TURKEY’S REOPENING OF HAGIA SOPHIA AS MOSQUE ‘EMBOLDENS EXTREMISTS’
▶ Fears that status change could also undermine preservation of building and its historic treasures
Turkey’s highest administrative court on Friday announced its decision to revoke the 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, paving the way for it to be opened as a mosque once again.
Tugba Tanyeri Erdemir, a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s use of “a rhetoric of conquest” in justifying the change set a dangerous precedent for religious minorities in Turkey and the Middle East.
“It can embolden extremists to intensify their campaign of forced conversion and destruction of minority heritage sites,” she told The National.
Dr Tanyeri Erdemir, a member of Turkey’s Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, whose research focuses on managing minority religious sites, said the change of status would damage Turkey’s reputation for tolerance.
“Turkey already has a problematic track record when it comes to minority rights and freedom of religion or belief,” she said.
“Hagia Sophia’s conversion will further undermine the country’s global image. Senior officials from the United States, Russia and Greece have already expressed their concerns over Erdogan’s proposed conversion plans, and many others will, without a doubt, join them.”
Built by the Byzantines in the 6th century, the Hagia Sophia was for centuries the world’s largest building, a centrepiece for Christianity and an engineering marvel.
After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II made it a place of worship for Muslims.
In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s secular government turned it into a museum, a decree that was at the centre of Friday’s announcement. The Hagia Sophia was designated a Unesco World Heritage site in the 1980s.
The verdict was highly anticipated after Mr Erdogan revived the debate in recent weeks.
Before last year, the president was ambivalent about the Hagia Sophia’s status, but in the run-up to local elections he explained his support for its role as a mosque.
In May, he appeared on a giant screen as an imam recited passages from the Quran from the building on the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest, an appearance that sparked an outpouring of support for redesignating the site.
The status of the building, which had 3.7 million visitors last year, was a rallying cry for Mr Erdogan’s conservative and nationalist base, and some observers said the president used the issue to distract voters.
Pro-government media suggested the structure could open as a mosque on July
15 – the fourth anniversary of a coup attempt against Mr Erdogan.
“Erdogan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a political ploy to boost his waning voter support while also a move to mark his legacy,” said Dr Tanyeri Erdemir.
Berk Esen, associate professor of international relations at Bilkent University in Ankara, said the Hagia Sophia had been a significant issue for pious voters since it became a museum.
“However, I don’t think today’s decision will change the situation very much for Erdogan and Turkish politics,” he said. “I don’t think many voters, in the middle of an economic crisis, have been waiting anxiously for this.”
Religious minorities in Turkey, Dr Esen said, had “no illusions about the current government, which has been proceeding in this direction for some time, so this will only solidify that image”.
Changing the building’s status was preceded by other cases since 2011 where museums that were churches and later mosques were reverted to mosques.
The case led to foreign officials and church leaders calling on Turkey to back away from reclaiming the building – known as Ayasofya in Turkish – for Islam.
But Talha Kose, chairman of political science and international relations at Istanbul’s Ibn Haldun University, said the monument could remain open to non-Muslims outside prayer times, as is the nearby Blue Mosque.
“I don’t think other nations or political actors should intervene in Turkey’s decisions in this issue, this is totally a domestic matter,” Prof Kose said.
“Pressuring Turkey in this matter is counterproductive. There may be a dialogue with Unesco, though. It is a cultural heritage site and should stay like that, but it does not contradict the decision of opening as a mosque.”
On Friday, Unesco said governments “must ensure that no modification is made to the outstanding universal value” of World Heritage sites.
The agency called on Turkey to “engage in dialogue before taking any decision that might impact the universal value of the site”.
The Hagia Sophia’s transformation also prompted questions about the preservation of the building and its treasures.
Dr Tanyeri Erdemir said the conversion of three other former churches-turned-museums had resulted in “substantial damage to the historical fabric of the edifices”.
Erdogan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a political ploy to boost support TUGBA TANYERI ERDEMIR Scholar