W. Bank expo highlights Ottoman-era religious tolerance

An exhibition devoted to the religious freedom enjoyed by non-Muslims in Ottoman-era Jerusalem opened Wednesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The event was attended by Mahmoud al-Habash, an advisor to the Palestinian president for Islamic affairs; Youssef Edies, Palestinian minister of religious endowments; Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohamed Ahmed Hussein; Uğur Ünal, director of the Turkish State Archive; and Turkish Ambassador to Palestine Ghoran Türkoğlu.

"The exhibition highlights the religious toleration that prevailed under Ottoman rule, such as tax exemptions for churches," Ünal told Anadolu Agency.

According to Edies, the exhibition also reveals the close relationship between Palestine and the Ottoman imperial administration and the many rights granted non-Muslims in Ottoman-era Jerusalem.

"Documents [displayed at the exhibition] confirm the religious toleration shown by the Ottoman authorities vis-à-vis non-Muslims," Edies told Anadolu Agency.

He also praised contemporary Palestine-Turkey relations, hailing the "continued support of Turkey's presidency, government and people for the Palestinian cause and Jerusalem in the face of the American plot against the holy city".

Issa Mosleh, a spokesman for Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, for his part, said the documents also served to shed light on "the scope of the Palestinian Muslim and Christian presence -- in Palestine in general and Jerusalem in particular".

"What's more," Mosleh added, "this exhibition sends a message to U.S. President Donald Trump -- who has recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital -- that we are the true owners of this city."