New status of Hagia Sophia

While the decision by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have pleased his Islamist followers and his populist base, millions of Turks, as the country’s Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk noted, “are crying against this but their voices are not heard”. The move has not only shaken the world, it has also divided the nation.

Built some 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453. It was turned into a museum on the orders of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of secular Turkey in 1934. The majestic complex has been declared by Unicef as a World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

Some sections of conservative Muslims had long campaigned for reopening the complex for prayers but they were in a minority. Turkey’s strong secular culture would not permit restoration of the heritage as a place of worship. However, the rise of the Islamists led by Erdogan is changing the country’s political landscape.

undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined