By Sa’ad Abdul Majid, IOL Correspondent

BELEK, Turkey, December 9 (IslamOnline.net) – The inauguration of the “Garden of Religions” center in Turkey drew criticism within the ranks of the Turkish society, with observers dubbing it as a “message” to the leaders of the European Union who are to meet in a week to discuss Turkey’s request to join their block.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday, December 8, opened the religious tolerance center, comprising a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Attending the ceremony were Dutch European Affairs Minister Atzo Nikolai, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, members of the diplomatic community in Ankara as well as religious leaders of Turkey's Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan said his country has responded to all terms of the Copenhagen Treaty on Human Rights, adding the ball was now in the field of the European Union to grant Turkey a date to start negotiations for accession talks.

He further said religious tolerance was a heritage of the Ottoman Empire and quoted edicts by Mehmet the Conqueror, the sultan who took Istanbul in 1453, ordering respect for non-Muslims.

“Owing to this great historical experience, Turkey is today the guarantor of peace and brotherhood in its region.”

“People will be able to freely practice their religions in this center. This is a very important message,” Nikolai said, quoted by Anatolia news agency.

“The EU will continue to encourage reforms in Turkey,” Nikolai said. “There could be frictions sometimes, but the reforms Turkey has undertaken are encouraging.”

The Dutch minister was in Turkey for consultations with Turkish leaders in the run-up to an EU summit on December 16-17, at which Ankara is expected to be invited to begin membership talks, though under tough conditions.

Belek is a major tourist center on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, which attracts millions of foreign holiday-makers each year.

While leaders of Turkey's non-Muslim minorities hailed the inauguration of the “Garden of Religions”, the center caused a stir within the Turkish society and among the ranks of Islamic currents.

Turkish daily Millie Gazette, supported by the Islamic leader and former Premier Necmettin Erbakan, and mouthpiece of opposition Sa’ada Party, considered the establishment of the religious center as caving in to foreign desires, predicting it would turn into a Zionist center.

The paper added, in its Tuesday edition, that such center is a step forward in the plan to contain Turkey and marginalize Islam therein under the context of inter-faith dialogue.

The same paper pointed out that Hemet Bakhashwain, former head of Orofa Municipality for Erbakan’s currently banned Islamic Virtue (Fazilet), had turned down the establishment of a similar center in the southern Turkish Orofa governorate that hosts an Arab majority. The aborted center was to be funded by Israel, up to 20 million dollars.

IOL correspondent highlights the unprecedented interest lately by Turkish official and private media in covering the news of non-Muslim minorities after the Justice and Development Party assumed power in November 2002.

He further added that TV stations have been covering Christian and Jewish religious sermons lately from churches and synagogues in Turkish cities.

It is worth noting here that Turkey bans hijab in clubs and social institutions controlled by the army and prevents any veiled reporter from covering news events of any army or official institutions.

Several Turkish students wearing hijab have been kicked out of universities for refusing to take it off.