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Voice of America
Sept 20 2005
Turkey an Example of Religious Tolerance for 500 years
By Miguel Angel Rivera
Istanbul
Turkey is 90 percent Muslim. But in parts of the large cities, there
are pockets of people of different faiths. VOA's Miguel Rivera looks
at three houses of worship that share adjacent parcels in Kuzguncuk,
Istanbul.
Kuzguncuk is an ancient part of Istanbul, the only city in the world
that lies in two continents: Asia and Europe. For hundreds of years
its been inhabited by Muslims, Jews, and Christians; Turks, Armenians
and Greeks.
Kuzguncuk lies on the Asian side of the Bosporus Strait. There is a
church, a mosque, and a synagogue, right beside each other. The
priest of the Armenian Orthodox Church, using a key made in 1835,
opens the doors to a Christian world within a Muslim one. The priest
is one of a few who come from another part of Istanbul to serve the
faithful. And when he says `faithful,' he is referring to Jews and
Muslims, as well as Christians, who enter this holy place to pray.
"There is no difference between us,' says priest Mehmet Biraz.
'Muslims come in here to light a candle. Yes, Muslims come to pray
here. They light the candle and they pray. There is no difference.
There is only one God and different paths to that God."
The church leader says cooperating on every level is vital for
offsetting the religious negativity he finds in politics. He says
ties with others are still strong.
"We have good relations with the neighborhood. We are buying things
from this area because we want the local merchants to benefit from
our trade. In the political world there is the appearance that
religions have problems among themselves. But at the people level, we
have no problems among ourselves."
A small park adjoining the mosque, synagogue, and church
A woman has been living in front of the church and mosque for 20
years.
"Very beautiful... We live in peace here,' she says. 'Everybody loves
each other. This mosque on this side, and the synagogue on the other,
being so close to each other, shows that Turks really accept
different religions and cultures."
It is a fresh late morning, after a rain, and faithful Turks await
the arrival of the imam, or hoja -- the religious leader to direct
them in midday prayers -- and prepare to pray with ritual cleansing.
The land the mosque sits on was a gift -- from the Armenian Orthodox
Church.
For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire promoted religious
tolerance. Modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal, also known as
Ataturk, rejected tying his new government to Islam, even prohibiting
the use of traditional clothing in favor of western wear. Religious
tolerance was also his government's policy.
"We have good relationships with our neighbors the Armenians and the
Greeks. They come to our funerals. We go to their funerals,' says
Mahmut Uslu, a worshipper at the mosque. `The Armenian Church is
older than ours. Ataturk's new republic had an open door policy to
all religions. The Sufi's with Mevlana (known in the Western world as
Rumi) also had the same idea hundreds of years before. No matter what
country or creed, you can come to our home. Religion is important,
not what religion you belong to."
Imam Aydin Vatan has led prayers in the Kuzguncuk mosque for years.
"We are all very close, like the flesh and fingernail. We are all
together. Nobody can separate us, Christians, Jews, and Turks."
There are more than 22,000 Jews in Turkey. Most of them live in
Istanbul. There was an influx into the Ottoman Empire during the last
years of the 15th Century, after Jews and Muslims were expelled from
Spain during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Jews held senior positions in the sultan's government. Rabbi Cenk
Misraji is the highest-ranking Jewish leader in Asian Turkey.
"From the moment of our arrival more than 500 years ago, there has
been great religious tolerance in Turkey. We have been able to follow
our religion, and open our synagogues wherever we desired. We were
free to follow our traditions, practices and Jewish customs," said
the rabbi.
There have been some glaring exceptions to the general tolerance of
Turkish society. The Christian Armenians say they were the victims of
Ottoman genocide in 1915, when thousands died. The Turks deny the
accusation. Turks and Kurds, fellow Muslims, have battled each other
for years in parts of the country where the Kurds are found.
And there have been terrorist attacks against Jewish targets, most
recently in 2003.
But in this neighborhood, there is a different history.
Here in Kuzguncuk, a Muslim -- in a gesture of brotherhood --
designed, constructed, and donated a small park with its delicate
fountain in front of the doors of the synagogue, behind, and
adjoining, the mosque and the church.
Sept 20 2005
Turkey an Example of Religious Tolerance for 500 years
By Miguel Angel Rivera
Istanbul
Turkey is 90 percent Muslim. But in parts of the large cities, there
are pockets of people of different faiths. VOA's Miguel Rivera looks
at three houses of worship that share adjacent parcels in Kuzguncuk,
Istanbul.
Kuzguncuk is an ancient part of Istanbul, the only city in the world
that lies in two continents: Asia and Europe. For hundreds of years
its been inhabited by Muslims, Jews, and Christians; Turks, Armenians
and Greeks.
Kuzguncuk lies on the Asian side of the Bosporus Strait. There is a
church, a mosque, and a synagogue, right beside each other. The
priest of the Armenian Orthodox Church, using a key made in 1835,
opens the doors to a Christian world within a Muslim one. The priest
is one of a few who come from another part of Istanbul to serve the
faithful. And when he says `faithful,' he is referring to Jews and
Muslims, as well as Christians, who enter this holy place to pray.
"There is no difference between us,' says priest Mehmet Biraz.
'Muslims come in here to light a candle. Yes, Muslims come to pray
here. They light the candle and they pray. There is no difference.
There is only one God and different paths to that God."
The church leader says cooperating on every level is vital for
offsetting the religious negativity he finds in politics. He says
ties with others are still strong.
"We have good relations with the neighborhood. We are buying things
from this area because we want the local merchants to benefit from
our trade. In the political world there is the appearance that
religions have problems among themselves. But at the people level, we
have no problems among ourselves."
A small park adjoining the mosque, synagogue, and church
A woman has been living in front of the church and mosque for 20
years.
"Very beautiful... We live in peace here,' she says. 'Everybody loves
each other. This mosque on this side, and the synagogue on the other,
being so close to each other, shows that Turks really accept
different religions and cultures."
It is a fresh late morning, after a rain, and faithful Turks await
the arrival of the imam, or hoja -- the religious leader to direct
them in midday prayers -- and prepare to pray with ritual cleansing.
The land the mosque sits on was a gift -- from the Armenian Orthodox
Church.
For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire promoted religious
tolerance. Modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal, also known as
Ataturk, rejected tying his new government to Islam, even prohibiting
the use of traditional clothing in favor of western wear. Religious
tolerance was also his government's policy.
"We have good relationships with our neighbors the Armenians and the
Greeks. They come to our funerals. We go to their funerals,' says
Mahmut Uslu, a worshipper at the mosque. `The Armenian Church is
older than ours. Ataturk's new republic had an open door policy to
all religions. The Sufi's with Mevlana (known in the Western world as
Rumi) also had the same idea hundreds of years before. No matter what
country or creed, you can come to our home. Religion is important,
not what religion you belong to."
Imam Aydin Vatan has led prayers in the Kuzguncuk mosque for years.
"We are all very close, like the flesh and fingernail. We are all
together. Nobody can separate us, Christians, Jews, and Turks."
There are more than 22,000 Jews in Turkey. Most of them live in
Istanbul. There was an influx into the Ottoman Empire during the last
years of the 15th Century, after Jews and Muslims were expelled from
Spain during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Jews held senior positions in the sultan's government. Rabbi Cenk
Misraji is the highest-ranking Jewish leader in Asian Turkey.
"From the moment of our arrival more than 500 years ago, there has
been great religious tolerance in Turkey. We have been able to follow
our religion, and open our synagogues wherever we desired. We were
free to follow our traditions, practices and Jewish customs," said
the rabbi.
There have been some glaring exceptions to the general tolerance of
Turkish society. The Christian Armenians say they were the victims of
Ottoman genocide in 1915, when thousands died. The Turks deny the
accusation. Turks and Kurds, fellow Muslims, have battled each other
for years in parts of the country where the Kurds are found.
And there have been terrorist attacks against Jewish targets, most
recently in 2003.
But in this neighborhood, there is a different history.
Here in Kuzguncuk, a Muslim -- in a gesture of brotherhood --
designed, constructed, and donated a small park with its delicate
fountain in front of the doors of the synagogue, behind, and
adjoining, the mosque and the church.