 In 1974 new legislation was passed that stated that non @-@ Muslim trusts could not own more property than that which had been registered under their name in 1936 . As a result , more than 1 @,@ 400 assets ( included churches , schools , residential buildings , hospitals , summer camps , cemeteries , and orphanages ) of the Istanbul Armenian community since 1936 were retrospectively classified as illegal acquisitions and seized by the state . Under the legislation , the Turkish courts rendered Turkish citizens of non @-@ Turkish descent as " foreigners " , thereby placing them under the same legal regulations of any foreign company or property holder living outside of Turkey who was not a Turkish national . The provisions further provided that foundations belonging to non @-@ Muslims are a potential " threat " to national security . The process involved returning any property acquired after 1936 , whether through lottery , will , donation , or purchase , to their former owners or inheritors . If former owners had died leaving no inheritors , the property was to be transferred to specified governmental agencies such as the Treasury or the Directorate General of Foundations . 
