After decades of official neglect and mistrust, Turkey has taken several steps to ensure the rights of the country’s non-Muslim religious minorities, and thus guarantee that the rule of law is applied equally to all Turkish citizens, regardless of religion, ethnicity or language.
Turkey’s religious minorities include Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Assyrian, Kaldani and other Christian denominations, as well as Jews, all of whom are integral parts of Turkish society. As part of the Turkish government’s new initiative to end discrimination against these non-Muslim communities, Turkish President Abdullah Gul has emphasized that message by receiving the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Istanbul Bartholemew and by visiting a church and a synagogue in Hatay Province — a first by a Turkish president.
In August 2009, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with leaders of religious minorities on Buyukada, the largest of the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara, and listened to their problems and concerns, a clear signal of the government’s intent to buttress their sense of civil inclusion.
As deputy prime minister, I met with representatives of religious minorities in March 2010 and visited the Armenian and Greek Orthodox Patriarchies in 2010 and last year. Likewise, Turkish Minister for European Union Affairs Egemen Bag?s has met with the leaders of these communities on several occasions.
Beyond establishing warm relations between the Turkish government and the country’s religious minorities, official policy has been changing as well. In May 2010, the prime minister issued an official statement that warned public servants and citizens against any discrimination against religious minorities, and that emphasized the absolute equality of Turkey’s non-Muslim citizens.
However, the groundwork for the initiatives of recent years was laid much earlier. In August 2003, the Erdogan-led government introduced legal changes to resolve property-rights issues related to religious minority associations. For the first time in the history of the Turkish Republic, 365 landholdings and buildings belonging to minority communities were legally registered under their name.
In 2008, the government, in the face of fierce opposition from other political parties, changed the Law of Associations and allowed religious-minority associations to purchase real estate (and to receive contributions, regardless of size, from abroad).
Then, in August last year, an important amendment to the associations law mandated the return of more than 350 properties to religious minorities. As part of these changes, the Greek-Orthodox Girls School in Beyoglu, Istanbul, and the Jewish Community Center in Izmir were granted legal status, ending a century-old dispute.
Even before that, in November 2010, the Greek-Orthodox Orphanage on Halki Island was returned to the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchy. In order to facilitate their religious duties, the Orthodox metropolitans were granted Turkish citizenship. Furthermore, the Turkish Associations Council, the country’s highest authority on religious associations, now includes, for the first time, a non-Muslim member representing minority faiths.
Moreover, the Turkish -Directorate-General of Associations has been charged with the task of renovating houses of worship used by religious minorities, including the historic Aya Nikola Church in Gokceada Canakkale, and the Assyrian Catholic Church and Greek Catholic Church in Iskenderun. A number of other churches and synagogues are also under renovation.
The authorities have also taken many other historically and symbolically important steps. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has renovated the Panagia Sumela Monastery, a 1,600-year-old church in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast. The first mass in decades was held in August 2010, led by Bartholomew and attended by hundreds of worshippers from Greece, Russia, Georgia, Europe, the US and Turkey.
Another milestone was the renovation and opening of the 1,100-year old Armenian Aghtamar Church in March 2007. The first mass in 95 years was held in the church, led by the Armenian Archbishop Aram Atesyan and attended by thousands of worshipers.
These measures have been taken to address the long--standing problems of Turkey’s non-Muslim religious minorities.
Turkish Muslims have lived with Jewish and Christian communities for centuries and treated them with respect and compassion. We are determined to solve their remaining problems, and we believe that we can do so through mutual trust and cooperation.
Turkey’s Jews and Christians are full citizens with equal rights, and we will work to ensure that this reality is recognized in all areas of national life.
Bulent Arinc is deputy prime minister of Turkey.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
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