The Turkish government made a historic U-turn in state policy this past weekend, issuing an official decree inviting Turkey’s Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim their long-confiscated religious properties. Last Saturday’s decree comes 75 years after the Turkish government seized hundreds of lands and buildings owned by its Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Jewish communities. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the surprise decision last Sunday in Istanbul, addressing a large gathering of Istanbul’s non-Muslim religious leaders. Invited as the honoured guests for an iftar (breaking the fast) meal near the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, Erdogan declared, ‘The times when citizens in our country were oppressed for their beliefs, their ethnic heritage or the way they dressed is over.’ Acknowledging past injustices inflicted on those of different faith groups, he vowed, ‘Those days are over, no citizen is superior to another.’

Praise: God for this bold decision by the Turkish government. (Pr.16:33)

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