Is it a mosque or a museum
Hagia Sofia is at the center of controversy in Turkey
,67$1%8/ ² ,n its more than , year e[istence, the maMestic domed structure of +agia 6ophia in ,stanbul has served as the %y]antine (mpire¶s main cathedral, a mosque under the 2ttoman (mpire and a museum under modern 7urkey, attracting millions of tourists each year.
7he th century building is now at the center of a heated debate between nationalist, conservative and religious groups who are pressing for it to be reconverted back into a mosque and those who be lieve the 81(6&2 :orld +eritage site should remain a museum, underscoring ,s tanbul¶s status as a bridge be tween continents and cultures.
2n 7hursday, 7urkey¶s &ouncil of 6tate, the coun try¶s highest administrative court, begins reviewing a re quest by a group devoted to reverting +agia 6ophia into a mosque. 7hey are pressing to annul a decision by the &ouncil of Ministers, led by secular 7urkey¶s founder Mustafa .emal $taturk, that turned the historic structure into a museum. $ decision could come later 7hursday or within two weeks, the state run $nadolu $gency report ed.
President 5ecep 7ayyip (rdogan, who leads an ,slam ic oriented party, has previ ously spoken about possibly changing +agia 6ophia¶s sta tus to a mosque but has said his government would await the &ouncil of 6tate¶s deci sion.
$nalysts believe that (rdo gan ² a populist, polari]ing leader who in nearly two de cades in office has frequently blamed 7urkey¶s secular elites for the country¶s problems ² is using the +agia 6ophia debate to consolidate his con servative base and to distract attention from 7urkey¶s sub stantial economic woes.
“7his is not Must a debate about a building,” said 6on er &agaptay, 7urkey analyst for the :ashington ,nstitute. “$taturk established +agia 6ophia as a museum to under line his vision of seculari]ing 7urkey. $nd nearly years later, (rdogan is trying to do the opposite.”
“(rdogan feels the pres sure of popular support dwin dling and therefore he wants to use issues that he hopes will remobili]e his right wing base around nativist, popu list, anti elitist topics,” said &agaptay, author of the book “(rdogan¶s (mpire.”
%uilt under %y]antine (m peror -ustinian, +agia 6ophia was the main seat of the (ast ern 2rthodo[ church for cen turies, where emperors were crowned amidst ornate mar ble and mosaic decorations.
)our minarets were added to the terracotta hued struc ture with cascading domes and the building was turned into an imperial mosque fol lowing the 2ttoman conquest of &onstantinople ² the city that is now ,stan bul.
7he building opened its doors as a museum in , a year after the &ouncil of Min isters¶ decision.
,slamist groups, however, regard the symbolic structure as a legacy of 2ttoman 6ultan Mehmet the &onqueror and strongly obMect to its status as a museum. /arge crowds have gathered outside +agia 6ophia on the May anni versary of the city¶s conquest to pray and demand that it be restored as a place of Muslim worship.
,n the past few years, 7ur key has been allowing read ings from the 4uran inside +agia 6ophia and (rdogan himself has recited prayers there. 7his year, he oversaw by video conference the recit al of the “prayer of conquest” on the anniversary of the 2t toman conquest.
2n 7uesday, ,stan bul based (cumenical Patri arch %artholomew ,, consid ered the spiritual leader of the world¶s 2rthodo[ &hristians, noted that +agia 6ophia had served as a place of worship for &hristians for years and for Muslims for years.
“$s a museum, +agia 6o phia can function as a place and symbol of encounter, di alogue and peaceful coe[is tence of peoples and cultures, mutual understand and soli darity between &hristianity and ,slam,” he said.
%artholomew added “the potential conversion of +agia 6ophia into a mosque will turn millions of &hristians across the world against ,slam.”
8.6. 6ecretary of 6tate Mike Pompeo also urged 7ur key on :ednesday to keep +agia 6ophia as a museum to serve as “an e[emplar of its commitment to respect faith traditions and diverse histo ry.” +e called on the govern ment in $nkara to ensure the structure remains “accessible to all.”
“7he 8nited 6tates views a change in the status of the +agia 6ophia as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and its unsurpassed ability²so rare in the mod ern world²to serve human ity as a much needed bridge between those of differing faith traditions and cultures,” Pompeo said in a statement.
+ours later, )oreign Min istry spokesman +ami $ksoy e[pressed “bewilderment” at Pompeo¶s comments, saying 7urkey has been protecting +agia 6ophia¶s “historic, cul tural and sentimental” values since the conquest.
$ksoy added that the issue was domestic “+agia 6ophia, like all cultural assets on our lands, is the property of 7ur key.”
*reece also strongly ob Mects to attempts to change +agia 6ophia into a mosque, arguing that its designation as a historic monument must be maintained.
“, hope that President (r dogan does not proceed with something that will deeply hurt 7urkey,” *reek )oreign Minister 1ikos 'endias said. “7his monument has endured many things and it will al ways return, but 7urkey¶s im age will take a severe blow.”
7urkish media reports say the government was consider ing the possibility of keeping +agia 6ophia open to tourists even if it were turned into a mosque. 7hat status would be similar to ,stanbul¶s %lue Mosque, which sits right across from +agia 6ophia and functions both as a house of worship and a tourist spot.
+urriyet and other media have reported that +agia 6o phia could be reconverted into a mosque by a public holiday on -uly , when the country marks the fourth anniversary of the foiling of an attempted coup.