meISTANBUL: As Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan searches for a problem to ignite his Islamic and nationalist voter base amid declining poll numbers, he is moving closer to converting the former Hagia Sophia Basilica in Istanbul, a world heritage site and a powerful symbol for both Christians and Muslims, from a museum to a mosque.
Built 1,500 years ago as the main church of the Byzantine Empire, Hagia Sophia (meaning sacred wisdom) was the most important house of worship in Christianity for almost a thousand years. The Ottomans declared the building a mosque after the conquest of Constantinople, today Istanbul, in 1453.
But the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, decreed in a 1934 cabinet decision that the massive building in the heart of Istanbul’s historic center be used as a museum, banning religious worship there. The UN cultural organization UNESCO declared Hagia Sophia a World Heritage Site in 1985.
Islamists have campaigned for years to turn Hagia Sophia, or Ayasofya, into a mosque, and now they are closer than ever to getting what they want. Once dismissive of his demands, but always aware of his Islamist base, Erdogan has expressed his support for the initiative. He told a television interviewer last year that Hagia Sophia may be known as “Hagia Sophia Mosque” in the future. Erdogan’s justice minister Abdulhamit Gul told the state news agency Anadolu last month that “it is our joint desire to break the chains of Hagia Sophia and open it for prayers.”
Turkey’s top administrative court, the State Council, addressed the issue on Thursday after an association calling for the change asked judges to declare Ataturk’s decision null and void. The hearing lasted only 17 minutes and the court said it would issue a verdict within 15 days.
Turkish media reports say the court is expected to reject the demand to annul Ataturk’s decree, but emphasize that the government has the right to decide on the status of a building like Hagia Sophia. Such a decision would pave the way for Erdogan to move on. Some reports say the president intends to hold the first Muslim prayer there on July 15, the anniversary of the 2016 coup attempt against his government.
Not everyone in Turkey is happy with this turn of events. Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said Erdogan is using religious themes for political purposes. The Istanbul-based spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide also criticized the plan. Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, said that turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque would turn Christians against Muslims.
“Solomon, I have overcome you.“
– Byzantine Emperor Justinian I
Since its construction in the 6th century, Hagia Sophia has impressed everyone who enters the huge building. “Solomon, I have surpassed you,” I said to the Byzantine emperor Justinian when he first entered Hagia Sophia after he had built it. Mosaics representing Jesus, Mary, emperors, and saints shine in the sunlight that filters through the windows. The main attraction remains the giant dome that rises 56 meters (184 feet) above the ground and spans 31 meters (102 feet), seeming to float in midair thanks to 90 windows at its base.
Some mosaics were painted after the Ottoman conquest because Islam forbids the representation of human features, but the depredations were often exaggerated by Christians hostile to Sublime Port.
The aristocratic 18th-century writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador to Constantinople, meddled in Hagia Sophia in 1718, pointing out that the mosaics of many saints were still visible, their squandering was simply a factor of neglect. “It is absolutely false, which is so universally stated, that the Turks defaced all the images they found in the city.” But the vast mosaics on the ceiling were crumbling and falling to the ground. “The composition seems to me to be some kind of glass, or the paste with which they make fake jewelry,” he wrote.
In many places, the gem shine of the mosaics remains or has been restored. The 2010 work uncovered the face of a seraphim angel that had been hidden underneath the cast, and more recent archeology has found significant finds, including a disk where Emperor Justinian once stood. But some of the most striking features are the huge Arabic calligraphy medallions placed on the walls in the 19th century that give the feeling in today’s museum that Islam and Christianity can share the space. In the apse, the brilliant mosaic of the Virgin and Child is flanked by the medallions of Muhammad and Allah.
The Orthodox Patriarch noted that the basilica, the “Temple of the God of Wisdom” as he called it, “has been a place to worship God for 900 years for Christians and 500 years for Muslims” and “makes believers of both religions meet and admire its greatness. “
But the venerable building has become a pawn in the evil game of Turkish politics. Polls show that Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is losing support due to ongoing economic problems, which are worsening with the COVID-19 pandemic and the perception of increasing corruption. The AKP lost control of major cities like Istanbul and the capital Ankara in last year’s local elections. Turkey’s opposition parties speculate that the president may call early elections before things get worse for him.
Howard Eissenstat, a Turkey expert at Saint Lawrence University in New York, said he was unsure whether Erdogan would actually continue the Hagia Sophia change of state.
“It remains to be seen if it will launch,” Eissenstat told The Daily Beast by email. “Promising to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a perennial event in Turkey. It’s easy enough to go forward, make headlines and then go backwards. ”
But Eissenstat added that two developments mean that the chances are higher now than at other times when the problem arose.
“United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urged Turkey to “continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum.”“
“First, the twin crises of the coronavirus and the economy have further undermined the popularity of the AKP,” he said. “A large and culturally significant act like this would highlight the AKP’s cultural brand and elicit angry responses abroad … which in turn allows Erdogan to ‘stand firm’ against foreign pressure. This type of cultural policy is a preferred strategy of Erdogan and to which he has resorted time and time again ”.
“The second reason is that the economic consequences are likely to be slight … the Turkish tourism economy is already in ruins due to the coronavirus. If some countries call for a boycott, it will not cause further damage because tourists are already moving away. Meanwhile Turkey is likely to take steps to ensure tourists can see Hagia Sophia outside of prayer hours. “
Having tourists in functioning mosques would not be new to Istanbul. The 17th century Blue Mosque, about two hundred meters from Hagia Sophia, is open to visitors, except in times of prayer. Women are asked to cover their hair when entering the building. However, these are not Christian prayers in other mosques, and there may well be some in Hagia Sophia.
But even if Hagia Sophia remains open after turning it into a mosque, the move is likely to draw international criticism. Turkey’s neighbor Greece, who regards Hagia Sophia as a symbol of Byzantine past and Orthodox Christianity, has strongly criticized the plan to turn the building into a mosque.
United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urged Turkey to “continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an example of its commitment to respect Turkey’s diverse faith history and traditions, and ensure that it remains accessible to everyone”. Turkey rejected Pompeo’s statement, reminding the secretary that “Hagia Sophia is owned by Turkey, like all our cultural assets located on our land.”
Eissenstat said that despite all the controversy surrounding Hagia Sophia, the national and international repercussions of changing the state of the building are likely to be limited.
“Turkey reminded Pompeo that “Hagia Sophia is owned by Turkey, like all our cultural assets located on our land.”“
“This is a good piece of symbolism for the Erdogan base, but its internal importance may be overstated,” said Eissenstat. “It is not that the AKP wins or loses a tremendous amount of votes in any way.”
“On the diplomatic front, it will probably reinforce concerns about Turkey’s leadership for some western countries and will likely lead to some angry statements and headlines,” he added. But, as long as Turkey preserves the treasures of Hagia Sophia, “I think its overall effect will be minor and relatively brief.”
Omer Lacin, a Turkish tourist from the southern city of Antalya who visited Hagia Sophia this week amid the debate surrounding the building, said the best part of wisdom would be to leave the museum alone.
“It is not good that this issue has been included on the political agenda,” Lacin said. “I think it is better not to touch history.”
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