The 2020 conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque sparked controversy, seen by many as a political move by Turkish President Erdogan.

The decision has raised concerns about Turkey's relations with Christian countries.

The Greek Orthodox Church has criticized the conversion, citing its significance to Orthodox Christians worldwide.

UNESCO criticized the decision, citing a lack of prior consultation and potential harm to the site's cultural and historical significance.

Erdogan's conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is seen as a move to strengthen his support among conservatives and emphasize his Islamic credentials.

The decision may harm the site's Byzantine mosaics and artwork, now covered due to Islamic restrictions on human depictions.

The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque has sparked concerns about Turkey's erosion of secularism.

The international community has called on Turkey to protect Hagia Sophia's cultural and historical significance.

The Turkish government has committed to preserving the site's cultural heritage and keeping it accessible to all visitors and worshippers.

The authorities have implemented restoration work to preserve the site's historical significance, including marble floors and Byzantine Period mosaics.

Greece and the US have criticized Turkey's decision, citing concerns over religious freedom and cultural heritage.

The conversion may strain Turkey's relations with the Christian world and the EU.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established Turkey's secularism in 1921 to separate religion from state affairs and promote equality.

Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has seen a growing trend of Islamization.

The Hagia Sophia's conversion is seen as prioritizing Islamic heritage over Turkey's Christian and secular past.

The decision has been criticized by the Greek Orthodox Church, Greece, and the US, and has raised concerns about its impact on Turkey's Christian minority.

The 2020 conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque sparked controversy, seen by many as a political move by Turkish President Erdogan.

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Content: The first Friday prayer in the old church of Istanbul that has been converted into a mosque - Sunrise Gate
Friday 10 May 2024 9: 23 PM Cairo Cairo 24 °
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First Friday prayers held in the old Istanbul church that has been converted into a mosque
Istanbul - (DPA)
Published on: Friday 10 May 2024 - 7: 21 PM | Last updated on Friday 10 May 2024 - 7: 21 PM
Muslims held Friday prayers at the historic ancient church of Chora, one of Istanbul ’ s most famous Byzantine era monuments, for the first time since it was converted into a mosque, state broadcaster TRT reported.
The Chora Church, formerly a museum, was officially converted into a mosque in 2020.
After lengthy restoration work, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the UNESCO World Heritage Site as a mosque on Monday.
It is noteworthy that in 2020, the famous Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul was converted into a mosque after a decree issued by Erdogan.
The two churches were converted into mosques after the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1435.
The Hagia Sophia became a museum in 1935 and Chora in 1945, and the conversion of the two churches was met with international criticism.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticized the transformation of Chora as "an act that offends Istanbul's rich history" ahead of his planned meeting with Erdogan on May 13 in Turkey.
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How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

No--In 1934, Ataturk turned it into a museum, making it a major tourist attraction and secular symbol in Turkey.

What political motivations influenced Erdogan's decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia?

The decision aimed to rally anti-Kemalist voters.

Erdogan's decision was influenced by Turkey's Islamic resurgence.

Who was angered by the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in July 2020?

The decision has raised concerns about Turkey's relations with Christian countries.

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Content: [ditty_news_ticker id="27897"] Video Shows Fragments Falling from the Dome of Hagia Sophia - Orthodox Christian Laity

Video Shows Fragments Falling from the Dome of Hagia Sophia

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Source: Greek Reporter

A still from a recently released video shows visitors rushing to take cover as fragments fall from the dome of Hagia Sophia. Credit: Daily Motion/BirGün

A video from 2022 that came to light recently shows fragments falling on visitors from the dome of Hagia Sophia, the former epicenter of Christian worship at Constantinople, today’s Istanbul.

The footage released by the Turkish newspaper, BirGün, raises serious questions over the safety of the former Orthodox Christian cathedral, now a mosque.

BirGün notably quoted officials as saying that “pieces are falling from the roof, due to the humidity created by the crowd, but no precautions are being taken”.

The president of the Turkish Art History Association, Serif Yasar, argued for restoration of the monument as soon as possible, suggesting that “If Hagia Sophia is not restored, it will collapse with the first earthquake.”

The monument was restored as a mosque three years ago after serving as a museum from 1935-2020 and has since received 21 million visitors, according to Turkey’s tourism and culture minister.

Yasar added that when the church was a museum, the scientific council overseeing it urged that groups of no more than 25 people should be allowed to enter the building at any one time.

This enormous lift in visitation has likely brought to the forefront the need for repairs and it was indeed reported in September that the Turkish government had decided to start long-term maintenance of Hagia Sophia.

Turkey to implement visitor management policy at Hagia Sophia

In early October Turkish historian Ilber Ortayli expressed fears that the large number of visitors to Hagia Sophia could lead to a catastrophic structural failure if not addressed immediately.

Writing in the Hürriyet daily, Ortayli said that the monument, which attracts three million pilgrims annually apart from tourists, has undergone significant damage since its conversion into a mosque.

He asserted that even a modest number of 20-30 thousand people annually, including scientists, historians, archaeologists, representatives of the Muslim religion, politicians, and public officials, could be considered excessive for the endurance of the monument.

In June 2022 a number of tiles of the ancient marble floors in Hagia Sophia were damaged by heavy machines used to clean the site.

In April 2022, The Turkish Association of Art Historians stated that the historic Imperial Gate in Hagia Sophia had been badly damaged.

The group posted a picture clearly depicting the damage to the oak wood of the 15-century-old gate.

Turkey unveiled plans in late October for a visitor management policy at Hagia Sophia, including charging foreign tourists with an entrance fee to be implemented starting Jan. 15.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that extensive restoration work is underway in various sections of Hagia Sophia, now a mosque, with plans to progress to other parts upon their completion.

He emphasized that, based on UNESCO’s recommendations, a visitor management plan would be enforced to enhance the quality and safety of visits while preserving the historical significance of the site.

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Officials argue for repairs to Hagia Sophia after footage shows fragments falling from the dome – Neos Kosmos

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Who was angered by the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in July 2020?

The Greek Orthodox Church has criticized the conversion, citing its significance to Orthodox Christians worldwide.

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Content: New rules come into force for the visit of Hagia Sophia Mosque in Turkey - Sunrise Gate
Tuesday 16 January 2024 2: 04 PM Cairo Cairo 24 °
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New rules come into effect for visiting Hagia Sophia mosque in Turkey
DBA
Published on: Tuesday 16 January 2024 - 1: 54 PM | Last updated on Tuesday 16 January 2024 - 1: 54 PM
The project for the Hagia Sophia mosque was closest to the heart of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – but it was also the project that drew international criticism.
In the summer of 2020, Erdogan restored Hagia Sophia to be a mosque after it was originally a church, converted into an Ottoman mosque, converted into a museum.
At the time, Erdogan assured citizens that entry fees would be abolished, adding that the cultural edifice would remain open to everyone – Muslims or non-Muslims alike.
There will be another major change from January 15, with access to the Hagia Sophia restricted and visitors will have to pay fees again.
Turkish Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Arsoy hopes this will improve coexistence between religious and tourist visitors.
Arsoy said recently that tourist visitors are making noise and disrupting calm and prayer.
Until recently, visitors and worshippers were allowed to enter the interior of Hagia Sophia together, with barriers and signs keeping a certain distance between them.
However, from now on, worshippers and tourists will be introduced through different entrances.
Although worshippers can use the same entrances as before, tourists will be guided through an upstairs hallway.
According to Arsoy, tour guides will not be allowed to accompany visitors through the corridors, and earphones will be used instead.
“Our priority there is prayer, ” Arsoy said, noting that the building is a world cultural heritage site and should therefore remain open to all visitors around the world.
Zuleiha Duman, 29, who returned to Istanbul from Germany to see Hagia Sophia after it was converted into a mosque, said she found it taking away.
Welcoming the new rules, she said: “As long as the entrance fee isn ’ t too high, I think it ’ s acceptable. ”
“Why shouldn ’ t Turkey and the government take advantage of this place?
These funds can be channeled to preserve more religious places. ”
Hagia Sophia has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of Istanbul ’ s history since 1985.
Built by Emperor Justinian, Hagia Sophia was the largest place of worship in Christianity for nearly a thousand years, it was the main church during the Byzantine Empire, and from the seventh century, the emperor was crowned inside.
After the Ottomans entered Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque.
On the orders of the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the building was converted into a museum in 1934 until the summer of 2020.
Hagia Sophia is as symbolically important to Orthodox Christians around the world as St. Peter ’ s Basilica is to Catholics.
After the building was converted into a mosque, criticism poured in from the Greek Orthodox Church.
The UNESCO Foundation also criticized the decision without consultation.
For Erdogan, turning the place into a mosque was his “childhood dream, ” as he himself said, and pleasing to religious voters.
A few external changes were made at the time, for example, a green carpet was placed above the marble floor.
It seems clear that all these things did not detract from the popularity of this teacher.
According to official statistics, some 13.6 million people visited the Hagia Sophia landmark in 2022, not all of them from Europe.
The number of visitors from Indonesia in particular has risen, Hagia Sophia Imam Binyamin Topoglu told Turkey ’ s Anadolu news agency in 2023.
The amount of the fees has not yet been determined.
Tourism Minister Ersoy says the proceeds will be spent on cultural assets, for excavation or preservation of monuments such as the Hagia Sophia.
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How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

Who was angered by the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in July 2020?

Why is Hagia Sophia considered one of the greatest buildings in history?

UNESCO criticized the decision, citing a lack of prior consultation and potential harm to the site's cultural and historical significance.

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Content: Turkey’s iconic Hagia Sophia mosque to charge $28 entry fee for tourists

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Turkey’s Hagia Sophia mosque began charging tourists nearly $28 on Monday for entrance to the landmark site.

The UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned for its blue-tiled interior, will no longer allow free admission to foreigners, the Turkish tourism ministry announced.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The former museum-turned mosque has a new entrance in front of the Topkapi Palace Museum open for tourists.

Tunnel entrance at Turkey's Hagia Sophia. (File photo)

The Hagia Sophia was a museum space from 1934 until 2020 when Turkey decided to change it to a mosque. Various historical reports say the mosque with byzantine architecture was an Orthodox cathedral decades ago.

“With the new application that will start on January 15 at the Hagia Sophia Mosque, tourists will be able to visit the mosque without disturbing the prayer environment,” the ministry said in a statement.

The entrance to the mosque will be “provided in a controlled manner through the tunnel and entrance ramp where visitors will be transported to the gallery floor and exited via the ramp in the northeast direction,” the statement said.

“Tourists who come to the gallery section will be able to see the sanctuary floor of the mosque and the Ottoman Period annexes, pass through the heaven-hell gate, and examine the Byzantine Period mosaics in this section,” it added.

Security cameras, fire detection and emergency announcement systems were reportedly installed in the mosque along the tour route. Cleaning and conservation work on the marble coverings and wooden railings on the gallery floor of the mosque was also carried out by restorers and conservators.

Visitors will also have access to a headset guide with QR codes where information on the sight is available in 23 languages.

People visit the Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 10, 2020. (Reuters)

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What was UNESCO's main complaint about the reconversion?

Erdogan's conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is seen as a move to strengthen his support among conservatives and emphasize his Islamic credentials.

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Content: Turkey officially opens the Byzantine church and museum "Khora" as a mosque (PHOTOS)
World News
"Kari Mosque" in the Museum and Monastery of "Khora"
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday officially opened the Kari Mosque in Istanbul ’ s Byzantine Museum and Monastery of Khora, four years after the church dedicated a mosque to Muslims.
On Monday, Erdogan oversaw the official remote opening of the Khora mosque and a number of restored sites from the conference hall of his residence in Ankara.
Erdogan said during the opening ceremony, which was broadcast on Turkish television, "May it be a good start."
One of the first worshipers at the mosque told Anadolu Agency: “I have been waiting for its opening for four years, and I have been honored to pray in such a place. ”
Anadolu quoted another serum as saying: “Thank God for showing us these days, I hope we come here from time to time and do our prayers. ”
The site near the walls of the old city of Istanbul is famous for its fine mosaics and frescoes.
The church dates back to the 4th century, although the edifice took its present form during the 11th and 12th centuries.
Greece has criticized the Turkish government ’ s decision to return it to use as a mosque, accusing Ankara of “personal insult ” to another World Heritage site, saying the decisions to turn Hagia Sophia and Khora back into mosques are steps aimed at strengthening the support base of conservatives and the religious trend of Erdogan ’ s ruling party amid an economic downturn.
The museum was built "Khora" monastery, in 534, the building was converted into "Kari Mosque" at the beginning of the 16th century, it was used as a mosque for more than four centuries and was converted into a museum in 1945 by a Turkish ministerial decision.
In August 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on the conversion of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral and the Kari Museum, known as a “bottomless church ” in Turkish, into mosques.
The conversion of the two churches into mosques was praised by Muslims, but drew criticism from Greece and other countries that urged Turkey to protect important Byzantine monuments, both of which have been listed as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations.
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What kind of domestic reaction did Erdogan's reconversion of Hagia Sophia receive?

What political motivations influenced Erdogan's decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia?

The decision aimed to rally anti-Kemalist voters.

Erdogan's decision was influenced by Turkey's Islamic resurgence.

The decision may harm the site's Byzantine mosaics and artwork, now covered due to Islamic restrictions on human depictions.

Title:

Content: After Hagia Sophia, Turkey converts a second ancient Byzantine church into a mosque

Hundreds of worshippers filled the narrow streets of Istanbul's Fatih district on Friday to hear the sounds of Friday prayers ringing out from the newly inaugurated Kariye Mosque.

Once known as the Chora Church, the site spent the last 79 years as a museum. But it is now the latest structure to be converted back into a mosque by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, following the conversion of Hagia Sophia in 2020. While viewed as a triumph by many Turkish Muslims, the Greek Orthodox Church has decried it as an "ill-advised decision" that "makes a mockery of the Turkish government's commitment to religious tolerance and religious freedom."

Chora's conversion was announced shortly after Hagia Sophia's, but its opening for prayer was delayed by years of restoration work.

The showing for the first Friday prayers at Kariye was relatively quiet compared to Hagia Sophia, which drew hundreds of thousands who filled the streets with prayer rugs for blocks and blocks away from the building. By contrast, the crowd on Friday was relatively average for a mosque in one of Istanbul's more religiously conservative neighborhoods, where Friday worshippers frequently spill out onto the streets.

Both the Chora Church and Hagia Sophia are 4th-century Byzantine constructions. They spent nearly a millennium as Christian holy sites before being converted to mosques by the Ottomans after their conquest of Constantinople in the 15th century. Despite their conversions, they remained revered by Orthodox Christians. After the founding of a secular Turkish Republic in the early 20th century, the decision was made for both to be neither mosque nor church but simply museums.

"Both Hagia Sophia and Chora embodied Byzantine and Ottoman pasts, and they became symbols of co-existence and multi-faith living practices. Their conversion fundamentally implies a hierarchy, prioritizing the Islamic past over all other layers, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Jewish, Syriac, et al," Dr. Özgür Kaymak, a lecturer and researcher on minority rights at Istanbul's MEF University, told Religion News Service in an email.

Rededicating the sites as mosques is more than just a status change. According to Islamic tradition, artwork of human figures are forbidden in places of prayer, while in Orthodox Churches, icons of Christ, saints and other biblical figures are a defining feature.

In Hagia Sophia, the mosaics of Jesus and Mary have been covered with curtains since the conversion. While Erdoğan promised Hagia Sophia would remain fully accessible and free to all visitors, Turkey reneged on that earlier this year, reimposing an entrance fee on tourists and relegating them to the upper level, while the main floor is exclusive to Muslim worshippers.

Observers have also criticized the Turkish Directorate of Religion's caretaking of the site, noting damage that did not exist when it was under the purview of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Though Chora is significantly smaller than Hagia Sophia, it is home to some of the best-preserved examples of late-Byzantine art, including mosaics, icons and frescoes, and is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"For us it's a very important place because it remembers our culture and our traditions here," Father Evangelos Markantonis, an Orthodox priest who was leading a group of theology students to Chora on Friday, told Religion News Service.

"Though we cannot venerate as Orthodox Christians, we have to try to find things we can be united on. Only with dialogue and good deeds can we continue our lives," Markantonis, who is also a professor at the University of Athens, said when asked about the controversy.

Erdoğan had long refused calls from his right to convert churches like Hagia Sophia and Chora, telling supporters in 2018 to fill the nearby Sultan Ahmet Mosque (also known in English as the Blue Mosque) before they talked about needing to pray in Hagia Sophia.

Nonetheless, he made an about-turn in 2020.

"My dear nation, the conquest of Istanbul and the conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a Mosque are among the most glorious chapters in Turkish history," Erdoğan said at the time in a speech inaugurating the Hagia Sophia as a mosque.

"This is the most honorable day that Islam has been looking forward to, Greek Constantinople has become Turkish Istanbul," he added, quoting the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet.

"The resurrection of Hagia Sophia heralds the liberation of the al-Aqsa Mosque. The resurrection of Hagia Sophia is the footsteps of the will of Muslims across the world to come out of the interregnum," Erdoğan said in his concluding remarks.

Chora's opening as the Kariye Mosque comes just weeks after Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered its largest electoral defeat in two decades during Turkey's nationwide municipal elections.

"The recent conversion of Chora into a mosque may be due to Erdoğan's many problems, including his geopolitical power politics, his appeal to religio-nationalism to revive his electoral popularity after the March elections or his tactic to divert attention from Turkey's economic downturn," Kaymak said.

Many analysts have attributed the loss to AKP bleeding votes to the more Islamist-leaning New Welfare Party, which has pressured Erdogan over his response to the Israel-Hamas war and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Muslim worshippers at the mosque on Friday said they viewed its rededication as an Islamic site to be a national win for Turkey.

"This mosque is one of the symbols of the Conquest. We are proud and happy. There are very beautiful frescoes inside. They were also nicely renovated before they were closed. May it be good for our country and our nation," a bystander, Ahmet Öteyüzoğlu, told Turkish media.

"Thank God for these days. Not everyone has the opportunity in their lifetime," another bystander named Mehmet Çelik told the Turkish news service Anadolu Agency, in reference to having been able to pray at both the rededicated Hagia Sophia and Kariye Mosques.

However, Greece, the U.S. State Department and Orthodox Christian institutions worldwide have all criticized the decision to revert the structure into a mosque.

"I want to publicly express my intense dissatisfaction, interpreting the feelings of all Greek women and men, for the completely unnecessary conversion of a historic Byzantine temple, the Monastery of Chora, into a mosque. It is, I believe, an action that offends the rich history of Istanbul itself as a crossroads of cultures," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said shortly before leaving for Turkey for a planned meeting with Erdogan.

"We encourage the Turkish government to preserve and ensure access to sites and buildings that have hosted different religious communities in a way that respects their diverse histories," a State Department spokesperson said in response to questions from Greek media.

"The Turkish government's appropriation of both as the property of one faith group not only constitutes yet another sign of that government's contempt for Turkey's rich Orthodox Christian heritage but further imperils the religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the remaining Christians of that land," the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate said in a statement.

© Religion News Service

The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque has sparked concerns about Turkey's erosion of secularism.

Title:

Content: On the 564 anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, the American Council for the Liberation of Hagia Sophia (CALHSC) called for the Hagia Sophia Museum to return to its original significance, that is, it should once again hear Christian prayers and Christian services.
Such a statement, reports the Austrian Catholic news agency KATHPRESS, was made by the president of CALHSC, an American politician of Greek origin Chris Spirou.
According to the agency, he has already appealed to the Turkish government with a proposal to start negotiations on this issue.
As a first step, it is proposed to allow regular liturgical services while maintaining the status of Hagia Sophia as a museum.
All Christians still perceive the cathedral as a shrine, Spira argues, so if the Turkish authorities raise the issue of returning it to the status of a cult place of worship, Ankara should hear the voices of Christians, not just Muslims.
In the event that the Turkish leadership does not go to negotiations, the “American Council for the Liberation of Hagia Sophia ” is going to file a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Erhan Elaldı – Anadolu Agency
The 564th anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople was celebrated by the Hagia Sophia as a museum.
What is the 565th anniversary?
This is not the first time Spirou has taken such an initiative.
His organization, registered in 2005, but not particularly famous, has already announced its intention to celebrate the liturgy in the cathedral museum.
The Turkish government then called the words of the American politician a provocation, and he himself was denied entry to the country.
But a lot of things are changing in the Middle East, Europe and the United States today.
Ankara is no longer the “best ally ” it used to be, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is moving further and further away from the familiar image of the head of state for Western colleagues, with whom you can deal.
Washington even under the previous administration with a squeak, but went on to recognize the importance of protecting Christian minorities in the Middle East, and the current Trump administration puts this at the forefront.
Cracks went on the sarcophagus, which until now protected the secular museum of Hagia Sophia from degeneration into a religious object.
And not at all in the church, in the mosque, which Hagia Sophia became after the conquest by the Ottomans of the capital of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire in May 1453.
The intensification of this process is associated today with the rebirth of Erdogan himself, although it is difficult to be completely sure that there is no political conjuncture here, which, as you know, is changeable.
Alexxx1979
View of St. Sophia Cathedral
Recall that in early April this year, a number of Turkish newspapers reported that the President was going on Friday, April 14, together with the leadership of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and religious leaders of Istanbul to visit the Hagia Sophia Museum to pray in it as Muslims.
The timing of Muslim prayer in the former church was not accidental.
On April 14 this year was Holy Friday, which is dedicated to the memory of the condemnation to death, the suffering of the cross and the death of Jesus Christ, as well as the removal of His body from the cross and burial.
Considering also that Easter is now the Orthodox and Catholics coincided, the message was sent powerful and significant.
All this seemed to be a continuation of playing the religious card on the eve of the referendum on April 16, which decided whether Turkey should be a parliamentary or presidential republic.
On April 18, it became clear that Erdogan had won.
But I lost at the same time.
In September 2015, during the parliamentary elections, the ruling party received 51% of the vote, and the nationalist Nationalist Action Party received about 20%.
When the AKP merged with the nationalists in the course of lobbying for constitutional amendments, it expected that the addition of 50% and 20% would give 70% or more in the referendum.
Only 51% of Turks supported the union of the two parties.
In this regard, many Turkish experts, analyzing the current situation, pointed out that the Justice and Development Party, having entered into an alliance with the Nationalist Action Party, made a strategic mistake, creating not only the impression of a synthesis of “soft Islamism ” with nationalists, but also began to cultivate a hybrid ideology of neo-Ottomanism, which was not supported by almost half of the citizens of Turkey..
However, there is another thing – the conservative and religious inner Anatolia, whose votes went to Erdogan, began to realize that from now on she has the right to present her demands to him.
This directly affects Saint Sophia.
An observer for the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News points out in this regard that on the eve of the 564 anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople, the space around the Hagia Sophia Museum is again filled, but not by tourists, but by members of the Anatolian Youth Association (AGD), whose motto is the words of the late Islamist politician, former Prime Minister of Turkey Necmettin Erbakan: “Life is faith and jihad ”.
These passionately believing people are actively opposed to everything that testifies to the presence of the non-Muslim faith in Turkish society.
And not just Santa Claus for the New Year.
For the past three years, they have focused on making Hagia Sophia “free from shackles ” and converted into a mosque.
Erdogan is slow.
However, the impatient members of the AGD are even more demanding for action this year.
After the referendum, Turkish politics entered a difficult phase of implementing the new constitution, and after May 29, the question arises whether these loud signals from Anatolia will now be ignored.
The Turkish president himself, during a speech in the ancient capital during the celebration of the conquest of Constantinople, according to the government news agency Anadolu, emphasized that “Istanbul, which since its foundation has been the capital of different states and cultures, has become a center of peaceful coexistence and tolerance during the just rule of Sultan Mehmed Fatih [also known as Mehmed the Conqueror]. ”
This part of Erdogan ’ s rhetoric looks tolerant.
But what will follow?
If suddenly the Turkish president decided to allow the Hagia Sophia Museum to serve the liturgy, then this, at least, made us think about the prospects of a possible return of Turkey to the path of improving relations with the Christian world, in particular with the European Union, which Erdogan has repeatedly sarcastic called “the Christian club ”.
However, this will require from the president not only personal courage, but also reliance on new political and social forces, the search for new allies in the country and abroad.
The problem is that even in Turkey itself, an opinion is beginning to take shape that Erdogan is becoming a hostage of internal Anatolia.
This means that the Hagia Sophia Museum, under pressure from this part of the country and society, would rather become a mosque than a church.

What political motivations influenced Erdogan's decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia?

Erdogan's decision was influenced by Turkey's Islamic resurgence.

The international community has called on Turkey to protect Hagia Sophia's cultural and historical significance.

The Turkish government has committed to preserving the site's cultural heritage and keeping it accessible to all visitors and worshippers.

Title:

Content: World News
Erdogan: Church of the Savior in Khora to be converted into a mosque: it will remain open to all
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, confirmed the conversion of the ancient Orthodox Church of the Saviour in Istanbul to a mosque, despite calls from Greece not to go ahead with the move.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Mitsotakis in Ankara, Erdogan said: "The Karye Mosque in its new form will remain open to all."
The Turkish president said he had told the Greek prime minister, “We opened the Carré mosque for prayers and visits after careful restoration work in accordance with the decision we made in 2020. ”
“We attach great importance to protecting any monument that is part of UNESCO ’ s cultural heritage and making it available for the benefit of our nation and all humanity. ”
The Greek prime minister has opposed the conversion of the church, which contains frescoes representing the "judgment" dating back to the 14th century, into a mosque.
These were the details of the news Erdogan confirmed the conversion of the Church of the Saviour in Khora to a mosque: it will remain open to everyone for today, we hope that we have succeeded by giving you the details and full information and to follow all our news you can subscribe to the system of alerts or one of our different systems to provide you with everything new.
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The authorities have implemented restoration work to preserve the site's historical significance, including marble floors and Byzantine Period mosaics.

Greece and the US have criticized Turkey's decision, citing concerns over religious freedom and cultural heritage.

The conversion may strain Turkey's relations with the Christian world and the EU.

Who was angered by the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in July 2020?

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established Turkey's secularism in 1921 to separate religion from state affairs and promote equality.

Title:

Content: Let the Turkish Revolution be a lesson to us!
Let the Turkish Revolution be a lesson to us!
Reda Al Attar
The Turkish Revolution that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ignited in 1921 was larger than the usual revolutions, because it did not limit itself to a change in the system of government, but also to a change in the social structure of Turkish society.
Before 1914, Turkey was a vast empire, with Arab states ruled by Turks.
The sultan, the emperor in Constantinople, or present-day Istanbul, was the successor of the Muslims, although he was often the son of a concubine from Serbia, a European country that had no ties to Islam, Muslims or Arabs, and had absolute religious and political authority.
The Arab Muslim, wherever he was found, had to raise his hand in prayer, praying to God to preserve the Caliph.
This empire was living the Eastern life as we understand it from the beating of the veil on women, concubines and agricultural production without industrial production and authoritarian rule based on the will of the caliph without parliament, the fight against the views of the ascendant and the restriction of mouths and the press.
The conditions of this empire threatened to annihilate two hundred years before its death, as it had little to do with survival.
But the envy of the countries that aspire to share them prevented them all from starting to share.
Then her fear that in the death of the Ottoman Empire opened the way for the Russians to go out to the Mediterranean.
This fear was felt by Britain and France, and so they kept the Ottoman Empire as a barrier preventing Russia, this huge giant, from achieving this breakthrough.
Indeed, the colonial nations were finding in the survival of the Ottoman Empire, in its dissolution and corruption, an opportunity to exploit the Arab countries that were part of it.
All these factors made the Ottoman Empire live longer than its inevitable life even if World War I came and joined Germany against the Western nations, the latter in inciting the Arab countries against the Ottoman Empire.
with the aim of dropping it.
Britain approached King Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca, asking for his help in return for granting him independence after the war ended, and the man was deceived by her vows.
He participated in the liberation war with a 5,000-strong Bedouin army led by his son Prince Faisal and accompanied by the English officer Lawrence.
What happened after the victory.
Britain not only reneged on the covenant it had made with the Arabs, but divided Greater Syria into four states according to the traditional colonial policy of divide and rule, causing the Arab world a historic rift.
In addition, the colonial powers sought political agreements to destroy the Ottoman Empire, but kept it alive to remain a barrier against Russia.
Therefore, we saw Italy, France and Britain occupying Ottoman possessions with their armies, and we saw Greece occupying the Turkish city of Izmir, but with the sultanate remaining.
The Ottoman Empire was made of straw, a straw sultan took over and the straw culture lived.
She had given everything the victors had asked of her.
But there remained a man, who understood modern civilization, as he understood that his country was backward and far from the mainstream of modern civilization.
Its existing weakness is not addressed and its future annihilation is unavoidable, because it is not modern.
This man (Kemal Ataturk) was seeking independence for Turkey as a modern society.
He understood civilization not as Eastern or Western, but as a unit composed of degrees and that the highest degrees are found in the Western nations and the lowest degrees in the Eastern nations, not because the Orientalists differ from the Westerners in racial features, but because they left power in the hands of despotic kings who destroyed the powers of peoples through poverty, ignorance and disease.
Kemal Ataturk was in charge of the corps, which is based in the eastern Anatolia region.
When the sultan accepted the demands of Western countries, he declared that he would not surrender.
Then he marched his legion on on Izmir and drove the Greeks out of it.
But instead of rewarding him for expelling invaders from his homeland, the sultan announced a monetary reward for assassinating Ataturk.
But Ataturk, by the power of truth and by the power of power, was able to overcome the sultan and remove him from his palace with an army of female servants and men.
He forced the Western countries, having defeated them in the War of the Sea of the Archipelago, to replace the humiliating Treaty of Versailles with the just Treaty of Lausanne, and Ataturk proceeded to change the Turkish government and society.
As people began to learn and work instead of dressing in red and green and strutting on the streets and spending time talking about the pleasures of palaces, they became productive citizens, gaining wisdom from toil and sweat.
After religion preoccupied the people with matters of occultism and matters of halal and haraam, it became the religion of the people to separate between right and wrong, and they decide the right to debate and other opinion.
The Quran was then translated into Turkish and the Turks learned for the first time the truth of their religion after they were unaware of its meaning in Arabic.
Ataturk abolished the sharia courts, which no longer exist with civil marriage, and in Turkey the state no longer has a Muslim, Christian, Jew or atheist because everyone is Turkish.
The previous Khilafah regime required women to wear the hijab in such a strict manner that it was not permissible for a couple to sit side by side in one car driving down the street.
He removed the entire veil.
He employed women in the functions of the state, and Khaleda Adeeb was the first female minister.
Switzerland ’ s civil and criminal laws have been translated into Turkish and made the basis for judicial proceedings in courts.
He canceled the tekaya, the ligaments and the ridiculous religious rituals.
He referred the palaces of the sultans to museums that attract tourists and generate profits for the state.
He abolished all foreign privileges without negotiation.
Arabic letters were replaced by Latin letters.
But when he replaced the hat with the Tarboush, the sheikhs revolted against him, and he hanged them all.
Ataturk ’ s policy with the clergy was unimaginably harsh.
Those who protested and opposed his reform program and the political changes he carried out, including preachers of mosques, writers, sheikhs and clerics, who stood in his way, numbering in the thousands, mounted unseaworthy ships, to settle in the depths of the Sea of Marmara.
As for his reform work, he generalized gender equality in elections to the first modern parliament, as well as gender equality in inheritance between men and women.
And a lot of companies.
And abolish the ranks and titles.
In one of his speeches, he said, "The master of the country is not the president of the republic, but the peasant."
There is no revolution in the history of the whole world that has absorbed all this change in the governmental and popular system.
Thus, Turkey became a modern independent sovereign state, as the Turks in their cities, farms, factories and homes, even in their morals, became a modern and free nation, not intoxicated by its beliefs and indifferent to its past occurrences and traditions, but living with reason and sound opinion.
When I left Istanbul in 1953 for Germany, its eastern landmarks were still late, and most parts of the city reminded me of Baghdad ’ s popular slums.
But what was more amazing was my surprise when I visited Istanbul again in 2003, fifty years later and I came from Europe, I saw it as an extension of the cities of Europe in its development and urbanization, I watched it boast of modern civilization, and the manifestations of progress and prosperity show the eyes
· Adapted from the Book of Revolutions by Salama Musa and the last paragraph of the author of the article.
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Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has seen a growing trend of Islamization.

Title:

Content: Turkey...
Religious education infuriates secularists
Turkey...
Religious education infuriates secularists
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this month introduced a new school curriculum, saying it “strengthens family cohesion and morality, ” despite protests by teachers ’ unions accusing him of“ Islamizing education. ”
Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for more than two decades, said: “The ultimate goal of these efforts is to raise our children to be moral, courageous, strong-willed, productive, compassionate, patriotic, critical, competent, virtuous, spiritually upright, heart and body. ”
Erdogan said: “We will not allow anyone to stand between the children of this country and religious values.
The period when children faced discrimination simply because they prayed and wore the hijab is over, ” he said, referring to his repeal of the headscarf ban in schools and public institutions in the 2000s.
The Turkish president rejected criticism of Turkey ’ s new curriculum and vowed to prioritize “national values ” in the face of fears that the scientific and secular foundations of schools will be eroded by curriculum changes.
National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said the new curriculum was developed by the government with sufficient democratic participation.
Secular concerns center on a program called Gedis, which the education ministry says aims to encourage children to adopt “national, moral, human, spiritual and cultural values, ” but opponents say those values are essentially Islamic.
Turkey ’ s moves to spread traditional moral values among students, increase Islamic religious lessons and open prayer rooms in schools are raising concerns among the country ’ s secularists and showing differences over the role religion should play in education.
The measures, which will be implemented next school year, will also raise tensions over an already fraught topic as Turkey celebrates the centenary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ’ s founding of the secular republic.
Secular concern centers on a program called Gedis that the Education Ministry says aims to encourage children to adopt “national, moral, human, spiritual and cultural values, ” but opponents say these values are essentially Islamic.
They complain that under the scheme hundreds of Islamic preachers or imams and other religious officials are sent to schools.
The Education Ministry says no such “spiritual counsellors ” have been appointed to schools, as they are only involved in activities outside the school.
The Center for Children ’ s Rights of the Istanbul Bar Association said that while the curriculum in many of its subjects addresses religious and national elements, “no space is given to national values such as Ataturk, secularism and republicanism, ” referring to the founder of modern secular Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Kazem Ozbay, president of ITEM Eish, a union of education and science workers, said the new curriculum was designed to raise “soulless robot generations who don ’ t think, question, criticize, object, explain, ” adding that“ it is clear that they want to develop a religious and national curriculum, ” noting that his union is preparing to file a case against the curriculum.
Under Erdogan ’ s supervision, Turkey has opened many Islamic Imam Khatib schools in line with his goal of creating a “pious generation. ”
The number of Imam Khatib schools, founded to educate preachers and preachers, has increased to about 1,700 from 450 in 2002 when the AKP first came to power.
Its student population has increased sixfold to more than half a million.
This development of religious education in Turkey contrasted with the Ataturk style of the state.
The AKP did not begin to change Turkey from above through the constitution and laws, or through the imposition of their authoritarian policies by force and coercion, but through changes in social and economic structures.
Their successful economic reforms on the one hand and the semi-conservative social reforms on the other hand before 2011 produced an impressive popularity for the AKP, which enabled it to win all parliamentary, municipal and presidential elections from 2002 to today.
The ruling party then increased the rate of Islamization of the Turkish state and society after the military lost its political and popular power and subjugated it to the authority of the Islamist-oriented government.
The simple Islamization of the state and society before 2011 turned into a clear and deep Islamization after that date, especially since popular support for it was at its peak during that period.
As the AKP came to power, a special understanding of secularism emerged in Turkey: it was not repealed from the constitution but emptied of its content after the party provided a special understanding of it, and pursued successive policies that restored religious concepts and symbols in society and the state.Although the ruling party ’ s policies became more conservative after 2011, it brought Islam back into the Turkish public sphere by often profound social changes and laws. Rents as a response to the demands of the citizens, in contrast to the “Ataturk ” which imposed secularism on the Turks.
Turkish Studies Unit
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies

What political motivations influenced Erdogan's decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia?

Erdogan's decision was influenced by Turkey's Islamic resurgence.

The Hagia Sophia's conversion is seen as prioritizing Islamic heritage over Turkey's Christian and secular past.

What political motivations influenced Erdogan's decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia?

Erdogan's decision was influenced by Turkey's Islamic resurgence.

Who was angered by the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in July 2020?

The decision has been criticized by the Greek Orthodox Church, Greece, and the US, and has raised concerns about its impact on Turkey's Christian minority.

Title:

Content: • Source:
• Sergey Ignatov — specially for Sedmitsy.Ru
In the United States released a report on the situation of Christians in Turkey in connection with the murder of a parishioner in a Catholic church by the jihadists of ISIS
It notes bureaucratic oppression, public rejection, the growth of vandalism and violence.
WASHINGTON.
In the United States, a report was released on the situation of Christians in Turkey in connection with the murder of a parishioner in a Catholic church by the jihadists of ISIS - it notes bureaucratic oppression, public rejection, the growth of vandalism and violence in the country, reports catholicnewsagency.
During Sunday mass in Istanbul on January 28, terrorists broke into a Catholic church and killed a parishioner with a shot in the head during the consecration ceremony.
Soon the so-called Islamic State * took responsibility for this crime.
The attack almost coincided with the first anniversary of a powerful earthquake that killed thousands of people in Turkey and Syria in 2023.
The attack once again raised questions about the existing threats to the Christian faith in Turkey and about the real tolerance of the 99% Muslim majority for non-Muslims in this country.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a report stating that “there has been a marked increase in incidents of vandalism and social intolerance and violence against religious minorities in Turkish society in recent years. ”
Despite the freedom of religion provisions that exist in Turkey on paper, Turkish Christians, according to the authors of the report, today suffer under the yoke of state bureaucracy, as well as from growing rejection in society.
“The government also continues to unjustifiably interfere in the internal affairs of religious communities, ” the USCIRF report states,“ Religious minorities in Turkey express concern about such rhetoric and policies of the authorities that contribute to an increasingly hostile environment and indirectly encourage acts of social aggression and violence. ”
In present Turkey there are about 12-16 thousand Jews, several thousand representatives of various other faiths and several hundred thousand Christians.
According to a 2022 report by the US State Department, about 25,000 of them are Catholics, most of them from Africa and the Philippines.
Unlike many other Muslim-majority countries (overwhelmingly in this case), Turkey ’ s constitution defines the country as a secular state.
The State Department explains that such a definition provides for freedom of conscience, religious belief, personal belief, freedom of speech (opinions), freedom of worship, and the prohibition of any discrimination on religious grounds.
However, Turkey is one of the 95 countries in the world that now have criminal liability for blasphemy, mainly against Islam, which is punishable by imprisonment for a period of six months to a year.
Christian rights organization Open Doors points out in its report that the country is experiencing an increasingly strong religious nationalism with an emphasis on Islamic values, encouraged by the current government of Turkey, which creates pressure on believers of other faiths and breeds intolerance towards them.
The government also maintains a list of officially recognized religions and registers the religious affiliation of citizens using an electronic chip (chip) on identity cards.
Although Christianity is widely recognized in the country, the current authorities are opposed to Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Christians and Greek Orthodox Christians, as well as Jews.
“Christians are seen as agents of negative Western influence on society, ” says the Open Doors report.“ Therefore, those who choose to follow the teachings of Jesus and abandon Islam, or even atheism and secularism, often face pressure and rejection in their native families and communities, prompting them to renounce their faith. ”
According to In Defense of Christians (IDC), religious communities of different faiths face restrictions on their rights to own and freely dispose of property, to train clergymen, and, in general, to religious education.
In particular, the Turkish government continues to interfere in the leadership of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as in the activities of the Armenian Patriarchate, in particular in the field of selection and appointment of the hierarchy, IDC reports.
Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in many areas of Turkish society, favoritism towards Islam has become increasingly pronounced to the detriment of other religions.
In 2020, President Erdogan took a demonstrative step in favor of his religion when he issued a decree establishing mosques in the former Byzantine Hagia Sophia Cathedral (which served as a museum for many years) and another ancient Christian church in Istanbul.
Protestant congregations report a marked increase in bureaucratic pressure on them under the current government.
The State Department reports that the World Evangelical Alliance expresses concern about the situation of Evangelical Christians in the country, as many of them are subjected to deportations and entry bans on a variety of pretexts.
According to the State Department, since 2020, the government has expelled more than 60 foreign Christian missionaries and their families from the country.
And according to Open Doors, hostility toward Christians is increasingly felt in the interior rural areas of the country, where the influence of conservative Islam is stronger and intolerance towards non-believers is higher.
Most of the “non-traditional ” Christian communities (Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, etc.) are hesitant to spread beyond the coastal cities in the west of the country, including Istanbul, because the population there is more tolerant of non-believers, relatively liberal and secular, the report says.
Turkey ’ s reputation as a country of persecution of Christians has long roots, despite the fact that it was in it that the first Christian communities were born and flourished.
In 1915, during the period of the so-called Armenian genocide, the authorities of the Ottoman Empire seized Armenian intellectuals and priests in Constantinople.
During the same period, the empire began a campaign of mass evictions of American Christians and other minorities, including Greek, Syrian and Chaldean Christians.
During these evictions there were heartbreaking scenes of separation of families, there were “death marches ” at the transit stages, the Gentiles died of hunger and many oppressions, to which the predominantly Christian Armenian population of the empire was subjected.
According to some estimates, 1.5 million Armenians were victims of the genocide during that terrible period of persecution, although Turkey continues to stubbornly deny the genocide for many years.
* a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation
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How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

Who was angered by the reconversion of Hagia Sophia in July 2020?