After decades of official neglect and mistrust, Turkey has taken several steps to ensure the rights of the country's non-Muslim religious minorities, and thus guarantee that the rule of law is applied equally for all Turkish citizens, regardless of individuals' religion, ethnicity or language.

Turkey's religious minorities include Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Assyrian, Kaldani and other Christian denominations, as well as Jews, all of whom are integral parts of Turkish society.

As part of the Turkish government's new initiative to end any sort of discrimination against these non-Muslim communities, President Abdullah Gul has emphasized that message by receiving Bartholemew, the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Istanbul, and by visiting a church and a synagogue in Hatay — a first by a Turkish president.