Erdogan moots renaming Hagia Sophia a mosque
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mooted the possibility of renaming Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum as a mosque, in comments during a television interview.
Asked whether the entrance fee to the landmark might be waived, he said: “It’s not impossible ... but we won’t do it under the name ‘museum’ but ‘Hagia Sophia mosque’.”
He added: “Tourists come and go at the Blue Mosque. Do they pay anything? ... Well, we will do the same with the Hagia Sophia.”
Erdogan, who is a former mayor of Istanbul, is campaigning for votes for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of municipal elections on March 31.
The former church and mosque, now a museum, often sparks tensions between Christians and Muslims over Islamic activities held there, including the reading of verses from the Quran or collective prayers.
Its secular status allows believers of all faiths to meditate, reflect or simply enjoy its astonishing architecture.
But calls for it to serve again as a mosque have caused anger among Christians and raised tensions between historic foes Turkey and Greece, both Nato members.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the Hagia Sophia in February.
“You can feel the burden of history here,” he said.
Greece has repeatedly expressed concern over efforts to change the museum’s status.
But Erdogan raised the issue again after the March 15 shootings in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50 people.
In speeches, he has denounced a passage in the gunman’s “manifesto” in which he said the Hagia Sophia would be “liberated” of its minarets. — AFP