Turkey
Men waves a Turkish national flag and flash the four finger Rabia sign as people gather on July 24, 2020 outside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to attend the Friday prayer. Photo: Ozan Kose / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Friday prayers have begun at Turkey’s Hagia Sophia for the first time in 86 years, since the Istanbul landmark was reconverted to a mosque earlier this month despite international condemnation.
Thousands of worshipers from across Turkey have flocked to Istanbul for a chance to pray in or outside the now-mosque.
Police set up checkpoints around the sites, holding back large crowds gathering around the site after reaching capacity, according to state-owned Daily Sabah.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a key proponent of changing the long-time museum to a place of worship, joined the prayers.
Turkey’s top administrative court ruled on June 10 that the sixth-century Hagia Sophia can be converted into a mosque, annulling a 1934 decision by the government that established the site as a museum, reported state media.
Hagia Sophia was a church under the Byzantine Empire for nearly a millennium, but it was turned into a mosque by the Ottoman Empire and stayed so for nearly five centuries until the founder of modern Turkey, secularist Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned it into a museum in 1934.
In 1985, it was added to UNESCO’s official World Heritage List.
Critics of the decision have condemned the "politicization" of the religious site.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) “condemns the unequivocal politicization of the Hagia Sophia, an architectural wonder that has for so long stood as a cherished testament to a complex history and rich diversity," said its vice chair Tony Perkins.
"Both Christians and Muslims alike ascribe great cultural and spiritual importance to the Hagia Sophia,” he added, saying it holds “universal value to humankind.”
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni also condemned Turkey's decision, calling it "an open provocation."
Thousands of worshipers from across Turkey have flocked to Istanbul for a chance to pray in or outside the now-mosque.
Police set up checkpoints around the sites, holding back large crowds gathering around the site after reaching capacity, according to state-owned Daily Sabah.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a key proponent of changing the long-time museum to a place of worship, joined the prayers.
Turkey’s top administrative court ruled on June 10 that the sixth-century Hagia Sophia can be converted into a mosque, annulling a 1934 decision by the government that established the site as a museum, reported state media.
Hagia Sophia was a church under the Byzantine Empire for nearly a millennium, but it was turned into a mosque by the Ottoman Empire and stayed so for nearly five centuries until the founder of modern Turkey, secularist Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned it into a museum in 1934.
In 1985, it was added to UNESCO’s official World Heritage List.
Critics of the decision have condemned the "politicization" of the religious site.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) “condemns the unequivocal politicization of the Hagia Sophia, an architectural wonder that has for so long stood as a cherished testament to a complex history and rich diversity," said its vice chair Tony Perkins.
"Both Christians and Muslims alike ascribe great cultural and spiritual importance to the Hagia Sophia,” he added, saying it holds “universal value to humankind.”
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni also condemned Turkey's decision, calling it "an open provocation."
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment