Turkish court OKs using cathedral as mosque again
Changing sixth-century Hagia Sophia could stir international protests
ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree Friday ordering Hagia Sophia to be opened for Muslim prayers, an action likely to provoke international furor around a World Heritage Site cherished by Christians and Muslims alike for its religious significance, for its stunning structure and as a symbol of conquest.
The presidential decree came minutes after a Turkish court announced that it had revoked Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, which for the last 80 years had made it a monument of relative harmony and a symbol of the secularism that was part of the foundation of the modern Turkish state.
Built in the sixth century as a cathedral, Hagia Sophia stands as the greatest example of Byzantine Christian architecture in the world. But it has been a source of Christian-Muslim rivalry, having stood at the center of Christendom for nearly a millennium and then, after being conquered, of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, when it was last used as a mosque.
Erdogan’s decree transferred control of the site to the Religious Affairs Directorate, sealing the removal of its museum status and allowing Hagia Sophia to become a mosque again.
It was a decision long sought by conservative Muslims in Turkey and beyond but one which opponents say Erdogan intends to stir his nationalist and religious base as his popularity wanes after 18 years.
In a post on Twitter that included a copy of the decree, Erdogan wrote “Hayirli olsun,” or “Congratulations.”
Immediately after the announcement, a small crowd gathered outside Hagia Sophia, some of them chanting “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great.” Television footage showed police placing barriers across the entrance to the monument.
It was not clear how the ruling would change life around the monument. Cevdet Yilmaz, spokesman for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, known as the AKP, said the government would determine how to carry out the change.
Erdogan defended the decision as Turkey’s right and said it represented the will of many Turks. He added, the action of turning it from a mosque into a museum had been illegal, but pledged that the mosque would continue to be open to Muslims and non-Muslims.
“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,” he said in a live television address.
Entry to the monument would be free of charge, forgoing the ticket price from several million visitors a year, and the first prayers inside Hagia Sophia will take place July 24. Just before he spoke, several hundred people gathered outside Hagia Sophia to celebrate a prayer of thanksgiving, recording the call of the muezzin on their phones, and then bent in unison for the evening prayer on the esplanade in front of the building.
Erdogan may choose to hold prayers only on ceremonial occasions, as he did to mark the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of the city in May. But his supporters may demand freedom to enter the building for daily prayers.