Since the days of the Ottomans, Turkey was always an oasis of subdued minority Ottomans. And the Jews in Turkey as a religious minority have enjoyed an atmosphere of coexistence.
Cultural Pluralism nourished Turkey’s Lands
Minorities such as the Armenians, Syriacs and Chaldeans in the southeast and east Anatolia, the Romans in the west, and the Jews throughout the Ottoman Empire have always been embraced well.
In Anatolia, minorities have always coexisted, and this region has always received immigrants from around the world.
There are those who came from the Caucasus region, and others from Arab countries, and from Europe, noting that Turkey is a wonderful country, and it has always formed a civilization that is open to other cultures.
Turkish Government’s Fair Policies towards Minorities
The successive Turkish governments that have taken over the administration of the country in the last 15 years have worked to meet the demands of minorities through a new approach.
The endowments of minorities entered the stage of recovering their immovable property under the governments of justice and development. Indeed, some minorities have already recovered their properties, which in the past transferred their ownership to the state.
The recent restoration of a Syriac Catholic church by the Endowments Council in the General Directorate of Endowments. In addition to the decision last year to return 55 properties of the Syriac community in the state of Mardin in southeastern Turkey.
The Ottomans gave everyone a Chance to Coexist
The Jews who were forced to emigrate from Spain to the Ottoman lands by the “Al-Hamra Decree” issued in 1492 lived in tranquility over the ages in Ottoman society.
Speaking to Anatolia on the occasion of the anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain; The Ottomans gave the Jews 6 months to change their religion, or leave Spain no later than August 2, 1492.
Bayazid II, the eighth of the Ottoman sultans (1447 – 1512), was surprised by the Spanish decision.
He asked, directing his words to “Fernando II”: “How can we describe a ruler as a wise man if he enriches my country while impoverishing his country?”
It stated that; 150,000 of 300,000 Jews who immigrated around the world following the decree reached the Ottoman lands safely via ships sent by the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II to Spain. Unlike the Spanish king, Beyazid II viewed the Jews as a reliable component of trade.
Although the Jews who arrived in the Ottoman lands and lost their possessions in Spain, succeeded, in return; in preserving their culture and experiences, under the Ottoman Empire, which “provided the opportunity for the coexistence of all on these lands.”
The Ottomans did not tend to differentiate between its citizens on the basis of language, religion, and ethnicity. It created an environment for coexistence between the various components over hundreds of years. Jews and Turks still live to this day side by side in Turkey, and they exchange congratulations on holidays.
The Jews in Turkey practiced their Religion Freely.
The Christians who controlled the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) forced the Jews to convert to Christianity. The expelled those who did not accept it.
The Jews practiced their religion freely in the Ottoman lands. As they lived freely in Andalusia during the Muslim era. The difficulties did not begin until after the Christians took control of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Christians did not want the existence of any different religion in that region. And that led to the expulsion of the Jews first, and after them the Muslims.
With the exception of some unfortunate individual incidents; Jews have lived peacefully throughout the ages in the Ottoman Empire, and have not been subjected to any policy of forcible assimilation in society.