Tayyip Erdogan Won The Case, Opening Hagia Sophia To The Working Mosque

Tayyip Erdogan has fulfilled his goal of restoring the magnificent Byzantine structure as a working mosque. The devoted Muslims embraced the decision, while it has sowed the seed of chaos among faithful Christians and architectural conservators. “With the pressure of Muslim people, it is reconverted,” stressed Sulahattin Yageter, a retired businessman sitting on a prayer mat with his wife in a 1500-years-old building.

The President executed his long-term desire after the court decision to recast the historical heritage of Christians and Muslims into a working mosque. On 21st July, he recommenced the museum in Turkey’s black sea province of Trabzon as a mosque through a video conference ceremony. On 24th July, the massive crowd of reverent Muslims congregated around the Hagia Sophia for Friday prayer in pre-dawn hours, exhibiting their enthusiasm for their religion. To procure the Muslim archival patrimony was the crowning moment for the Government’s head in 18 years of his leadership. He thought the monastery was a legal place for Muslims, and its transformation into a museum was illegal in the past. According to the judgment, as the eccentric museum was historically and culturally significant and a renowned tourist site, the mosque’s doors will remain unlatched for visitors.

“Hagia Sophia could be a working mosque and be open to visitors in the same way that Notre Dame cathedral and the Sacre Coeur basilica in France hold services and are open to tourists,” said Ibrahim Kalin, Presidential Spokesman. Moreover, for the stability of relationships with other countries, he said: “The opening of Hagia Sophia for worship does not prevent local or foreign tourists from visiting the place.” Tayyip Erdogan said: “Hagia Sophia, the common heritage of humanity, will go forward to embrace everyone with its new status in a much more sincere and much more unique way.”

This decision to reopen Hagia Sophia or Ayasofia (Turkish name) has caused consternation among Europeans because Muslims are not just converting the museum into a mosque. The matter is so complicated. The issue due to which Europeans are exasperated exposed behind the history of the building. Hagia Sophia literally means ‘the wisdom of God’ in Constantinople was under Christian rule. It was initially built with its full splendour in 537 CE by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was known for its unrivalled and magnificent dome, representing the realm of heaven and its glory. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Muhammad Fatah decided to turn the majestic church into a mosque as a symbolic act. He didn’t order to convert the church by force; instead bought it officially. So, Muslims legally turned the building into one of Islam’s holiest sites.

For 500 years, it remained a cherished worship house of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Along with the Ottoman Empire’s tumble, the building’s social position was remodified. In 1934, under Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, the secular Muslim founded the modern Turkish republic; Hagia Sophia was illegitimately revoked to a museum in line with its secularist policy. Since then, the site has been a unique and fascinating attraction for tourists internationally. According to Tayyip Erdogan, it’s the right of Muslims to make it their religious house. So, he converted it into a mosque.

Hagia Sophia is symbolically high-weighted. Just as Hagia Sophia’s mosque is a profound historical symbol of Turkish Muslims, Hagia Sophia Church is a religious symbol for Greek orthodox Christians. The decision caused desperation among faithful Christians and Europeans. The Christian concerns about changing status of the sixth-century mosque are:

UNESCO:

UNESCO said its World Heritage Committee would review Hagia Sophia’s rank, saying: “it was regrettable that the Turkish decision was not the subject of dialog nor notification beforehand.”

“It is important to avoid any implementing measure, without prior discussion with UNESCO, that would affect physical access to the site, the structure of the buildings, the site’s moveable property, or the site’s management,” Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture.

Church leader:

The Russian Orthodox Church previously urged caution over calls to alter the status of the historic former cathedral. He exhibited trepidation at Turkey’s decision to convert the museum into a mosque and ignore the voices of millions of Christians. “The concern of millions of Christians has not been heard,” Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said in comments taken by the Russian news agency Interfax.

“Today’s court ruling shows that all calls for the need for extreme delicacy in this matter were ignored,” Legoida said.

Russian Patriarch Krill said he was “deeply concerned” about such a potential move and stated it was a “threat to the whole of Christian civilization.”

Cypriot:

Nikos Christodoulides, Cypriot Foreign Minister, posted on his official Twitter account: “strongly condemns Turkey’s actions on Hagia Sophia in its effort to distract domestic opinion and calls on Turkey to respect its international obligations.”

USA:

Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokesperson, said in his statement: “We are disappointed by the Government of Turkey’s decision to change the status of the Hagia Sophia. “We understand the Turkish Government remains committed to maintaining access to the Hagia Sophia for all visitors and look forward to hearing its plans for continued stewardship of the Hagia Sophia to ensure it remains accessible without impediment for all.”

The European Union:

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell designated the decision “regrettable.” In his statement, he said, “The ruling by the Turkish Council of State to overturn one of modern Turkey’s landmark decisions and President Erdogan’s decision to place the monument under the management of the Religious Affairs Presidency is regrettable .”

Current condition:

The Christians observed that Turkey did not need another mosque because it already has a great many. Moreover, Hagia Sophia has been opened to Islamic worshipers by decree. Indeed official Muslim mosque has already taken place at the museum. Although the reaction of the world against the move to reconvert the iconic Haghia Sophia is desperation, it’s just a piece of satisfaction for Islamic Turkish and other Muslims.

Based on their point of view, the conflict over Hagia Sophia is not justifiable. Mr Erdogan’s Supporters told the world that the building is the third holiest site of Islam after the mosque of Makkah and Al-Aqsa and contended that once a mosque, it should never be desecrated. Erdogan argued that: “The resurrection of Hagia Sophia as a mosque was of value to the entire Muslim world, from “Bukhara to Andalusia,” and was analogous to the “liberation” of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem,”

Davelet Bachele said: “Hagia Sophia is the conquest Mosque of the Muslim Turkish nation. This truth will not change”.

According to Erdogan’s conversion of the status of Hagia Sophia in 1934 was illegal because it was the official site of Muslims. The place of the mosque must not have been converted as it is the rule of Islam. The President rejected the global criticism over the Hagia Sophia decision.

My thoughts on this aspect:

Here above are the points of controversy with references from both sides. From my perspective, the Turks Muslims owned the right to experience the Hagia Sophia as their worship house as it is the guide of Islam to not desecrate the mosque by transforming it. Hence the decision to change its status to the museum in Mustafa Kamal was unacceptable. Although when Mehmed conquered Constantinople, he bought the church legally to convert that into a mosque. So, it is officially the possession of Muslims, and Christians have no right to raise trepidation against the decision. Even they cannot take any step against Turkey because it is a self-dependent country and has the right to follow its court’s decisions