I tried to track down some of this from other sources. Of all places, I find the following at a Christian website:

"There's a reaction against Christianity by Islamists and nationalist groups," observed Ihsan Ozbek, chairman of the Alliance of Protestant Churches (APC). "The missionary issue is being used by them to spoil the relationship between Turkey and the EU."

...and then on the sermon, I was right to mistrust The Economist again:

Back in February, the Turkish Daily News had reported that a sermon prepared by the Religious Affairs Directorate would be read in all the nation's mosques on March 11, portraying Christian missionaries as the "new Crusaders." Reportedly this came "as a reaction to missionary activities in Turkey and EU demands for religious expression."

But in an apparent backdown, the directorate's website indicates that a different sermon was preached in its place.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}