Reactions As Turkey Converts Iconic ‘Hagia Sophia’ To Mosque

Cat:

Related stories

Drama as 16, 17-year-olds Now Allowed to Vote In UK Elections

By Abiola Olawale  The government of the United Kingdom announced...

Brazil’s Petrobras Weighs Return to Retail Fuel Market to Reduce Prices

Brazil’s Petrobras will discuss this week tweaking its mid-to-long-term...

Base Handover: France Ends Decades-Long Military Presence in Senegal

By Abiola Olawale France on Thursday officially ended its 65-year...

Turkey will convert Hagia Sophia, an iconic cultural site back into a functioning mosque. The millenary place of worship was turned into a museum in 1934.

The country’s top administrative court annulled Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum early on Friday morning.

Shortly after, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a presidential decree that transferred management of the site from the Ministry of Culture to the Diyanet, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs.

Read also: FG May Seek Remand Order To Extend Magu’s Detention

“It was concluded that the settlement deed allocated it as a mosque and its use outside this character is not possible legally,” the court ruled.

“The cabinet decision in 1934 that ended its use as a mosque and defined it as a museum did not comply with laws.”

Unesco, which has classified the structure as a World Heritage site, urged Turkey not to change the status without discussion, the BBC.

Unesco warned that the “effective, inclusive and equitable participation of communities and other stakeholders concerned by the property is a necessary condition for the preservation of heritage and for the enhancement of its uniqueness and significance.”

The Hagia Sophia was originally founded as the first cathedral in the Roman Empire, but the Ottomans converted the cathedral to a mosque following the fall of Constantinople.

In 1934, Turkey’s founder and national hero Mustafa Kemal Ataturk turned the mosque into a museum in accordance with the secular approach of his new government.

The museum has remained at the center of the struggle between the country’s conservative Muslims and its more secular elements. A portion of the museum was set aside for worship starting in 1991, but the country’s Islamists have petitioned for decades to fully revert the site to a place of worship.

Shortly after the announcement, a small crowd gathered outside the Hagia Sophia, some of them chanting “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great.”

It is not clear what rule changes would follow the conversion. Erdogan may only open the site for special occasions, as he did to mark the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of the city, the New York Times reported.

However, his fundamentalist supporters may demand freedom to enter the building for daily prayers.

The move has already drawn criticism from historic preservationists, members of the Eastern Orthodox faiths and western religious freedom advocates, according to the Independent.

In addition to its historical significance, the museum has been a major draw for tourism, attracting 3.7 million visitors last year alone.

“The nationalism displayed by President Erdogan… takes his country back six centuries,” Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a statement.

“Opening up Hagia Sophia to worship doesn’t keep local or foreign tourists from visiting the site,” Ibrahim Kalin, Turkey’s presidential spokesperson, told Anadolu Agency.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Ankara government to maintain the site as a museum.

“The United States views a change in the status of the Hagia Sophia as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and its unsurpassed ability – so rare in the modern world – to serve as a much-needed bridge between those of differing faith traditions and cultures,” he said in a statement.

(SOURCE: FOX NEWS)

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
2027: Buhari’s exit Cripples APC in entire North as CPC Loyalists Defect in Large NumbersDrama as 16, 17-year-olds Now Allowed to Vote In UK ElectionsSenate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by TrumpBrazil’s Petrobras Weighs Return to Retail Fuel Market to Reduce PricesBase Handover: France Ends Decades-Long Military Presence in Senegal5 Oil Titans Who Revolutionized the Energy Sector2027: Dele Momodu dumps PDP for Coalition party, ADCBuhari's Honour: Tinubu holds special FEC session as Nigerians Mourn late Hero, Statesman. First Bank Crisis: In High-Stake Intrigues, Otedola Seizes Control with 40% Stake as Oba Otudeko Exits in N324.47bn DealElderstatesman, Emeka Anyaoku, Speaks Again , Urges Nigeria to Adopt a "People’s Democratic Constitution""Nigeria's challenges not about the constitution, but its operators", says ObasanjoNigeria Surpasses OPEC’s 1.5 Million Barrel Oil Quota in June 2025Natasha vs Akpabio: Senate President Heads to Court, Challenges Court Order to Reinstate SenatorOluwo Commends Awujale's Burial, Says Late Monarchs Shouldn't Be "Butchered Like Animals"Alleged N6.9Billion Fraud: Drama as Ex-Governor Fayose Wins in Court
X whatsapp