Thank you for your reading and interest in the news Hagia Sophia: converting museum to mosque 'will undermine Turkey's image' and now with details
Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - Reverting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a political gambit that will further undermine Turkey’s global standing on freedom of religion and minority rights, according to a leading expert on religious heritage.
Turkey’s top administrative court on Friday announced its decision to revoke the 1,500-year-old former cathedral’s status as a museum. The ruling paved the way for it to be opened as a mosque again, a change championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Erdogan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a political ploy to boost his waning voter support while also a move to mark his legacy,” said Tugba Tanyeri Erdemir, a member of Turkey’s Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh whose focus is on the management minority religious sites.
But taking such a step will also harm Turkey’s reputation, said Dr Tanyeri Erdemir.
“Turkey already has a problematic track record when it comes to minority rights and freedom of religion or belief,” she said.
“Hagia Sophia's conversion will further undermine the country’s global image. Senior officials from the United States, Russia and Greece have already expressed their concerns over Erdogan's proposed conversion plans and many others from around the world will without a doubt join them.”
Built by the Byzantines in the 6th century, Hagia Sophia was for centuries the world’s largest building, a centrepiece for Christianity and an engineering marvel. After conquering Istanbul in 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II made it a place of worship for Muslims.
In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s secular regime turned it into a museum, a decree at the centre of Friday’s announcement by the Council of State. It was designated a Unesco World Heritage site in the 1980s.
Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that was a Byzantine cathedral before being converted into a mosque which is currently a museum, is seen in Istanbul, Turkey. REUTERS
Istanbul shows Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece. The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believers of all faiths. AFP
Istanbul shows Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece. The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believers of all faiths. AFP
People visit the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. AP Photo
A view of the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. AP Photo
A Muslim cleric recites the "prayer conquest" from the Quran, Islam's holy book, inside Istanbul's 6th-century Hagia Sophia — the main cathedral of the Byzantine Empire which was converted into a mosque with the Ottoman conquest of the city, then known as Constantinople, in 1453, in Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. AP Photo
People visit the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. AP Photo
An aerial view of the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. AP Photo
In this Friday, March 24, 2017 file photo, people walk backdropped by the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
A Turkish visitor prays in front of the Apsis, sacred part facing the eastern direction of Hagia Sophia, inside Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece. The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believers of all faiths. AFP
A Turkish visitor prays in front of the Apsis, sacred part facing the eastern direction of Hagia Sophia, inside Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece. The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believers of all faiths. AFP
People visit Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece. The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believers of all faiths. AFP
People visit Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece. The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believers of all faiths. AFP
People visit Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was a Byzantine cathedral before being converted into a mosque which is currently a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. REUTERS
The verdict has been highly anticipated since Mr Erdogan revived the debate in recent weeks.
Before last year, the president remained outwardly ambivalent about Hagia Sophia but in the run-up to local elections he outlined his support for its role as a mosque.
In May, he appeared on a giant screen as an imam recited the Quran from the iconic monument to mark the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest, an appearance that sparked an outpouring of support for re-designating the site.
The status of the building, which received 3.7 million visitors last year, has served as a rallying cry for Mr Erdogan’s conservative and nationalist base and some observers say the president has used the issue to distract voters.
Pro-government media has suggested the multi-domed structure could open as a mosque on July 15 – the fourth anniversary of a coup attempt against Mr Erdogan.
Dr Tanyeri Erdemir said the move also risked inspiring religious extremists and threatened other cultural sites across the region.
Mr Erdogan’s use of “a rhetoric of conquest” in justifying the change had set a dangerous precedent for religious minorities in Turkey and the Middle East, she said.
“It can embolden extremists to intensify their campaign of forced conversion and destruction of minority heritage sites.”
Berk Esen, associate professor of international relations at Bilkent University in Ankara, said that although Hagia Sophia had been a significant issue for pious voters since it was made a museum, he did not think it would “change the situation very much for Erdogan and Turkish politics”.
“I don’t think many voters, in the middle of an economic crisis, have been waiting anxiously for this,” he said.
Religious minorities in Turkey, Dr Esen added, had “no illusions about the current government, which has been proceeding in this direction for some time, so this will only solidify that image”.
Changing the building’s status was foreshadowed in several other cases since 2011 where museums that had been churches and later mosques were reverted to mosques.
The case led to foreign officials and church leaders calling on Turkey to back away from reclaiming the building, known as Aya Sofya in Turkish, for Islam.
However, Talha Kose, chair of political science and international relations at Istanbul’s Ibn Haldun University, said the monument could remain open to non-Muslims outside prayer times, as is the nearby Blue Mosque.
“I don’t think other nations or political actors should intervene in Turkey’s decisions in this issue, this is totally a domestic matter,” he said.
“Pressuring Turkey in this matter is counterproductive. There may be a dialogue with Unesco though. It is a cultural heritage site and should stay like that but it does not contradict the decision of opening as a mosque.”
On Friday, Unesco said governments “must ensure that no modification is made to the outstanding universal value” of World Heritage sites. In a statement, the agency called on Turkey to “engage in dialogue before taking any decision that might impact the universal value of the site”.
Hagia Sophia’s transformation has also raised fears about the preservation of the building and its historic treasures.
Dr Tanyeri Erdemir said the conversion of three other former churches-turned-museums had resulted in “substantial damage to the historical fabric of the edifices”.
Updated: July 12, 2020 11:22 PM
These were the details of the news Hagia Sophia: converting museum to mosque 'will undermine Turkey's image' for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at The National and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
