Istanbul, Turkiye \u2013<\/strong> Pope Leo XIV has chosen Turkiye for his first foreign trip as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, a deeply symbolic move that minority community representatives say is taking place at a time of renewed openness in the Muslim-majority country.<\/p>\n During his visit this week, the pontiff held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met religious leaders and visited places of worship in the country where Christianity\u2019s deep roots sit alongside a long and influential Islamic tradition.<\/p>\n Today, Turkiye\u2019s population of more than 80 million people is at least 99 percent Muslim, yet the country remains home to centuries-old Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Latin Christian communities that have long been part of its social fabric.<\/p>\n After decades shaped by political tensions, demographic change and property disputes, representatives of minority foundations say today\u2019s climate offers greater visibility and confidence than they have experienced in decades. They also see the timing of Pope Leo\u2019s visit as reflective of a period in which historic foundations feel more able to restore properties, organise religious life and engage directly with state bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is, first of all, a great honour for Turkiye,\u201d Manolis Kostidis, vice president of the Greek Foundations Association, told Al Jazeera of the pope\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also extremely important for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and for the Greek community. Istanbul has hosted empires for centuries, and welcoming such a guest shows the value of the patriarchate \u2013 especially with the support the Turkish government has given in recent years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In the early decades of the Turkish Republic, Turkiye\u2019s Greek, Armenian and Syriac populations numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Their decline over the 20th century was shaped by a series of political ruptures \u2013 from the 1942 Wealth Tax, which disproportionately targeted non-Muslims, to the 1955 Istanbul pogrom that devastated Greek, Armenian and Jewish neighbourhoods, and the 1964 deportation of more than 12,000 Greek citizens amid tensions over Cyprus.<\/p>\n Other administrative restrictions and legal rulings followed in subsequent decades, gradually accelerating emigration. Today, the remaining communities are far smaller, yet their representatives stress resilience, continuity and a deep sense of belonging to the country they have lived in for centuries.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Turkiye\u2019s population is 85 million, we are about 85,000 \u2013 one in a thousand,\u201d Can Ustabas\u0131, head of the Minority Foundations Representative Office, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cCommunities that were once in the millions are now tiny. We\u2019re citizens of this country, but history brought us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n While the pressures affecting minority groups through the 20th century are widely documented, community representatives agree that the atmosphere of the past two decades stands in sharp contrast.<\/p>\n From the 2000s onward, minority foundations benefitted from a number of legal changes.<\/p>\n The Foundations Law, first drafted in the Ottoman era and later adapted by the Republic, governs how non-Muslim charitable foundations own, manage and inherit property. A series of European Union-driven harmonisation packages between 2003 and 2008 expanded their ability to register assets, reclaim properties seized under earlier rulings, and receive donations and inheritances again.<\/p>\n This culminated in a 2011 government decree instructing the return \u2013 or compensation \u2013 of properties that had been taken from foundations under the 1974 Court of Cassation ruling and earlier administrative practices.<\/p>\n \u201cErdogan\u2019s instruction to \u2018return what rightfully belongs to them\u2019 changed the attitude of every state body. Previously, getting permission to paint a church took years. Now, doors open easily,\u201d Ustabasi said.<\/p>\n Lawyer Kezban Hatemi, who has advised minority foundations for decades, agreed that this has been \u201ca major reform\u201d but noted that more needed to be done. \u201cSome cases are still ongoing \u2013 this kind of historical process never ends quickly,\u201d Hatemi told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n According to Hatemi, the earlier reluctance of state institutions was rooted in a decades-old mentality shaped by security fears and restrictive legal interpretations. She said minority foundations faced layers of bureaucratic obstacles for years, with even basic repairs or property registrations blocked. This only began to shift when EU harmonisation reforms created a new legal framework and political resolve emerged to act on it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU process gave real momentum \u2013 but it also took political will,\u201d she said, noting that \u201ca major blockage was removed\u201d even as old fears loom for some.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople abroad still say: \u2018Don\u2019t buy property in Istanbul, you never know what could happen.\u2019 The memory from the 40s to the 70s is still very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Ustabasi noted that while the process has not always been straightforward, some 1,250 properties \u201cwere returned through EU harmonisation reforms and changes to the Foundations Law\u201d between 2003 and 2018.<\/p>\n Kostidis said the impact of the return of the properties has not only been material. \u201cIt makes us feel like full citizens,\u201d he said, noting that \u201cminorities have lived one of their most comfortable periods\u201d since Erdogan came to power in 2003.<\/p>\n One of the clearest signs of renewed confidence is among Syriacs, particularly in Tur Abdin \u2013 the historic heartland of Syriac Christianity in southeastern Turkiye that stretches across Midyat and the wider Mardin region. In these villages, return migration has slowly begun to reverse.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who emigrated to Europe are building homes again in Midyat and its villages,\u201d Ustabasi said. \u201cThe roads are better than Istanbul, security is solid, and some are even preparing to live there long term.\u201d<\/p>\n He linked the shift directly to improved security conditions in the southeast, a region that for decades was affected by clashes between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party, or PKK, making travel and daily life unpredictable. \u201cA Turkiye without terrorism opens many doors. People feel safe travelling, restoring homes, returning to their villages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kostidis said returns to Turkiye\u2019s largest city of Istanbul are also possible \u2013 but require practical fixes.<\/p>\n \u201cLarge-scale returns are unlikely. But yes, some will come back if residency issues are fixed,\u201d he said, calling for \u201ca special regulation\u201d for Greeks from Istanbul with Greek citizenship.<\/p>\n \u201cAll communities \u2013 Muslim, Jewish, Armenian, Syriac, Greek \u2013 should live in this city. Istanbul\u2019s strength has always been its plurality.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite significant progress, several legal and administrative issues remain unresolved, with the representatives citing foundation board elections, legal ambiguity around autonomy and longstanding cases in some properties\u2019 handover.<\/p>\n Ustabasi called for changes in the legal framework, while Hatemi noted the state \u201cstill intervenes in foundation governance in ways it never does with Muslim foundations. This mentality hasn\u2019t fully changed \u2013 but I\u2019m hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n Turkish-Armenian journalist and writer Etyen Mahcupyan said the pace of reform shifted after a failed coup attempt in 2016, when state bureaucracy regained influence over politics and decision-making.<\/p>\n He believes restitution slowed as a result, but said momentum could return if Turkiye \u201cbrings EU membership back to the forefront\u201d. Turkiye started talks to join the bloc in 2005, but the accession bid has effectively been frozen.<\/p>\n Mahcupyan views Pope Leo\u2019s visit as carrying political and symbolic resonance, given that the pope is seen not only as a religious figure but also as a political actor.<\/p>\n \u201cConsidering Turkiye\u2019s foreign policy ambitions, this visit offers positive contributions. Ankara wants to shape a Turkiye that is accepted in global politics \u2013 and the world seems ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahcupyan noted the pope\u2019s \u201cclear position\u201d on Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza \u201caligns closely with Turkiye\u2019s own line. This kind of convergence is important. It prevents Turkiye from turning inward, helps the world look at Turkiye more gently \u2013 and softens attitudes towards non-Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said the visit helps ensure minority communities \u201care not forgotten\u201d.<\/p>\n Kostidis agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cA Muslim-majority country hosting the leaders of the Christian world \u2013 you can\u2019t give a more powerful message than this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Istanbul, Turkiye \u2013 Pope Leo XIV has chosen Turkiye for his first foreign trip as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, a deeply symbolic move that minority community representatives say is taking place at a time of renewed openness in the Muslim-majority country. During his visit this week, the pontiff held talks with President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Pope](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AFP__20251129__86JK9EN__v1__HighRes__TurkeyVaticanPopeDiplomacy-1764417581.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80\")
\u2018One of most comfortable periods\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AFP__20251129__86JQ4WQ__v1__HighRes__TurkeyVaticanPopeDiplomacy-1764417553.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C502&quality=80\")
\u2018Powerful message\u2019<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"