The 2020 reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque sparked criticism, seen by many as a political move by Turkish President Erdogan to consolidate power.

The decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque challenges Turkey's secular traditions.

The Turkish government's handling of the situation has been criticized by the Greek Orthodox Church, UNESCO, Greece, the US, and Russia.

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia is seen as a distraction from Turkey's serious economic problems.

The Turkish government has implemented a visitor management plan at Hagia Sophia, separating entrances and charging foreign tourists an entrance fee.

The plan aims to preserve the site's historical significance and improve visit quality and safety.

The site is open to all visitors, with fees supporting cultural assets and monument preservation.

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia marks a shift away from Turkey's secular traditions.

The international community has criticized Turkey's decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, citing concerns about secularism and multiculturalism.

The Turkish government's actions aim to promote democracy, but are seen as a move towards imposing Islamic laws and creating a more Islamic state.

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia may have significant consequences for Turkey, including further erosion of secularism and increased religious tensions.

The Turkish government has returned 55 churches and monasteries to the Assyrian community, but they still face challenges and threats.

The President of Turkey has approved plans to build a church, a step towards improving Christian relations.

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia has been criticized by the Greek Orthodox Church and others as a provocation against Christianity.

The 2020 reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque sparked criticism, seen by many as a political move by Turkish President Erdogan to consolidate power.

Title:

Content: >
December 9, 2021

Christian leaders look forward to Turkey's new law on religious foundations

This is an issue of vital importance for local Christian communities whose places of worship are entrusted to and managed by their governing bodies

Religious minorities in Turkey are looking forward to the increasingly Islamo-nationalist government making good its promise of outreach to non-Muslims by giving them freedom to establish and run their religious and social institutions.

The Turkish government is preparing to issue a new regulation on the administrative management of foundations linked to non-Muslim faith communities, which have been paralyzed for years by a legislative impasse that blocks the renewal of their governing bodies.

This is an issue of vital importance for local Christian communities such as Armenians and Assyrians, whose places of worship – many of them historic --, other real estate and public institutions are entrusted to and managed by foundations.

Burhan Ersoy, head of the state-run Directorate of the Foundations, has confirmed that the plan for the drafting of a new regulation concerning the elections for the assignment of offices within the foundations has come into being, Fides reported.

The draft of the text has been drawn up, taking into account requests and proposals from the various minority communities, and it is expected that the new rules, after obtaining government approval, would be implemented by April 2022.

The previous electoral regulation for the top management of foundations had been suspended in 2013, after the government chose to establish new procedures to make the management of real estate more functional and transparent.

This led to some confusion with representatives of the various minority communities unable to come to a consensus to either accept or reject the new electoral rules, Ersoy said.

The Syrian Orthodox Christian Süleyman Can Ustabaşı, current representative of the non-Muslim Foundations within the Assembly of Foundations, has said that the structure of foundations and their membership profiles had changed over time.

The Turkish government already had consultations with the representatives of religious minorities to resolve the dispute over board elections for their foundations.

But Ustabaşı now urges Turkish authorities to carry out another consultation with representatives of minority communities before the new text is to be implemented in 2022.

The legal status of the Foundations is still based on the Peace Treaty of Lausanne, signed in 1923 by Turkey and the Entente powers (British Empire, France and Russian Empire) victorious from the First World War.

The treaty guaranteed equality before the laws and the freedom to promote and manage "religious and social institutions" for non-Muslim communities in Turkey.

However, the state had seized properties run by these foundations and had to contend with litigation as these foundations claimed the rights guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne.

Also, starting from 1936, legislative provisions had allowed foundations of non-Muslim communities to acquire new properties. But in 1974, this guarantee was canceled and the state begun seizing assets acquired by these foundations.

Between 2013 and 2018 about 1,084 properties were returned to the foundations linked to non-Muslim communities, and 20 places of worship restored and given back to the foundations, according to official data.

Greek Orthodox Laki Vingas, in a speech published by the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, said that the legislative deadlock on the question of the regulation of the foundations has had a negative effect on the life of the different ecclesial communities.

The block in the processes of renewal of the governing bodies of foundations had led to the expulsion of young people from the institutions linked to their communities, and also that many voluntary activities were "unfortunately interrupted".

Non-Muslim places of worship

Within the general Assembly of the Turkish Foundations are some 167 minority foundations. The Turkish Greek community has 77, the highest number of foundations. The Armenian community has 54 and the Jewish community has 19 foundations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a cabinet meeting held on October 25 announced that authorities had put on the agenda the question of the elections of the directorates of the foundations linked to religious minorities.

He also spoke of fundamental tools for the management of assets and resources destined for non-Muslim places of worship.

The issue of the foundations come at a time when Turkish authorities have expelled more and more Protestant Christians -- foreigners and Turkish converts-- on grounds they constitute a "threat to national security".

Turkey had also recently transformed museums into mosques, such as the Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora.

Both churches had been turned into museums after the end of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of modern Turkey.

The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora was built by the Byzantines in the 5th century. The Ottomans then turned it into a mosque after they captured Constantinople in 1453. And it remained a Muslim worship space until the end of the Second World War when it was transformed into a museum.

The same happened to the Hagia Sophia Museum in Iznik, and the high-profile reconversion of the Hagia Sophia Museum, Istanbul's most identifiable monument.

Many observers believe that President Erdogan, weakened internally by a bad economy and a lack of political perspective, is compensating with erasing part of the country's multiculturalism, aimed at shoring up the ranks of his Islamo-nationalist base.

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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.

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

The decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque challenges Turkey's secular traditions.

Title:

Content: Roundup of news from December 30, 2021
Erdogan the Conqueror
The Turkish president compared the transformation of Hagia Sophia into a mosque with the fall of Constantinople.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to try on the kaftan of Sultan Mehmed II, whose troops captured Constantinople in 1453.
In this regard, he, summing up the year, compared the transformation of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque with the fall of Tsargrad, reports the UOJ with reference to the publication “Vima Ortodoksiya ”.
According to the head of Turkey, the transformation of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is “as important ” for the Turks as the fall of the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
However, at the same time, many pay attention to the fact that the Turkish lira in the outgoing year fell strongly against the dollar, and this seriously hit the Turkish economy.
Responding to the criticism, Erdogan said he would “lead his people to what they deserve ” and stressed that he would“ apply the laws of Islam. ”
Thus, the Turkish authorities seek to distract their citizens from economic problems by proclaiming the Islamization of Turkey to the detriment of its secular status.
The economy of Turkey is not in the best condition, but Erdogan was again able to win the Hagia Sophia.
This is what officials in Ankara are thinking.
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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?

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

The Turkish government's handling of the situation has been criticized by the Greek Orthodox Church, UNESCO, Greece, the US, and Russia.

Title:

Content: Erdogan invited the leaders of Muslim states to the first prayer in Hagia Sophia
13: 26 22 July Kiev, Ukraine
According to the plan, on July 24, the first prayer will be held in Hagia Sophia in Turkey, after it was decided to convert the building of the Orthodox church into a mosque.
The leaders of many Muslim countries are invited to take part in it.
Erdogan ’ s invitation came from Qatar and Azerbaijan.
The remaining heads of state have not yet responded to the Turkish president.
Remind me!
The Turkish government decided to change the status of the architectural monument and the Orthodox Church of St. Sophia and convert the room into a mosque.
The Pope said that this situation causes him grief.
The Patriarch of Ecumenical and Constantinople, who recently received a great number of churches on the territory of Ukraine, and did not demand the transfer of the museum to the Diocese of Constantinople in a timely manner, said that the creation of a mosque in the museum building can be negatively met in the Orthodox world.
It is expected that the first prayer in the new mosque will be attended by about 1000-1500 people.
All quarantine conditions will be met, participants in prayer will be given masks, and disinfectants will be placed everywhere in the cathedral so that people can treat their hands and their prayer mats.
During the prayer, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be present in the cathedral, along with Turkish ministers, leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party.
As previously reported, all the frescoes and mosaics at the time of prayer will be covered with curtains.
On July 10, a Turkish court ruled that the decision to convert the mosque into a museum in 1934 was illegal.
Erdogan immediately signed a decree on assigning Hagia Sophia the status of a mosque.
The move has sparked international criticism and concern, including from Greece, the United States and Russia, as well as UNESCO and Pope Francis.
Turkey insists that the status of the architectural monument is its internal affair.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

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

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia is seen as a distraction from Turkey's serious economic problems.

The Turkish government has implemented a visitor management plan at Hagia Sophia, separating entrances and charging foreign tourists an entrance fee.

Title:

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

0

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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The plan aims to preserve the site's historical significance and improve visit quality and safety.

Title:

Content: Events
Entrance to Hagia Sophia will again be paid, but not for everyone
Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that visiting the Ayia Sophia mosque for foreign citizens from January 15 will be paid.
Ersoy, who held a press conference at the Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM), said that according to the first 9 months of tourism, the total number of visitors, which last year amounted to 40.2 million people, increased to 45.2 million at the end of September.
Noting that Ayia Sophia and Sultanahmet Square are included in the UNESCO permanent heritage list, Ersoy said that they listened to the advice and opinions of UNESCO and implemented the decisions on the restoration of the Ayia Sophia Mosque.
Minister Ersoy stressed that from January 15, 2024, they will move to the management plan of the visitors of Agia Sofya on the recommendation of UNESCO, and said:
“In this management plan, the quality of visits and safety will be improved.
Density will be regulated by distributing it along different routes.
Again, our precious mosque will be incorporated into a very ideal ecosystem focused on protecting and promoting the "Common Heritage of Humanity".
According to Ersoy, the entrance for worshippers will remain the same, but the tourist entrance will change, so that these two streams will not change. that information about Hagia Sophia will be provided in 16 languages through an application with a QR code and headphones.
Ersoy added: “From now on, visitors will be able to complete the process by receiving detailed information about the entire history and iconography of Hagia Sophia in a quiet environment without disturbing the faithful. ”
Noting that from January 15, 2024, foreign tourists visiting the mosque will be charged a ticket fee, Ersoy said: “Visits by our Turkish citizens for the purpose of worship will be free as before.
This practice also exists in many countries. "
In general, judging by the words of Ersoy, the Hagia Sophia mosque will partially return to the function of a museum.
The most important question that may concern us now is whether the mosque will become accessible to believers from other countries?
Ersoy said that free entrance will remain only for Turkish citizens, but perhaps here he was simply referring to those who come to the mosque for the purpose of prayer, since it is obvious that the absolute majority of those praying are Turks.
In any case, we hope for this, because if passports are checked at the entrance to the mosque, and the descendants of Bosniaks or Albanians are asked to pay money so that they can pray in the mosque that their ancestors conquered in the army of Sultan Fatih Mehmed, any neo-Ottomanism can be put a bold end to.
Author: Jakub Hadžić
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The site is open to all visitors, with fees supporting cultural assets and monument preservation.

Title:

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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The reconversion of Hagia Sophia marks a shift away from Turkey's secular traditions.

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.

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?

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

The international community has criticized Turkey's decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, citing concerns about secularism and multiculturalism.

The Turkish government's actions aim to promote democracy, but are seen as a move towards imposing Islamic laws and creating a more Islamic state.

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

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

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia may have significant consequences for Turkey, including further erosion of secularism and increased religious tensions.

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

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

The Turkish government has returned 55 churches and monasteries to the Assyrian community, but they still face challenges and threats.

Title:

Content: İçeriğe geçmek için "Enter"a basın

Assyrian Christians increasingly move back to Turkey after more than 40 years

Ferhan Demirtas, an Assyrian Christian, had been living in Switzerland for nearly 53 years when he decided to move back to Turkey’s southeastern city of Mardin, where his family lived for centuries.

He purchased a house in a village called Yemisli (Enhıl in Syriac) where churches and mosques stand together and locals speak Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, and Syriac.

“I used to visit the village in the past. But after witnessing the progress and positive atmosphere in the area I decided to settle down permanently,” he told Middle East Eye.

“There are about 100 houses that have been rebuilt in recent years. About 1000 people were in the village visiting from Europe during the summer.”

Demirtas isn’t alone in returning to southern Turkey, especially to Mardin. They reclaim seemingly abandoned houses and farms that had once belonged to the country’s Assyrian Christian minority.

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Assyrians have endured a history of persecution, with documented instances of mass killings and exile, particularly during the turbulent events of 1915 when the Young Turk administration seized control in the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

The plight of Assyrians was further exacerbated in the 1970s and 1980s by the eruption of violence between the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and security forces.

More recently, Assyrians faced threats from the Islamic State in Syria during the late 2010s when they experienced indiscriminate violence and became targets for abduction.

This lack of security meant many Assyrians made the difficult decision to leave the region. Locals often cite ongoing clashes as a primary factor influencing their decision to leave.

Ferhan Demirtas with his wife in Mardin in October 2023 (Mehmet Algan/MEE)

A key driver for Assyrian migration was when the leadership of the military coup in 1980 curtailed their fundamental rights.

The military-led government also changed the names of villages, from Kurdish and Syriac to new Turkish names, as part of nationalist efforts.

However, the Turkish government’s treatment of minorities has been a source of controversy since the 1940s.

Christian minorities, for instance, faced attacks by mobs in Istanbul in 1955, resulting in mass emigration.

During the military junta in the 1980s, a lot of land and property owned by non-Mulsim minorities was confiscated, which further deepened the challenges faced by the Assyrian community.

Now, local demographic experts estimate that only 17,000 Assyrian Christians remain in Istanbul – and only 5000 individuals in Mardin, or Turabdin, as it is called in Syriac.

But still, their numbers have grown in recent years thanks to a reduction in violence in the region, as well as the Turkish government’s steps to encourage the return of Assyrians to their homeland.

Assurances by the state

Gabriel Akyuz, a historian and priest who leads the Syriac Orthodox Kirklar Church in Mardin, said construction is underway in more than 40 Assyrian villages in the province.

He is among a handful of Assyrians who have remained in Turkey.

“Returns to Turkey have increased significantly in the last 25 years, with the state’s highest authorities giving assurances to Assyrians that they can safely return to their country,” he told MEE.

“What the ruling AK Party government – especially President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – has done to ensure the return of Assyrians is admirable.”

VIDEO: Februniye Aykol, Turkey’s first female Assyrian mayor Read More »

Akyuz said that the government has ended the bureaucratic difficulties experienced by Christian communities.

It has also approved the opening of a Syriac language and literature department at Mardin Artuklu University, which currently accepts undergraduate and graduate students, including doctoral ones.

Akyuz says this is a symbolic – but important – recognition of local Assyrians by the state.

“My son Mihail Akyuz is also a lecturer at the same department,” the priest says.

“The government has returned 55 churches and monasteries remaining on treasury lands to our community.”

He added that there are still some problems. Some churches and monasteries have still not been returned. But he is hopeful that the government will resolve this as it tidies up land registry records.

Akyuz added that the change of treatment towards the Assyrians has been stark: “We were not a well-known community in Turkey until 20-30 years ago. But now, thank God, we are known all over the country and the world,” he says.

Akyuz further pointed out that the Assyrians established a “strong civilisation” in Mesopotamia, which encompasses today’s Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, after converting to Christianity in the first century BC.

He says Assyrians have made significant contributions to Islamic civilisation by translating ancient Greek writings, first into Syriac and then into Arabic, in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Success story

Locals point out one particular village called Kafro as a success story.

Although the population crashed to zero in 1994, now, 50 residents have moved back from Europe.

Aziz Demir, a mukhtar who leads the village, which is made up of 20 renovated houses, says he was born in the village in 1967 and left for Sweden in 1985.

“I permanently returned in 2006 and never left since then,” he told MEE.

“The number of people who spend at least half of the year in the village is increasing day by day. We can see a crowd that we have not seen for two years, especially in the summer.”

Kafro recently made a name for himself nationally by opening a chain of pizzerias run by Assyrians. Demir also opened one called “Turabdin Pizzeria” in July.

Demir said that if peace and stability could be maintained, a significant portion of Assyrians living in Europe would return.

He believes they would make a big contribution to the development of the region and put an educated workforce back into action to benefit Turkey.

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Fortunately, the government continues to woo the Assyrians.

President Erdogan personally approved plans to build the first-ever church of the republican era a few years ago.

In October, he attended the opening ceremony of the same church, called The Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church, in Istanbul, a city where thousands of Assyrians still live.

Sait Susin, an Assyrian community leader in Istanbul, said Assyrians living in Europe often visit the church with “pride and tears of joy”.

“Our only church, the Virgin Mary Church in Tarlabaşı [1844], could not meet the needs of the community. A small church can’t be sufficient for a population of 17,000,” he told MEE.

Susin said it took 14 years to achieve their dream of building a new church. First, they went to the Vatican to convince them to lend their land to the Assyrians. Then they approached the government.

He praises President Erdogan’s continuous help to achieve this dream.

“We think that the church itself is prestigious for our country,” he said. “Assyrians are one of the oldest elements of these lands, meeting their needs and being a peaceful community is a positive message to the whole world.”

Security risks

Susin said that he worries Assyrians face the danger of assimilation whenever they migrate outside their homeland, so it is very important that the community in Turkey remains strong.

But there are still security challenges that still stop Assyrians from returning home, as well as the lack of modern infrastructure, sanitation, and facilities that can be enjoyed in Europe.

In November, unknown assailants killed 92-year-old Assyrian citizen Gevriye Akguc outside his home in Mardin soon after he moved back to his village from Istanbul with his wife.

A police investigation suggested that the motive may have been a dispute over a plot of land.

Demirtas, a resident of Yemisli, complained that there have been “systematic” robberies during the winter that targeted houses in his village.

Sukru Aktas, a board member of Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation in Mardin, said other bureaucratic issues that make it hard for Assyrians to return, such as reclaiming plots that have been left unattended, or registered as forest land, or state land.

“There is also the issue of citizenship,” he says. “The citizenship of some Assyrians has been lost. They can come to Turkey as tourists. [But] they can only stay for three months. Those without citizenship cannot own property.”

However, fortunately, Mardin, like other cities in the border provinces, does not allow foreigners to acquire property.

“There are students who want to come to our monastery as students, but they also have difficulties,” he added.

Despite all this, Ilona Demir, a 29-year-old Assyrian, who is relatively young compared to other returnees, said when friends and relatives visit her home in Midyat, while they might arrive with preconceptions and prejudices about what life is like in Turkey, they leave with positive feelings.

Aziz Demir is posing outside of his pizza restaurant in Turkey’s Midyat in October 2023 (Mehmet Algan/MEE)

“Midyat is a socially underdeveloped place,” she said, laughing. “It may feel like going on a journey through history for young people coming from Europe. This was the reason why 15 of the 18 young people who returned haven’t stayed in Turkey and moved back to Europe.”

Despite it all – and the seeming goodwill of the Turkish presidency – there are still those who attack the Assyrian culture in the national assembly.

Turkish nationalist Good Party (IYI) members of parliament tried to censure and criticise George Aslan, an Assyrian Christian MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), earlier this month for issuing a statement of congratulations on Christmas in the Syriac language during an address to the parliament.

“This is the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, you have to speak Turkish,” shouted Lutfu Turkkan, an MP from IYI. “This isn’t your father’s farmland.”

But the Assyrians are still hopeful for their future in Turkey.

Demir, the mukhtar and owner of a pizza restaurant, says his friends still cannot believe he permanently moved back to his village in Turkey.

“They call me crazy and laugh at me,” he said. “This is my motherland and the return of Assyrians to their lands is sacred to me.”

Akyuz, the priest, agrees and makes a bold claim.

“The Assyrians are experiencing their golden age in the history of modern Turkey,” he said. “I am ready to challenge anyone who claims otherwise.”

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