BFF-39, 40 Erdogan rebuffs criticism over Hagia Sophia conversion to mosque

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Erdogan rebuffs criticism over Hagia Sophia conversion to mosque

ISTANBUL, July 11, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
on Saturday rejected worldwide condemnation over Turkey’s decision to
convert the Byzantine-era monument Hagia Sophia back into a mosque,
saying it represented his country’s will to use its “sovereign
rights”.

Erdogan, who critics say is chipping away at the Muslim-majority
country’s secular pillars, announced Friday that Muslim prayers would
begin on July 24 at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

In the past, he has repeatedly called for the stunning building to
be renamed as a mosque and in 2018, he recited a verse from the Koran
at Hagia Sophia.

“Those who do not take a step against Islamophobia in their own
countries … attack Turkey’s will to use its sovereign rights,”
Erdogan said during a ceremony he attended via video-conference.

A magnet for tourists worldwide, the Hagia Sophia was first
constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was
converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople
in 1453.

Erdogan’s announcement came after a top court cancelled a 1934
cabinet decision under modern Turkey’s secularising founder Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk to preserve the church-turned-mosque as a museum.

The court ruled that “there are no provisions whatsoever in the
convention (concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage) that prevents … the usage of the Hagia Sophia in
accordance with domestic law.”

Erdogan then signed a presidential decree handing the control of the
“Hagia Sophia Mosque” to Turkey’s religious affairs directorate,
Diyanet.

“We made this decision not looking at what others say but looking
what our right is and what our nation wants, just like what we have
done in Syria, in Libya and elsewhere,” the Turkish leader said
Saturday.

– ‘A blow to global Christianity’ –

Erdogan went ahead with the plan despite appeals from NATO ally the
United States and from Russia, with which Ankara has forged close
relations in recent years.

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Greece swiftly condemned the move as a provocation, France deplored it
while the United States also expressed disappointment.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Saturday
Moscow regretted the decision.

“The cathedral is on Turkey’s territory, but it is without question
everybody’s heritage,” he told the Interfax news agency.

The influential bishop Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox
Church’s department for external church relations, also expressed his
sorrow.

“It is a blow to global Christianity … For us (Hagia Sophia)
remains a cathedral dedicated to the Saviour,” he told state TV
Rossiya24 late Friday.

And the World Council of Churches, which represents 350 Christian
churches, said it had written to Turkey’s president expressing their
“grief and dismay”.

But Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara director of the German Marshall
Fund, told AFP the move would win hearts and minds at home as most
Turks “would favour such a decision for religious or nationalist
sentiments.

“This is a debate president Erdogan cannot lose and the opposition
cannot win. As a matter of fact, this issue also has the potential to
disunite the opposition parties.”

Erdogan’s nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli welcomed the decision,
saying that reopening Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship “has long been
our desire.”

– ‘It is closed’-

After Friday’s decision, hundreds gathered outside the iconic
building and performed evening prayers.

On Saturday, police had put up barriers around the Hagia Sophia.

“We wanted to come and visit Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia museum
but unfortunately we realised that from today it is closed,” said
Renato Daleo, tourist from Italy.

Ksennia Bessonova, a Russian living in Istanbul flanked by her
16-month-old daughter and her husband, said they had also wanted to
visit. “It was our little dream because since our daughter was born we
were not able to come and here we go,” she said.

She hoped the authorities would not change anything inside.

“From what our friends and family were telling us it was something
special and we wanted to feel the same. At the moment I am not sure
what to expect but I feel sad in a way.”

On Friday, Erdogan gave assurances that the Hagia Sophia would be
open to all visitors, including non-Muslims.

“The Hagia Sophia’s doors will remain open to visitors from all
around the world,” his press aide, Fahrettin Altun tweeted Saturday.

“People of all religious denominations are welcome and encouraged to
visit it – just as they have been able to visit other mosques,
including the Blue Mosque.”

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