No. 99
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In November 2023, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published a substantive report, “Examination of Threats to Religious Sites in Turkey.” It details Turkey’s poor record toward its religious minority communities by presenting evidence of how threats and attacks directed at sites such as places of worship, cemeteries, and religious institutions are met with little or no action by Turkish authorities.
AHI welcomes the USCIRF report’s candid and stark assessment of Turkey’s poor treatment of specific religious sites for all religious minorities. AHI has long maintained that Turkey stands in violation of the International Religious Freedom Act (IFRA) and reiterates its call for the United States to hold Turkey accountable under IRFA.
USCIRF Report’s Findings
The 52-page report outlines the Turkish government’s persecution of the Greek Orthodox community through the confiscation of property. In particular, it explains the case of the Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage. Turkey shut down the building due to political tensions between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus in the 1960s. The Ecumenical Patriarchate brought a restitution lawsuit over the orphanage in 2005, and the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of the Patriarchate in 2018. However, by that time, the orphanage had fallen into disrepair due to neglect and the Turkish government’s obstruction in allowing for repairs. The American Hellenic Institute has frequently noted the Turkish government’s confiscation of property owned by the Patriarchate.
Furthermore, the report explains that although the Turkish government has periodically restored dilapidated Greek and Armenian churches during the past decade, it has always done so without any input from the Greek or Armenian communities. Moreover, the Turkish government stonewalled the Ecumenical Patriarchate when it tried to engage in its own initiative to restore them. For instance, the Ecumenical Patriarchate purchased two abandoned historical Greek Orthodox churches in the province of Bursa in 2011, which had been under the ownership of local Muslims, with the intention of turning them into local cultural centers that would occasionally hold worship services. However, the Turkish government prevented the restoration project for over a decade by constantly demanding changes to the architectural plans. In addition, treasure hunters have targeted Greek Orthodox churches, most prominently the St. Ioannis Prodromos Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul. The church had been victimized despite being under the jurisdiction of the General Directorate of Foundations as well as being in the middle of a metropolis.
The report clarified that the Turkish government has failed to prosecute those who threaten Turkey’s religious minority community and heritage, including individuals who engage in threats, intimidation, treasure hunting, and vandalism against minority religious communities and/or religious sites. While Turkish police are aware of these malign actions, they rarely follow through on the prosecution of these crimes. As such, the report demonstrates that the Turkish government either targets minority religious communities, such as through property confiscation, or neglects to protect religious minority communities and sites. It is evident that Turkey’s violations of religious freedom and disrespect for religious sites and minority culture heritage is deep rooted and systemic.
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The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center and think tank that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.
For additional information, please contact us at (561) 529-0306 or [email protected]. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at http://www.ahiworld.org.