population policy framework

Cevdet YılmazVice President of the Republic of TürkiyeSenior government official involved in the administration's broader family, population and national policy agenda

Akın GürlekMinister of Justice of the Republic of TürkiyeJustice Minister who publicly announced and described the Ailem Güvende — “My Family Is Safe” enforcement operation

Mahinur Özdemir GöktaşMinister of Family and Social Services of the Republic of TürkiyeMinister responsible for major components of Türkiye's family, population, birth-support and social-services policies

Belgin UygurAK Party Deputy Chair for Civil Society and Public RelationsMember of the AK Party Central Executive Committee

Özlem ZenginAK Party Parliamentary Group Deputy ChairMember of the AK Party Central Executive Committee

Dr. Leyla Şahin UstaAK Party Parliamentary Group Deputy ChairMember of Parliament for AnkaraMember of the AK Party Central Executive Committee

Fatma Betül Sayan KayaAK Party Deputy Chair for Social PoliciesMember of the AK Party Central Executive Committee

Tuğba Işık ErcanChairwoman of the AK Party Women's BranchesMember of the AK Party Central Executive Committee

Nilhan AyanAK Party Vice President for Environment and Urbanization PoliciesMember of the AK Party Central Executive Committee

To the Chief Public Prosecutors and Offices of:

Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's OfficeAnkara Chief Public Prosecutor's Officeİzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's OfficeAydın Chief Public Prosecutor's OfficeMersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office

These prosecutorial offices have been identified by the Turkish government in connection with investigations conducted under the Ailem Güvende operation.

To the Turkish National Police — Emniyet Genel MüdürlüğüLaw-enforcement institution involved in the implementation of the operations.

To the Turkish Gendarmerie — Jandarma Genel KomutanlığıLaw-enforcement institution involved in the implementation of the operations.

And to all Turkish government officials, lawmakers, political leaders, religious leaders and public institutions whose decisions, policies or public statements affect the freedom, safety, dignity and human rights of LGBTQIA+ people in Türkiye.

9-21-2026

Dear God, please reveal the truth and help me to reach the heart of President Erdogan, and to the government of Turkey, and to leaders worldwide who embrace the movement to eliminate LGBTQIA+ lives from society.  Dear Allah please give me the words and help your followers to see the truth of this moment. Thank You, and so it is. Amen, Ameen

Dear President, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, To all World Leaders & Et Al

I am writing to you from the heart of Humanity, from the Heart of God, of the Creator of Humankind. It is with great sadness that I must write to you for what I have seen in your government recently and around the world towards LGBTQIA+ people.

The Crisis you believe you face and others Globally and concerns of family values, birth rates, & national security are not caused by LGBTQ people. I am Transgendered, I am a Transgender Woman, I am a part of the group you are now persecuting and blaming for the fall of what you claim to be traditional family values, or morality or low birth rates.

More than being Transgendered, I am Human, I am Spiritual, and I am a beloved Child of God and Allah. I child of The Universe and I belong to all faiths, all religions and none at all. If I were to stand before you and many others in the world, would you Love me as I am? Or would you torture, imprison and kill me? To make laws against LGBTQIA+ people to criminalize their existence is the same thing as Killing them, imposing unimaginable pain, grief suffering and harm, it is a form of spiritual, physical, mental and emotional violence, God is watching, Allah is watching, Buddha is Watching, Bog (Бог) of Russia is watching, Brahman is watching, The God of the Atheist of China is Watching, Jesus of Nazareth is Watching, God by any and all names is watching.

As I stand before you and other nations, you would rather see me tortured, stoned, hanged, beaten, humiliated, denied freedom, starved, drowned, burned alive, otherwise eradicated from this earth. But yet God made me, God created me and gave me life, yet humans who claim to believe in this Loving God who created me as I am- would try to deny the right to exist. Please do not Kill Me. You are Killing me, and Killing others like me, suppression, repression, are all forms of eradication. It is death by erasure, & silence.

I am your child; I am the child of all those who hate LBTQIA+ people. God is watching, God weeps for humanity.

Dear Allah, Dear God what is your message for these leaders and government who claim follow you, and believe in you, and claim you as their God?

“In prayer, these are the words that came through me”

My Dear Followers It is I Allah, God, and The God of all names to all people and to Atheist and Agnostics, it is I the Allah of Turkey to Sunni Islam, to Russia, China, The United States, to Muslims everywhere, to the Middle East, to everywhere in the world that has caused suffering and harm to LGBTQIA+ people, I have been watching you and I am sad that you would kill your brothers and sisters whom I have given to be your companions in this world.

I have been watching you and trying to guide you to Love as I Love. Unconditionally. It is very simple you must stop harming and killing. You are the cause of great disharmony in the world, because your hearts are full of hatred, lust for power, and wealth, you desire to control your brothers and sisters. It is not my way, your fear is your God, you are full of fear and lead with fear, when you should lead with love.

Your actions are not an example of my love and teaching. I have sent many before you to show you the way and you have persecuted them; you have killed them. As you are still doing today. “I sent prophets and messengers among you—including Jesus, whom Muslims know as ʿĪsā—to call humanity toward God” For others I sent Jesus known to them as my Son and the world persecuted him.

Today I still send you Messengers and still today you deny them, you persecute them, you KILL them.

That is not of me, do not proclaim you follow me or love me and yet have hatred in your hearts and kill your brothers and sisters. You must pray for forgiveness and to release and let go of your fears.

I do not wish to weep for you any longer, know that I am watching over and protecting all my children. I love all my creations. I have made the ones you so despise, they are my special creations, and I will be with them, and for any suffering at your hands they have endured they will be greatly rewarded when they are reunited with me.

I love you, I bless you, and I ask that you embrace all my children with open arms and Love.

Thank You, God, Thank You Allah, thank you to the God of All Creation for using me as a channel, although they will not believe, I know that making the attempt and the demonstration of your love is what’s most important.

I thank you, and I know we will be reunited in Heaven, until that time, help me to help your children. And so it is, Amen

Sincerely, Your Messenger of the Least of these…

Rev. Paula Josephine Sadler

Universal Rainbow Faith Church

p.s, I have written an article that will illustrate the problem your country faces and others and a solution that does not include harming others.

A Prayer for LGBTQIA+ and Transgender People Facing Persecution Around the World

Dear God,Dear Allah,Dear Creator of All Life,Divine Love known by many names and beyond every name,

Today we pray for our LGBTQIA+ and transgender brothers, sisters, siblings, children, parents, families, friends, and loved ones throughout the world.

We pray especially for those in Türkiye, Russia, China, throughout the Middle East, the United States, and in every nation where LGBTQIA+ people are criminalized, persecuted, silenced, imprisoned, threatened, beaten, tortured, rejected, erased, or killed simply for being who they are.

We pray for those who are afraid to speak their own names.

For those who hide who they are in order to survive.

For those who cannot tell their families.

For those whose families have rejected them.

For those who are afraid of their government.

For those who fear the police.

For those who fear religious authorities.

For those who fear their neighbors.

For those who fear losing their homes, their jobs, their families, their freedom, or their lives.

God, let them know:

You are not alone.

You are not forgotten.

You are not a mistake.

You are not immoral because of who you are.

You are not less worthy because another person does not understand you.

You are not less sacred because a government writes a law against you.

You are not less holy because someone condemns you.

You are not erased simply because someone tries to erase you.

You are here.

You are alive.

You are part of humanity.

You belong to this Earth.

And you are loved.

Dear God, wrap Your arms around every LGBTQIA+ person who is frightened tonight.

Sit beside those who are crying.

Stand beside those who are being judged.

Walk beside those who are fleeing persecution.

Give shelter to those who have been turned away.

Give food to those who have been abandoned.

Give safety to those who are being hunted.

Give hope to those who believe there is no tomorrow.

Give courage to those who must stand before governments, courts, families, churches, mosques, temples, schools, employers, and communities and say:

This is who I am.

Give strength to every transgender person whose very existence has become the subject of political debate.

Remind them that they are more than legislation.

More than a headline.

More than an argument.

More than an identity document.

More than someone's ideology.

They are human beings.

They are souls.

They are children of Creation.

And no government decree can remove the Divine Light within them.

Dear Allah, protect Your LGBTQIA+ children in Türkiye and throughout the Muslim world.

Protect those who pray to You while being told that You do not love them.

Speak quietly into their hearts:

I know you.I see you.I hear you.I am with you.

Let them know that no human being owns You.

No government owns You.

No religion can imprison You.

No leader can use Your name to extinguish the Light You placed inside another human being.

Dear God, protect LGBTQIA+ people in Russia.

Protect those forced into silence.

Protect those afraid to organize, speak, love, gather, or simply exist openly.

May courage rise where fear has been planted.

May truth survive where truth is censored.

May love survive where love is forbidden.

Dear Creator, protect LGBTQIA+ people in China.

Protect those whose voices disappear from public spaces.

Protect those who feel unseen.

Remind them that invisibility imposed by others does not diminish their existence.

They are still here.

Their lives still matter.

Their love still matters.

Their stories still matter.

Dear God, protect LGBTQIA+ people throughout the Middle East and in every country where consensual love can lead to arrest, imprisonment, violence, or death.

Stand beside those sitting in jail cells.

Stand beside those awaiting judgment.

Stand beside those forced into marriages they did not choose.

Stand beside those escaping violence.

Stand beside those who believe death would be easier than continuing to hide.

Whisper into their hearts:

Stay.Hold on.Your story is not finished.

Dear God, protect LGBTQIA+ and transgender people in the United States.

Protect those who feel that freedoms they once believed secure are becoming uncertain.

Protect transgender children.

Protect their parents.

Protect transgender adults.

Protect our elders.

Protect LGBTQIA+ families.

Protect our places of worship.

Protect our organizations.

Protect our right to speak, gather, pray, love, live, and exist openly.

Give us wisdom to meet fear without becoming consumed by fear ourselves.

Give us courage to resist hatred without learning to hate.

Give us strength to confront injustice without surrendering our humanity.

And when the world becomes loud with condemnation, let Your Love become louder.

When politicians use us as symbols, remind the world that we are people.

When governments turn us into problems, remind the world that we are neighbors.

When religions turn us into sinners, remind humanity that judgment belongs not to those who hate but to the Mystery greater than all of us.

When someone says we should disappear, let a thousand voices answer:

We are still here.

When someone says we are dangerous, let our lives demonstrate compassion.

When someone says we destroy families, surround the world with LGBTQIA+ families full of love.

When someone says we have no place in religion, raise up ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, spiritual teachers, churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, communities, and people of faith who proclaim:

There is room at God's table for everyone.

Dear God,

Give courage to the frightened.

Strength to the weary.

Rest to the exhausted.

Healing to the wounded.

Justice to the persecuted.

Freedom to the imprisoned.

Community to the lonely.

Family to those who have lost theirs.

Faith to those who are losing hope.

And protection to those whose lives are in danger.

Raise up allies who will speak when others cannot.

Raise up lawyers who will defend.

Raise up journalists who will tell the truth.

Raise up doctors and caregivers who will heal.

Raise up clergy who will refuse to weaponize religion.

Raise up families who will choose their children over prejudice.

Raise up governments that understand that human dignity is not something granted by the state.

And raise up LGBTQIA+ people themselves to know the extraordinary strength that generations before them have carried.

We remember those who came before us.

Those whose names history recorded.

Those whose names were forgotten.

Those imprisoned.

Those institutionalized.

Those criminalized.

Those driven from their homes.

Those murdered.

Those who died believing they were alone.

We remember them.

And we promise:

You will not be forgotten.

May their courage live within us.

May their suffering never be repeated.

May their lives become seeds from which greater freedom grows.

Dear Creator,

Turn the hearts of those who persecute.

Where there is fear, bring understanding.

Where there is ignorance, bring wisdom.

Where there is hatred, bring compassion.

Where there is cruelty, awaken conscience.

Where there is hunger for power, awaken humility.

Where religion has been used as a weapon, restore it as a pathway toward Love.

And where governments have forgotten the humanity of the people they govern, remind them:

Every law touches a human life.

Every arrest has a family.

Every act of repression creates suffering.

Every person erased from public life still has a soul, a story, and someone who loves them.

May the day come when no child must ask whether God loves them because they are gay.

May the day come when no transgender person must wonder whether living authentically will cost them their life.

May the day come when no couple must hide whom they love.

May the day come when no government fears diversity.

May the day come when no religion requires another human being's suffering in order to prove its faithfulness.

May the day come when the Rainbow is recognized everywhere for what it has always been:

A sign of hope after the storm.

Until that day,

Give us courage.

Give us strength.

Give us wisdom.

Give us endurance.

Give us one another.

And above all,

Give us Love.

To every LGBTQIA+ and transgender person hearing these words:

You are loved.

You are worthy.

You are sacred.

You belong.

You are not alone.

Your life has value.

Your voice matters.

Your existence is not a mistake.

And no government, no law, no politician, no religious authority, no prison, no act of hatred, and no campaign of erasure can extinguish the Divine Light that lives within you.

May that Light protect you.

May that Light guide you.

May that Light strengthen you.

May that Light surround you.

And may that Light lead humanity toward a world where every person can live openly, freely, safely, and with dignity.

We hold every persecuted LGBTQIA+ person throughout the world in the Rainbow Light of Love.

May you be protected.

May you be strengthened.

May you be liberated.

May you know peace.

May you know that you are loved.

And may we never stop working for the day when persecution ends.

And so it is.

Amen.Ameen.Blessed Be.

Rev. Paula Josephine Sadler Universal Rainbow Faith ChurchActivating the Rainbow Light of Love