The 2020 reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque by President Erdogan ignited major religious and political controversy, largely because the site embodies a complex, multi-faith legacy.

Critics argue that this decision elevates Islamic heritage above the site's multicultural past, which includes centuries as a Byzantine cathedral and Ottoman mosque, and accuse Erdogan of leveraging religious nationalism as a means to strengthen his political position.

The act of covering Christian mosaics to comply with Islamic religious traditions particularly offended Orthodox Christians, while newly imposed restrictions affecting site access drew condemnation from UNESCO and other international bodies.

They expressed concerns about the potential erasure of cultural history and the undermining of the site's World Heritage status.

International reaction, especially from Greece and Orthodox Christian institutions, was sharply negative.

Many saw the move as an affront to Istanbul's tradition of religious pluralism, framing it as a threat to Christian rights and an act that undermines peaceful coexistence among faiths.

Analysts broadly interpret Erdogan’s actions as a calculated political maneuver, aimed at evoking an Islamo-nationalist identity and reasserting Islamic symbolism in a period of economic and political challenge.

Symbolic rhetoric surrounding the "conquest of Istanbul" and the "resurrection of Hagia Sophia" is seen as crafted to energize Erdogan’s conservative and religious base, especially as his party faced declining popularity and domestic economic difficulties.

Overall, the reconversion is widely viewed as both a religiously charged and politically motivated act that continues to fuel debate within Turkey and across the international community.

The 2020 reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque by President Erdogan ignited major religious and political controversy, largely because the site embodies a complex, multi-faith legacy.

Title:

Content: Turkey election: Erdogan re-elected, country continues to divide
Paul Kirby and Ece Goksedef
• BBC reporter from Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for years, won another five-year term, and his supporters celebrated all night.
“All 85 million people in the country have won, ” he told cheering crowds at his huge residence on the edge of Ankara.
But his call for unity appears hollow as he mocks his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and targets jailed Kurdish leaders and LGBT (gay, bisexual and transgender) support policies.
The opposition leader did not publicly concede defeat.
Kirida Oru called it "the most unfair election in recent years" and said the president's party had used all the power of the government against him.
According to unofficial statistics close to the count, Erdoğan won just over 52% of the vote — nearly half of voters in a deeply polarized country who did not support his authoritarian vision for Turkey.
In the end, Krida Oru could not match the well-trained Erdogan campaign, even though he has pulled the current president into the runoff stage for the second round – the first since the Turkish president adopted direct elections in 2014.
But he failed to reverse his opponent's lead in the first round, with a gap of more than two million votes.
The Turkish president, for his part, proclaimed his victory to the greatest extent possible.
He spoke to crowds on a bus in Istanbul, the largest city, and then on the balcony of his official residence after dark, where some 320,000 people gathered in support of him.
“It ’ s not just us who won, it ’ s Turkey as a whole, ” he said, calling it one of the most important elections in Turkey ’ s history.
He taunted his defeated opponent: "Bye, Kemal." — a phrase echoed by supporters in Ankara.
He also denounced his rival allies for supporting LGBT policies, saying that he was at odds with his own family-centered principles.
Although the final result of the election was not confirmed, the Supreme Electoral Council said that the victory was no longer in doubt.
Erdoğan supporters everywhere in Ankara took to the streets to celebrate the victory, with some calling out the slogans of Islam and some laying the Turkish flag on the lawn to pray.
While some supporters say they believe Erdoğan will do better in the next five years, the president himself has acknowledged that Turkey ’ s high inflation rate is the most pressing problem at the moment – the country ’ s annual inflation rate is already close to 44%, affecting the lives of every citizen.
And the economy is not the biggest concern of Erdoğan ’ s supporters at the moment, who say they are proud of Erdoğan ’ s strong position in the world and his toughness in fighting “terrorists, ” by which they mean the Kurdish armed forces.
Despite the euphoria of supporters, the idea of unity in this torn country seems to be as far away as ever.
After the failed coup in 2016, Erdoğan had abolished the post of prime minister, with a high concentration of power, which opponents described as a step backwards.
Turkey ’ s opposition now has to regroup in order to prepare for the 2024 local elections.
A strong leader for 20 years.
From humble beginnings, Erdoğan is a giant in Turkish politics and has led the country for 20 years and is the most influential figure in the country since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of the modern republic.
Despite a series of crises, he won the 2023 election and remained in power.
It was his most precarious position in years, and his opponents believed he could defeat him.
Critics have accused his unruly economic policies of exacerbating the cost of living crisis in Turkey.
Moreover, as a combative leader who set a record in Turkey ’ s modernization, he seemed to be slow to respond to the earthquake that claimed 50,000 lives in February.
After escaping a coup d'état in 2016, he transformed the presidency into an executive role of supreme power and suppressed opponents and dissidents.
Beginning in 2003, first as prime minister and then as president by direct election since 2014, Turkey under Erdoğan ’ s leadership has been “flexing its muscles ” as a regional power, pursuing the Islamist cause and quickly overpowering its political rivals.
Although the head of a NATO member state, he placed himself in the position of mediator in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and made Sweden wait a bit longer to join the Western defense alliance.
His hard-line diplomacy angered Europe and beyond.
Erdoğan polarized his country, but he was a victorious general in the election.
His supporters refer to him as a "leader."
He accused opponents of contempt for Turkish voters and unpopular: "85 million people, we will protect our votes, our will and our future."
On the throne of power.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was born in February 1954 on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, the son of a member of the Coast Guard. At the age of 13, his father decided to move to Istanbul, hoping for a better environment for his five children.
Young Erdoğan used to make extra money selling lemonade and sesame packets.
He attended an Islamic school and later earned a degree in management from Marmara University in Istanbul – and was a professional footballer.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he was active in Islamic circles, joining the pro-Islamic Welfare Party of Necmettin Erbakan. As the party gained popularity in the 1990s, Erdoğan was elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994, leading Turkey ’ s largest city for the next four years.
But his tenure came to an abrupt end when he was accused of openly reading nationalist poetry inciting hatred, which included phrases such as: “Mosques are our barracks, domes are our helmets, minarets are our bayonets, believers are our soldiers. ”
After a few months in prison, he returned to politics.
But his party has been banned for violating the strict secular rules of the modern Turkish government.
In 2001, he formed a new party with his ally Abdullah Gul. In 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a parliamentary majority, and Erdoğan was appointed prime minister the following year.
To this day, he is the chairman of the AKP.
First 10 years in power
Since 2003, he has been Prime Minister for three terms, leading a period of steady economic growth and earning international recognition as a reformer.
At a time when Erdoğan prioritized modernizing Turkey with large infrastructure projects, the middle class expanded and millions lifted out of poverty.
But critics also warn that he is becoming more authoritarian.
Protesters took to the streets in 2013, partly because of his government ’ s plan to transform a popular park in central Istanbul, but also because the population was challenging increasingly authoritarian rule.
The Prime Minister accused the protesters of being a nuisance, and people in the streets would beat pots every night at 9 o'clock to show resistance.
The sons of three cabinet allies have also been indicted on corruption charges.
The Gezi Park protests became a black and white spot for his rule.
To his critics, he acted more like an Ottoman monarch than a democratic leader.
Erdoğan also had a feud with Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic scholar based in the United States whose social and cultural movements helped Erdoğan win three consecutive elections and contributed to the military ’ s secession from politics.
The incident has caused a fierce reaction in Turkish society.
Muslim Revival
After a decade in power, Erdoğan ’ s party also worked to lift the ban on women wearing headscarves from public service imposed after the 1980 military coup.
The ban was eventually lifted, allowing women to join the police, the military and the judiciary.
Critics say he dug the walls of the secular state in Ataturk. Although Erdogan himself is a believer, he has always denied that he wants to impose Islamic values on viewers, insisting that he supports the right of Turks to express their religious beliefs openly.
However, he has repeatedly supported the criminalization of adultery.
As the father of four, he said that “no Muslim family ” should consider birth control or family planning.
“We will expand our descendants, ” he said in May 2016.
He extolled motherhood, denounced feminists, and argued that men and women could not be treated equally.
Erdoğan has long championed the cause of Islam — he is known to raise four fingers in a salute gesture to Egypt ’ s oppressed Muslim Brotherhood.
In July 2020, under his auspices, Istanbul ’ s historic Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque, infuriating many Christians.
Built 1500 years ago, the cathedral was turned into a mosque by the Ottoman Turks, but Ataturk turned it into a museum – a symbol of the new secular state.
It is not a coincidence that, just hours after the start of the 2023 elections, the president spoke to supporters during an evening prayer.
Enhanced control
After being barred from running for prime minister, he ran for president in his first direct election in 2014, when it was a symbolic office.
He has a plan to reform this office, to create a new constitution that benefits all Turks and places their country among the top 10 economies in the world.
But in the early days of his presidency, he twice faced a shake-up in his position of power.
His party lost its parliamentary majority in a vote in 2015, and a few months later in 2016, Turkey witnessed its first violent coup attempt in decades.
The rebels almost captured the president, who was vacationing at the seaside resort, but he was safely rescued by plane. In the early hours of 16 July, he appeared victorious at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, greeted by cheers from supporters.
They blocked the advance of the conspirators, and nearly 300 civilians were killed.
The president appeared on national television and met with supporters in Istanbul, declaring himself "commander in chief".
But the situation was also clearly tense, and he openly wept as he spoke at the funeral of a close friend who was shot dead by the rebels.
Some 150,000 civil servants were fired and more than 50,000 detained, including soldiers, journalists, lawyers, police officers, academics and Kurdish politicians.
The crackdown on critics has raised alarm abroad and soured Turkey ’ s relationship with the EU: Turkey ’ s attempts to join the EU have gone years without progress.
The controversy over the influx of migrants into Greece has also fuelled hostility.
But in his 1,000-room gleaming palace overlooking Ankara from Aksalai, President Erdoğan ’ s position seems more secure than ever.
His victory in a 2017 referendum gave the president sweeping powers, including the ability to impose a state of emergency, appoint top officials and interfere with the legal system.
A year later, he won the first presidential election.
His core votes came from small towns and rural conservative districts in Anatolia. In 2019, his party lost in three of the largest cities – Istanbul, the capital Ankara and Izmir.
In the Istanbul mayoral election, the party narrowly lost to the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ekrem Imamoglu, a bitter defeat for Erdoğan, who was mayor of the city in the 1990s.
He never accepted the result.
Before Imamoglu was barred from the May elections, he was ahead of the president in opinion polls.
The president and his allies have been accused of using the courts to disqualify the popular mayor.
Turkey ’ s third-largest party, the People ’ s Democratic Party of New Kurdistan (HDP), was similarly fearful of being barred from voting in parliament because of alleged links to Kurdish forces, but instead decided to run under a different name.
Like Turkish leaders in the past, Erdoğan has imposed a strong crackdown on the outlawed Kurdish Workers ’ Party (PKK).
While Turkey has accepted more than 3.5 million refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, Ankara has also launched several operations against Kurdish forces on the other side of the border, crowding out Kurds in Turkey.
Erdogan has long had close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has also tried to play an important mediator role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Although a NATO member, he bought Russia ’ s anti-missile defense system and chose Russia to build Turkey ’ s first nuclear reactor.
Before the 2023 election, he tried to win the trust of nationalists and conservative voters by accusing the West of targeting him.
“My country is going to smash this conspiracy, ” he asserted, describing it as a flashpoint.
He ended his 2023 campaign by visiting the tomb of Adnan Menderes, Turkey ’ s first democratically elected prime minister, who was executed after a military coup in 1961.
He wanted people to know: "The era of coups and warlords is over."
* Reporting by Istanbul journalist Cagil Kasapoglu

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.

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

Critics argue that this decision elevates Islamic heritage above the site's multicultural past, which includes centuries as a Byzantine cathedral and Ottoman mosque, and accuse Erdogan of leveraging religious nationalism as a means to strengthen his political position.

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

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 act of covering Christian mosaics to comply with Islamic religious traditions particularly offended Orthodox Christians, while newly imposed restrictions affecting site access drew condemnation from UNESCO and other international bodies.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

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

They expressed concerns about the potential erasure of cultural history and the undermining of the site's World Heritage status.

How did the Greek prime minister describe the reconversion in May 2024?

An act that belittles Istanbul's history

International reaction, especially from Greece and Orthodox Christian institutions, was sharply negative.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

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

Many saw the move as an affront to Istanbul's tradition of religious pluralism, framing it as a threat to Christian rights and an act that undermines peaceful coexistence among faiths.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

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

Analysts broadly interpret Erdogan’s actions as a calculated political maneuver, aimed at evoking an Islamo-nationalist identity and reasserting Islamic symbolism in a period of economic and political challenge.

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

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

Symbolic rhetoric surrounding the "conquest of Istanbul" and the "resurrection of Hagia Sophia" is seen as crafted to energize Erdogan’s conservative and religious base, especially as his party faced declining popularity and domestic economic difficulties.

What kind of domestic reaction did Erdogan's reconversion of Hagia Sophia receive?

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

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

Overall, the reconversion is widely viewed as both a religiously charged and politically motivated act that continues to fuel debate within Turkey and across the international community.

Title:

Content: Sections
Materials
Between Hamas and Israel: what benefits will Erdogan get from the war in Gaza
Olga Shevchenko
For the past 20 years, Turkey has tried to reach the global level of global influence, but the war in Israel has shown that Ankara has remained a marginal player.
It has no influence on Israel or Hamas.
Hamas ’ s surprise and horrific attack on October 7 and Israel ’ s disproportionate efforts to oust the group from power in the Gaza Strip represent a tipping point.
Both Israeli and Palestinian societies have been caught in the trauma of interconnected history and mutual violence.
The myth of the invincibility of the Israeli army and intelligence has been shattered.
The US government ’ s efforts to change the regional order by promoting Arab-Israeli normalization have been put on hold, if not completely stopped in the near term.
The Arab states are concerned about the widening regional conflict and the growing public discontent with Israel ’ s policies towards the occupied territories.
Many representatives of the so-called Global South are disappointed with the unconditional support given to Israel by the United States and the European Union.
Given the prevalence of anti-immigration, xenophobic and Islamophobic sentiments in the Western public, the conflict in Gaza could turn into an internal problem for the US and Europe.
Focus translated Sinem Adar ’ s article on the Turkish response to Israel ’ s actions in Gaza.
The Turkish government also views October 7 and its aftermath as a critical moment for the Middle East.
In the first hours after the attack, Ankara was cautious: the government condemned the deaths of civilians, although it did not directly attribute responsibility to Hamas, and called for restraint on both sides.
Since then, it has increasingly taken a critical stance on Israel ’ s policy in Gaza.
Unlike Turkey ’ s Western allies, Ankara does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
In 2018, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called it part of the Palestinian resistance defending “Palestinian territory from the occupation authorities. ”
The change in Ankara ’ s rhetoric is due to the logic of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) leadership ’ s support for the Palestinian struggle, its rejection of the US-led world order, and the government ’ s conviction that the conflict will return the United States to the region.
At the same time, this reaction demonstrates the vulnerability of Turkey ’ s Middle East policy.
Stuck between hegemonic aspirations and rapprochement attempts aimed at breaking the isolation and restoring the economy, Ankara has no influence on either Israel or Hamas.
Democracy promotion, peacemaking and leadership in the Ummah
Turkey was the first Muslim country to recognize Israel in 1949.
It was also one of the first to recognize the proclamation of the State of Palestine.
Despite close economic, diplomatic and defense relations with Israel, moments of confrontation occurred even before the AKP came to power.
For example, in 2002, Prime Minister Bülent Echevit accused Israel of "non-recognition of UN resolutions" and "committing genocide", reproached the US for passivity, fraught with "Islamic radicalism" and "confrontation between East and West", and criticized "radical Palestinian elements" (Hamas) for obstructing the creation of an independent Palestinian state. "
The AKP came to power just a couple of months after Echevit escalated criticism of Israel.
The AKP is the product of Turkey ’ s Islamist nationalist Perspektiva movement, which is eager to see Palestine as a crucial component of Turkish foreign policy.
Not surprisingly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become an active component of the AKP ’ s Middle East policy for three reasons.
• First, Hamas won the largest number of seats in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Assembly elections, which the Middle East Quartet recognized as "free, fair and secure."
While the United States and the European Union conditioned the recognition of Hamas ’ victory on “renunciation of violence and terror, recognition of Israel ’ s right to exist and disarmament, ” Ankara took this moment as an opportunity to position itself as a supporter of democracy in the region.
• Secondly, one of the main directions of the AKP ’ s foreign policy was the desire to make Turkey “a peacemaker on the periphery of the international system. ”
The Turkish government ’ s ties with Hamas allowed Turkey to claim the role of mediator during the December 2008 – January 2009 Gaza war in a “vacuum created by the policies of the European Union and the United States ”, albeit without a concrete result.
At the same time, diplomatic relations with Israel declined after the famous “minute ” incident in 2009, and a year later after the attack on the Gaza flotilla, which killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists.
After a ten-year hiatus, diplomatic relations were restored in 2022.
Finally, defending the rights of Palestine and the Palestinians is part of the AKP ’ s commitment to advancing the interests of Muslims around the world.
The party elite and its main electorate believe that the liberation of Muslims from Western cultural and political domination has already begun in Turkey (thanks to Erdogan) and may spread to other countries.
Erdogan is encouraging this rhetoric.
In 2020, after the reconstruction of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, he called it “a harbinger of the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. ”
From Civilizational Aspirations to Regional Isolation
The 2011 Arab uprisings marked a turning point in AKP leadership ambitions.
Erdogan sought to position himself and the Turkish government as the leader of the Muslim world, supporting Sunni Islamists throughout the Middle East.
The AKP justifies this policy by citing the democratic process and the reality that parties affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood are winning elections across the region.
As part of this policy, Turkey has sheltered many Islamist exiles and generously supported their organizations operating in the country.
During periods of internal controversy, such as the failed coup attempt in 2016 or the controversial constitutional referendum in 2017, the AKP, in turn, welcomed Erdogan ’ s support from Sunni Islamists.
However, ideology is not the only reason why Sunni Islamists sympathize with Erdogan (and Turkey).
Interests also matter.
Turkey has often been seen as a balancing force against the Arab autocrats of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who see political Islam as a threat to their survival.
This view was facilitated by Ankara ’ s increasingly confrontational foreign policy and the expansion of its military presence since 2016.
However, the perception of Turkey as a destructive power has simultaneously led to cooperation between Turkey ’ s partners, its old and new rivals.
Trapped by the discrepancy between its stated ambitions and its real capabilities, Ankara is becoming increasingly isolated.
The Limits of Turkey ’ s Efforts for Regional Rapprochement
Starting in 2020, Turkey is trying to emerge from almost a decade of regional isolation.
Turkey ’ s policy shift was prompted by a number of factors, including Ankara ’ s economic problems, the election of Joseph Biden as president, the geopolitical realignment in the region following the Abraham Accords, the Syrian government ’ s rapprochement with regional authorities, and the weakening of Saudi Arabia ’ s and the United Arab Emirates ’ ties with Qatar.
In addition, Ankara viewed with caution the expansion of cooperation between Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, Israel and the Arab states in the eastern Mediterranean.
The concurrent divergence of interests between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the decline in confidence in further US involvement in the region, have contributed to Turkey ’ s rapprochement efforts.
As part of this policy shift, Ankara has become more cautious and distanced itself from Arab Islamists to help restore relations with regional players, including Israel.
The Turkish government has asked the Muslim Brotherhood media channels to soften the criticism.
One of the satellite TV channels operating in Istanbul, Mekameleen, announced in 2022 the termination of broadcasting and the closure of eight studios.
According to reports, Ankara also demanded that the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas members leave Turkey.
Similarly, in April of the same year, a Turkish court postponed the trial of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident killed in Turkey.
However, the latest cycle of war in the Gaza Strip has shown the limits of Turkey ’ s rapprochement efforts, especially with Israel.
In response to Turkey ’ s offer of mediation, the Israeli ambassador in Ankara made it clear that the time has not yet come.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has let Turkey through in his shuttle diplomacy, courting Arab countries in the region to ensure humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing, continue hostage diplomacy, and prevent a possible escalation of regional war.
Meanwhile, Ankara is increasingly making critical statements against Israel.
On the night of the controversial attack on the Arab Al-Ahli hospital, which Erdogan called "the latest example of inhumane Israeli attacks," Israel asked its citizens to leave Turkey "as soon as possible."
Demonstrations took place at the Israeli and American consulates in Istanbul, as well as at US military bases in Malatya and Adana.
Two days later, Israel expelled all its diplomats from the country.
Ankara ’ s relations with Hamas also seem insignificant.
According to one Turkish intelligence official, the Turkish government is negotiating with Hamas to release the hostages at the request of “many states, especially Western ones. ”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbok said her ministry was in contact with Qatar and Turkey, which "have channels for negotiations with Hamas" to secure the release of the German hostages.
However, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, no concrete results have been achieved at the time of writing.
Qatar appears to be playing a crucial role in the negotiations for the release of the hostages.
Turkey and the international system
In order to return Ankara to a fragile regional order, Fidan proposed a “guarantor formula ” in an interview with the pro-government newspaper Sabah on October 17.
In accordance with the principle of two-State coexistence on the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as its capital, this formula stipulates that one of the countries in the region, "including Turkey", will act as guarantor of the future Palestinian State.
Fidan also noted that “other countries could play the same role for Israel, ” and mentioned the importance of“ a potential common position of China and Russia as members of the UN Security Council ” in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Russia and China recently voiced support for a two-state solution that the international community until recently considered unrealistic.
Turkey ’ s insistence on the two-state solution is intertwined with criticism of the international system, which has become one of the main topics for AKP leadership in the past decade.
Ankara has often criticized the structure of the UN Security Council under the slogan “The world is bigger than five ”.
It also requires an international order that "treats every country on an equal footing, and in which every country can feel secure and be an equal partner".
This logic was at the heart of Erdogan ’ s call to the West and the international community in his conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “act effectively against human rights violations in Gaza ” and“ remember the promises made to the Palestinians [meaning the two-state solution] instead of engaging in provocations that would lead to a further escalation of the conflict. ”
Fidan voiced the same logic in the most direct way when he accused Israel of “stealing Palestinian land ” (referring to Israel ’ s continued expansion of settlements, which the UN considers a violation of international law).
Dissatisfaction with the US-led world order
Behind these statements is also Turkey ’ s staunch opposition to the US-led world order.
Turkey ’ s ruling elite believes that “the West lacks strategic thinking and is increasingly moving away from the rest of the world in the face of various problems, including relations with China, migration and terror, and the shift of economic gravity from West to East. ”
For Ankara, the clear and unequivocal support that the Biden administration has given to Israel confirms this belief.
By aligning the policies of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries, pro-government journalists expect that the conflict will lead to greater isolation of Israel.
Most Turkish politicians, regardless of their ideological affiliation, tend to view the recent conflict in Gaza as a conflict between the so-called West (led by the United States) and the East.
After the controversial terrorist attack at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, the government was called upon to unite with the countries of the South to “stop the US-Israel alliance. ”
However, the methods proposed vary.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on October 18, Fidan called on Muslim countries to act "confidently" and "challenge the hegemonic narrative imposed on them", but without offering a concrete road map on how to do so.
Devlet Bahceli, leader of the AKP ’ s junior partner, the Nationalist Movement Party, said Turkey should intervene militarily if a ceasefire is not reached.
Those who criticize Ankara ’ s civilizational aspirations, but share its desire for a foreign policy independent from the West, call for the expulsion of the American military from the Incirlik airbase and the Kurechik radar station in Malatya.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean: From Gaza to Syria
While the AKP leadership does not seem to be happy with these demands, it is certainly feeling the pressure of a growing American presence in the region.
According to Erdogan, the Biden administration ’ s decision to send aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean hinders Turkey ’ s efforts to de-escalate the situation.
In addition to criticizing the lack of American leadership in putting pressure on Israel for a ceasefire, Ankara is internally concerned that the strengthening of the American presence in the Eastern Mediterranean is detrimental to its regional interests.
Pro-government journalists draw analogies to the US-led Operation Provide Comfort, launched in 1991 to protect Kurdish refugees fleeing northern Iraq after the Iraq War and deliver humanitarian aid.
In the political spectrum, there is indeed a growing consensus that the return of the United States to the region is an act of containment not only of Iran and its supporters, but also of Turkey.
The fear is that an increased American presence would further undermine Ankara ’ s efforts to prevent the creation of a Kurdish autonomy under the leadership of the Democratic Union Party and the People ’ s Protection Units in northern Syria, which Turkey views as a continuation of the Kurdistan Workers ’ Party.
The United States and Turkey consider the Kurdistan Workers ’ Party a terrorist organization.
Ankara justifies its position on Hamas with the US position on the Kurds in Syria.
Identifying Weaknesses in Turkey ’ s Foreign Policy
In general, Ankara ’ s reaction to Hamas ’ brutal attack on Israeli citizens, Israel ’ s wide-ranging retaliation, resulting in massive destruction and loss of life in Gaza, and America ’ s unequivocal and unequivocal support for Israel ’ s policies underscore Turkey ’ s limitations.
After two decades of policies aimed at expanding Turkey ’ s role in the Middle East, Ankara is in fact a marginal player.
This is partly due to the fragility of Turkey ’ s relations with Israel, Hamas and the United States.
Turkey ’ s position is also at odds with that of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which openly condemn Hamas ’ violence while criticizing Israel ’ s disproportionate retaliation and Western positions.
However, the apparent insignificance of Ankara ’ s influence also suggests that Turkey has no leverage over the warring parties in the current conflict.
Here it is appropriate to compare with Turkey ’ s position in the Black Sea.
Ankara can continue its hedging policy in the Black Sea thanks to the Montreux Convention and NATO membership.
In the case of the war in Gaza, none of these conditions will help.
Given the lack of similar tools, the state of the Turkish economy and the reputational costs that Ankara has imposed on itself in the last decade, its influence is limited to rhetorical statements.
About the author
Sinem Adar is a research fellow at the Center for Applied Research in Turkey at the German Institute for International Relations and Security.

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 Hagia Sophia stands as a unique architectural and cultural landmark, symbolizing both Christian and Islamic legacies.

Built as a Byzantine cathedral, it became an Ottoman mosque after 1453, and then, under Atatürk’s secular reforms, was converted into a museum in 1935.

This museum status, lasting for 85 years, was meant to emphasize Turkey’s secularism and present the Hagia Sophia as a monument of shared human heritage.

Its later designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site reinforced its value to both religious and secular communities worldwide, representing a layered history of transformation and coexistence.

President Erdogan’s decision in 2020 to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque provoked widespread controversy.

Domestically, this decision was interpreted by critics as favoring religious interests and prioritizing Islamic symbolism over the republic’s secular principles.

Many Christians and particularly Orthodox Christian institutions, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, expressed concern, arguing that the transformation disregarded Hagia Sophia’s international and multi-faith legacy.

The move was seen as reducing the building’s identity from a bridge between civilizations to a symbol of singular religious dominance.

Political motivations were widely discussed.

Analysts noted that Erdogan’s timing coincided with domestic economic struggles and dwindling popularity for his administration.

Reopening Hagia Sophia as a mosque acted as a strategic political tool, appealing to nationalist and conservative Muslim sentiments to bolster Erdogan’s support.

This act was perceived as reinforcing Islamic identity and evoking Ottoman nostalgia, potentially distracting from economic and political turmoil.

Observers suggested that the decision was not just religious, but also a calculated move to consolidate power and shift public attention.

Globally, reactions from UNESCO and international organizations were swift.

UNESCO raised concerns that Turkey had not fully consulted them before changing the site’s status, stressing that such conversion could harm the Hagia Sophia’s value as a World Heritage Site.

The organization highlighted Turkey’s responsibility to safeguard the monument’s universal cultural and historical significance, warning that prioritizing religious function over preservation could endanger its physical and symbolic integrity.

Practical consequences followed the reconversion.

Increased visitor numbers after the mosque’s reopening led to reported damage: fragments have reportedly fallen from the dome, and original doors and floors have suffered wear.

Critics argue this demonstrates a shift away from rigorous historic preservation in favor of religious functionality.

They claim that the focus on the structure’s current religious status risks long-term harm to its ancient fabric, undermining the responsibilities expected in managing such a venerable site.

The response in the Arab world, especially through social media channels, was largely positive.

Many expressed pride in the Hagia Sophia’s return to use as a mosque, viewing it as a restoration of Islamic heritage and a symbolic victory for the Muslim world.

In online discussions and Arab media, the act was celebrated as enhancing a sense of Muslim unity and rekindling historical pride.

These reactions amplified the reconversion’s resonance, with social media playing a key role in framing the event as an important moment for Islamic identity.

Nonetheless, some observers note that in celebrating the event, less attention is given to the monument’s cross-cultural significance or broader implications for interfaith dialogue.

In summary, the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque was not just a local religious change, but a deeply symbolic and politically charged action.

It generated significant criticism for its perceived religious and political motives, as well as for the risks posed to both the monument’s physical preservation and its recognized role as a shared world heritage site.

The controversy demonstrates how the Hagia Sophia remains a focal point for debates about identity, secularism, and the stewardship of heritage—issues that resonate powerfully within Turkey, across the Arab world, and beyond.

The Hagia Sophia stands as a unique architectural and cultural landmark, symbolizing both Christian and Islamic legacies.

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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.

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

Share.

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

Built as a Byzantine cathedral, it became an Ottoman mosque after 1453, and then, under Atatürk’s secular reforms, was converted into a museum in 1935.

How did Hagia Sophia become important for Muslims?

Sultan Mehmed II converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque,making it a key religious site for Muslims for centuries.

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

This museum status, lasting for 85 years, was meant to emphasize Turkey’s secularism and present the Hagia Sophia as a monument of shared human heritage.

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

Its later designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site reinforced its value to both religious and secular communities worldwide, representing a layered history of transformation and coexistence.

Title:

Content: Chairman of Wafd Party
Dr. Abdul Sindh Yamama
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. Ayman is an accountant.
Editor-in-Chief
I'm sorry.
My grandfather, Zainuddin.
Chairman of Wafd Party
Dr. Abdul Sindh Yamama
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. Ayman is an accountant.
Editor-in-Chief
I'm sorry.
My grandfather, Zainuddin.
The land of the Savior of the Nation cries on the anniversary of his birth.
The Wafd reveals from within the birthplace of Christ.
How the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem celebrated Christmas
Former Patriarchal Counsellor for Religious Relations: The Land of Christ is Sad This Year
Prayers in the churches of the world for peace in Gaza and the cessation of wars
Glory be to God in the highest, and peace on earth, and to men the joy of these verses of the Psalm (Luke 2: 14), the churches of various denominations repeat during the celebration of Christmas.
The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated on Saturday the Holy Mass on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of Christ, at the headquarters of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in the New Administrative Capital, which annually witnesses the presence of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, symbols of the Egyptian society, in a message that confirms the interdependence of this people with the Holy Family and the strength of the Egyptians' love for Jesus Christ "King of Peace" and Savior of the Nation from the Dark Ages.
There are churches that follow the Western calendar of Catholics, Armenians, Episcopal and Syriac Orthodox on December 25, while the Evangelical Church held its celebration at the Palace of Debarah last Friday, and the Coptic Church celebrates on January 7.
The eyes of the Christian world at this time of year usually turn to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, where the Church of the Nativity, located in the southern West Bank, was built by Emperor Constantine in 335 AD.
The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest churches in Palestine and the world, and most importantly the fact that religious services have been held regularly until now since the beginning of the sixth century AD when the Roman Emperor Justinian built the church in its present form.
This is the first church built by this ruler and with the two churches that were built at the beginning of the fourth century AD after Christianity became the official state religion and Bishop Makarios in the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea requested this order in 325 AD, and 11 years ago the Church of the Nativity was included in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.
It has been a destination for Christian pilgrims around the world for decades, but this year the land of Christmas was sad and smelled of blood in its wings.
With the escalation of events in the war in Gaza, Al-Wafd contacted for the second year in a row with Samir Qumsiyeh, Secretary of the Well of the Virgin Committee, former Advisor to the Patriarchs for Religious Relations and Director of the Nativity TV in Bethlehem, to find out how this historic patch, which embraced the first moments in the life of the child Jesus Christ, used to host thousands annually on this day.
Usually, the Church of the Nativity hosts large numbers of pilgrims who are keen to be present in the area where Christ was born, especially on the 25th of December according to the celebration of the Latin Catholic, and on the 6th of January during the celebration of the Greek Orthodox.
How did the Church of the Nativity celebrate Christmas this year?
“The situation has been affected by what is happening in Gaza and now the Church of the Nativity has become empty, there is no tourist or celebration, and the square that used to be filled has become empty this year, and the anniversary of the birth of Christ this year has become without joys.
How did the Church witness the celebration of Christmas in light of the war of Israeli aggression on Gaza?
The Latin community celebrated December 24, while the Greek Orthodox held its celebration January 6, there was a sad Mumbai, the celebrations were limited to prayers, what was usual during the midnight mass and the official presence was limited to the mayor in Bethlehem, and there is no Christmas tree like every year, but the place of banners calling on the world to stop the war and return peace to the people of Palestine.
What about the Christmas party this year?
The procession of the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierre Batista Pizzaballa passed, and the Jews opened the doors from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to the square of the church without drums or any celebration as usual on this occasion, and only one official attended according to the convention known since the Ottoman era.
This is what happened with the Greek Orthodox community in the presence of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos.
How much has this year ’ s celebration changed?
“This year is completely different, a sad holiday without the semblance of joy, and the Church of the Nativity has become an abandoned building after every year witnessing a large influx from all over the world.
How far away is the Church of the Nativity from the danger of what is happening now?
The history of the Church of the Nativity reminds us that it is in the eternal preservation and care of God. When the Persians came, they demolished the churches and when they reached the Nativity they could not, according to the doctrine that dates back to the moments of the birth of Christ when the star appeared and was observed by the Magi “Iran ” and was ruled by Herod the Roman.
The date of Christ's birth tells that they went to him to tell him of the birth of the new king and began to search in the corners of the earth for the child by order of Herod, who was waiting for the moment of finding him to kill him.
History states that the angel appeared to the Magi and told them to leave without announcing their finding, which sparked the anger of the ruler and ordered the killing of the children in Bethlehem, so the Holy Family decided to Egypt after they crossed through Beit Sahour.
What is the story of the wasps that saved the Church from the Magi?
The Persians thought when they saw what the Magi had done that this area was sacred, but they did not touch it, but there was a historical event there was a group that intended to attack the Church of the Nativity, so a group of wasps attacked the area and no one attacked it until it was built in its present form by Constantine.
What is the story of the cave in the Church of the Nativity?
The Church of the Nativity still maintains a cave that is not open to anyone, containing the bodies and skeletons of children killed in this period.
Why is the Church of the Nativity important?
Qumsiyeh answers that the Church of the Nativity occupies a great place, and its importance is due to its embrace of holy moments and its consideration as the land that witnessed the birth of the King of Peace, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Nation, in Bethlehem.
What is the story of Christ ’ s birth in the Church of the Nativity?
History tells us of the choice of the Virgin and her righteous fiancé Joseph Al-Najjar for this plot, which the Holy Family reached after Augustus the Tsar ordered to write the inhabitants of the world, so Joseph Al-Najjar and the Virgin Mary went to Bethlehem to register, and the gospel of the birth of the Holy Child had appeared to Our Lady in advance.
How did the stable in which Christ was born become the Church of the Nativity?
The Church of the Nativity was built on the land on which Christ was born during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine after his mother, Queen Helena, asked for it to preserve the land that witnessed the first moments of the life of Jesus Christ.
Describe how the moment of Christmas passed on to the Virgin within the Church?
History tells of this historic moment that the birth of Christ was in the winter and there was a harsh cold and the animals in the stable began to blow in the manger to warm the child until the Virgin gave birth in peace.
What does the Church of the Nativity look like now?
The entrance to the church can be described as a narrow door intended to bend to show respect for the sanctity of the place, as well as to prevent the cavalry from entering with their horses days after the occupation of the city, and after the door the visitor encounters a spacious hall with pink stone columns, and a Byzantine mosaic floor leads to the grotto which is a small cave with « star Thud », where the Virgin gave birth to her child and there the candles are constantly lit by visitors and priests of different denominations and the cave has one door to enter and the other to exit.
How has the Church of the Nativity changed over the ages?
The Church of the Nativity witnessed several events and passed through influential stages, especially after it was first destroyed by the Samaritans in the sixth century AD, then rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Justinus, and preserved in its restoration on the "Silver Star", a special description of fourteen heads, which determine the place of the birth of Christ and the pilgrimage of millions since that date and even before the outbreak of the current Gaza war.
Does history mention saints who lived in the Church of the Nativity?
The church is housed on a seductive chain and crypts under the Church of the Nativity where clergy and priests lived, and within one of them Euronimus translated the Gospel, isolated from the world for years during his work.
What denominations care for the Church of the Nativity?
< < Three major denominations are linked in the administration of the Church, the largest of which is the Greek Orthodox and the second is the Latin, and the Catholics have the Church of St. Catherine within the Church of the Nativity and the Armenian community, and also there are small sites for other denominations such as the Copts, the Abyssinians and the Syriacs.
With this blessed church closed by current events, how did it join the World Heritage List?
The church was included in the UNESCO Heritage List in 2012 because of its religious and archaeological importance and the restoration of the roof was carried out with the approval of the concerned communities responsible for the church in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and UNESCO, so that the design of the roof was made of cedar trees coming from Lebanon for more than six hundred years.
What was the Church of the Nativity in the Christmas celebrations before the current Israeli war of aggression?
The Church of the Nativity has always guided many tourists who are keen to be present from all over the world in large groups and lived in the city of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour Beit Jala, on the income provided by the tourism industry of shells, wood, olives and religious artifacts and thus affected by what is happening today.
How were the celebrations in the Church of the Nativity before the war?
There were several occasions such as weddings and religious events inside the church, the most important of which was the Christmas, which was accompanied by celebrations of the Scouts and the procession of the Patriarchs, and this is subject to the so-called « Balstasco », that is to maintain the status quo, arrangements repeated every year.
It started from the departure of the procession of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the same arrangements for the Patriarch of Rome and the bishops of other denominations and accompanied by elements of the Israeli occupiers to the monastery of Mar Elias, where he is accompanied by the mayor of Beit Jala to the area of   Quba to be received by the mayor of Beit Sahour, passing to the Square of Nativity, where he will be received by the mayor of Bethlehem, the governor, A lot of people and a lot of people.
Not only were these events, but there was a midnight mass at night attended by ambassadors and consuls of the Western state, and the second day is the feast and the patriarch greets the feast at his headquarters in the Church of the Nativity.
There is also a celebration of Easter, where the Mass of the Crucifixion and Resurrection was attended by thousands of Christian believers, except for the weekly Sunday Mass as well, and our Muslim people were keen to be present at the Church of the Nativity during the visit.
Who are the most prominent historical figures who have visited the church?
“The Church has gone through many events that have seen the arrival of many heads of state and leaders throughout the ages and there is no room here to limit them, including for example the presidents of the United States (George W. Bush, Obama, Clinton and Trump), as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Putin and many others.
What is the significance of the city and why is it so important?
The city of Beit Sahour occupies a great place among Christians as an important archaeological religious sites, including the field of pastors and their graves in the site of the Orthodox pastors, and there is another site for Catholics in the area of Sir, and it embraces two very ancient monasteries, one of which is the monastery of St. Therdosius in the village of Obedieh and another is the monastery of St. Saba in the desert. The body of Saint Saba remains in a semi-intact glass sarcophagus brought from Rome, where it was taken by the Crusaders when they occupied Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
What is the history of the Virgin Mary?
There is a spiritual peculiarity to this area, where the Monastery of the Virgin is located in the old center of Beit Sahour, the city of the shepherds who were heralded by the angels to give birth to the child Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem, and the name Beit Sahour is derived from the shepherds who watch at night, it is said.
How did you find the Virgin ’ s Well in the House of Sahour?
Herod ordered the slaughter of all the children in Bethlehem when the Persian Magi told him about the star that led them to Bethlehem to visit a child who would be a great king, and on the way to Egypt via Beit Sahour, when the family was thirsty and there was no water to drink. The water came out of this patch and it didn't break out of this well.
Who is responsible for overseeing the Virgo?
“Qumsiyeh ” states that the supervision of this well is a committee that includes representatives of all denominations, two Greek Orthodox and one Latin, one Catholic and a representative of the municipality of Beit Sahour, and I am one of the representatives of the Greek Orthodox and the secretary of the committee.
Describe to us how they look like the Well of the Virgin?
The well consists of a large cave where the water appeared to a certain level and stopped, and no one knows where the water comes from, and people take drinking and blessing from it.
History mentions the suffering of this area in Bethlehem from the lack of rain and the inhabitants resorted to digging wells, but there are wells that have not been dug from people such as the well of the prophet David in Bethlehem, the well of Aouna in Beit Jala and the well of Vadimos near the monastery of Mar Elias Ben and Bethlehem.
How holy and holy is this place?
“There were many who were keen to get around the well of the Virgin Mary because of her great spiritual position and the Christians, as well as the Muslims of the town, and it can be said that the peculiarity of this area lies in the fact that the well witnessed many apparitions of the Virgin and is still visited by the people of the town constantly and lighting candles for the Virgin inside.
What are the most famous miracles and miracles associated with the Virgin on this earth?
“This area embraces many wonders and miracles from ancient times, as mentioned and circulation of the ancestors and also in our time there are many apparitions of the Virgin and witnessed by neighbors Muslims and Christians and also many miracles happened, most notably the story of the Cypriot nun who got cancer and the doctors gave her a month to live arrived to the Virgin warmly so she appeared to her and asked her to come to Beit Sahour and drink from the water well and this happened The doctors were stunned to heal her as if she was not sick, and he wanted to give the father of the wealthy nun this patch and built a small church above the well, and there is also a miracle related to one of the well-known figures in the town who was bleeding and showed pictures when the examination before the operation showed his health and full recovery, and there is a story of a Muslim woman achieve what she wanted to see the Virgin who appeared over the years several times.
The date of August 26, 2013, on the feast of Our Lady and the anniversary of her transfer to the heavenly glories during the great march in Beit Sahour, a great miracle happened when she arrived at the Latin Church in Beit Sahour at the house of Mr. Gabriel and Raphael. This man was seated four years ago and asked the Virgin Mary warmly to heal him. He was astonished by what the Virgin said, and the miracle was accomplished, and he was able to move and the people of Beit Sahour saw it.
What are the most prominent relics of the Holy Family?
This area still retains the tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as well as the tomb of Our Lady, the house where they lived in Nazareth, and the places where Christ met in Jerusalem and elsewhere.
Women in Palestine cry these days out of fear for their young, how did the Virgin live this during the crucifixion of her Son, the Savior of the Nation?
“The Virgin has lived through harsh and painful moments, most notably seeing her son tortured, flogged and crucified for the sake of the nation, this scene is the most difficult for the mother, which is what the mothers of Gaza are currently experiencing.
What is your message to the world on this occasion in light of the events taking place in the land of Christ ’ s cradle?
"We hope that the war will end and peace will prevail, that the Palestinian people can live, that this tragedy will stop and the conflicts will end, and that what is happening in Gaza, which exceeded the German bombs in World War II, will stop.

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

President Erdogan’s decision in 2020 to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque provoked widespread controversy.

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.

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

Why did Erdogan restore Hagia Sophia as a mosque in 2020?

Because he wanted to end its 86-year museum status to return it to its original role as a mosque.

Domestically, this decision was interpreted by critics as favoring religious interests and prioritizing Islamic symbolism over the republic’s secular principles.

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Content: - A plus A.
Interview: @ Al _ ARobai
The character of the professor of criticism, Dr. Mohammed Saleh Al-Shanti, has unique characteristics, little available in the achievement of cultural stature, as he has completed more than 40 books, and his books are scheduled for students of literature in Arab and Saudi universities, including: ancient literature, modern literature, Saudi literature, Islamic literature, modern criticism, grammar and grammatical and morphological applications, and child literature. We are pleased to have a space to document the work and creativity of the Kingdom for nearly half a century.
Here is the text of the dialogue:
How do you see the Saudi cultural scene?
• With regard to the Saudi cultural scene and its development in the last half century, there is a difference between the beginnings and what we are witnessing now; despite its richness, diversity and originality since things settled after the spread of the state ’ s authority over its vast regions and the diversity of its arts and trends, this region witnessed major transformations based on integrated visions related to the Islamic foundations refined from the manifestations of exaggeration and abuse. It provided a suitable climate for poetry in its biological form associated with the concepts of dogma, as he rose to the task of laying the rules and foundations away from the prohibitions, there were seeds growing leisurely for the emergence of modern arts in theater and storytelling and to stand on the verge of renewal in poetry, helped by a number of factors can not be mentioned; but what is remarkable is the cultural boom that occurred parallel to the economic boom of the 1970s The past, and the accompanying change in the social structure, as new segments emerged and their terrain and landmarks seemed to undergo radical transformations, and have witnessed loud dialogues about modernity and new literary arts, resulting from the acceleration in the pace of development, which resulted in a kind of shock that affected the traditions of the prevailing culture; which led to the loud debate about modernity and its multiple cracks. Viewed from multiple intellectual sites, the cultural press, literary clubs and other civil institutions had a great impact - as well as the entry of universities into the arena of dialogue through those attracted by influential literary and academic flags, and through the return of scholarship from abroad and the transformations brought about by the boom - contributed to the intensification of the debate on many cultural issues. Instruments and comments from a number of critics, such as Hussein Bafakeeh, Mohammed al-Abbas, al-Suraihi, Shaker al-Nabulsi, and others, and what the researchers addressed at the Text Reading Forum at the Jeddah Cultural Club, which devoted a full course of its annual series to the era of the eighties, in which I participated with a modest study entitled (margins on board the stage).
As for the cultural scene now, it is full of dialogues, visions, literary trends, studies, critical readings, forums, seminars, scientific conferences, competitions, prizes, hundreds of creative poets, novelists, short story writers and academic researches according to various critical approaches. Its researchers and media on those around it in the Arab world and I do not exaggerate if I say it, and perhaps in the world as well.
Which names did you bet on and didn ’ t let down your bet?
• • Many are the names that did not disappoint me and excuse me if I apologize for mentioning them for two reasons: the first: Maybe the memory betrayed me and forgot who are worthy of mentioning, and the second: For what may be interpreted of the mention of some names and the sensitivities of Qamin me to avoid.
• How many studies and papers have you submitted about the cultural scene in Saudi Arabia, and what constitutes your research and writing activity?
• • It is not usual for me to show my achievements, and the papers and researches I submitted about the cultural scene, I see them – God testifies – modest and do not meet my ambitions or what I wish for, but I have authored several books, which I started with literary followings, two books on the short story, two books on the novel, three books on poetry and two volumes on criticism, i.e. twelve books on literature in Saudi Arabia. The narration is waiting for publication, that is, about fifteen books, studies, articles and lectures on the cultural scene, the number of which I do not mention, and that of the total number of books written up to more than forty-three books, and I leave the assessment of all of this to others in compliance with the order of the Creator Jal Ola (do not recommend yourselves).
What did you do to avoid the modern day feud?
• • Avoiding the attack of the opponents of modernity with a position that I saw represents moderation and mediocrity, and by this I do not mean to hold the stick from the middle; for this is an opportunistic malaise that makes its owner wobble, neither to these nor to those (if the wind tilted money where it tilts). I am not with inertia and calcification; but with innovation and development and my motto (wisdom is lost by the believer where he found it, he is entitled to it) so I was concerned with innovation and the products of the new generation of young people, provided that it does not affect the fundamentals of religion and ethics, and I am not fanatical to my position. I met some of the symbols of the other current, which I call the conservative current, and I remember that this was in the early eighties, and I was invited as a critic of a story evening, held by the Jazan Literary Club, and I think that those who met them thought that the critic of the evening was one of the symbols of modernity at the time (and I apologize for naming them). I have been convinced of the views I expressed, and that was shortly before the publication of the book (Modernity in the Balance of Islam), and the evening was for the well-known novelist Abdo Khal and was among the critical audience Abdullah Nour (may Allah have mercy on him) and I used to adopt a calm dialogue and stand against abuse and hyperbole and look at modernity from its aesthetic angle. So I was well-connected to various directions, and I received invitations from them to participate in pulpit events and did not hesitate to respond to any invitation.
Has your project been completed in the UK?
• • Many of the books published after the eighties of the convergence of the subject of modernity in the Kingdom, and in many of them references that modernity did not achieve anything, as it did not have a project originally, and that modernity was not understood for what it really is, and in fact he was looking at it from different angles; some considered it radical movement based on the break between the previous and them, and it remained concerned with partial renewal It is based on the fabrication of modern phenomena and their integration into a traditional context, and others have resorted to their arguments from an intellectual angle that originates a new vision that does not take into account the past and tends to westernize the right and the left, and therefore was seen outside its historical context; while any assessment is supposed to fall within its historical conditions and its Arab and Islamic context without exaggeration. And natural to a new stage that keeps pace with the growth of societies and cultures and civilizational contact with the other, as happened in the Abbasid times that the Arab culture with the cultures of other nations, and the Arab human sciences grew so rules and origins were established, and the sciences appeared in their forms systematic, organized and arranged, and the sciences of the term hadith, the sciences of the Koran, and the sciences of From this perspective, modernity is a cultural, historical and civilizational phenomenon, and perhaps it has achieved what can be seen as an achievement; it has laid the foundations of a new poetic movement with its diverse aesthetics, distinctive poetry, and an equally novel movement. Their counterparts in the Arab world have won poker more than once, as well as in other fields of narrative, and a dazzling monetary movement has grown in many ways, approaches and directions, and universities and scientific research centers have resulted in a large-scale movement.
• What are the most prominent arts held at the forefront locally and in the Arab world?
• • The most prominent arts that take the lead are - undoubtedly - the art of the novel, and the narrative arts in general, which are not limited to prose; but take an artistic approach that penetrates the other arts, as it is best able to capture the multiplying phenomena and accelerating events and employ them through visions that penetrate the surface structure of the phenomenon and touch its depths, and reveal what is hidden in its deep structure; Many critics see it as the complex of arts and the laboratory of cultures and species most capable and flexible to accommodate the very complex reality of modern man with its multiple dilemmas and problems, currents and ideologies that seemed docile to the interests of neoliberals and globalists, the struggle for spheres of influence and growing economies through new economic visions, the entry of new players competing with the great economic power in the world. In addition, the map of the world geographically, geologically and politically changed, and the resulting artificial chaos and riding waves of public anger by tendentious groups, and the spread of terrorism and its use for the benefit of the powerful forces in the world.
The novel, which is no longer limited to novelists; but it was fought by poets, academics and critics, and some of them achieved apparent superiority; we find a poet famous in the size of Ghazi Algosaibi (may God have mercy on him) was an important turning point in the history of the novel in Saudi Arabia. Nasrallah, who played a role similar to that played by Algosaibi, which indicates that the novel is at the forefront of literary genres, and for this we have noticed an abundance of critical theoretical and applied books published in the recent period, and perhaps one of the strongest signs of this is what we see in book fairs of the popularity of novel works.
• Where are the classical arts located in the shadow of the visual metamorphosis?
• • Taghwal al-Basri remained a synonym of the folklore arts that enhances its connotations and completes its visionary structure; the image and the formation of painting was never a substitute for words, neither in cinema nor in television; except in pure plastic arts; Perhaps Dr. Abdullah al-Ghami ’ s book on television culture is one of the most striking books that drew attention to the emergence of this expressive color, but the image alone from its different perspectives could not diminish. The status of the classical arts or overshadowed them; but remained on the sidelines only synonymous, and even the formation of writing in the white spaces in poetic circles and others continued to carry out this task without turning to the center, and this is normal, and despite the emergence of interactive literary arts, the optics did not overshadow writing.
When will a solid culture regain its place?
• Solid culture is a successful expression, but the solidity of any culture or its gelateness depends on its people, heritage and the talents of those who are responsible for it and its producers. This culture was firmly rooted in its components, heritage and pulse, but the media boom has had its impact in promoting fragile works supported by stakeholders and by corrupt people, some of whom dominate the cultural platforms in the Arab world. Some of us remember how a group of leading writers, intellectuals and academics in Egypt (the land of Kenana) left for the Gulf States and many central European capitals and practiced their creativity away from the stifling consumer atmosphere brought by the era of openness; they searched for safe havens to ensure freedom of creativity away from the greed and corruption that resulted from major transformations in economic and social life.
Why did social networking sites become elitist?
• • Communication sites and elitism is a controversial issue, and the term elitism is multi-semantic, it seems in this context indicative of the owners of high culture of creators, critics and media, and from this concept seems limited impact communication sites could not make the claims of literature and culture symbols, as well as it could not obscure the creativity of the distinguished, and perhaps flooded its own arenas of Tufah and search for roles There is a claim here or there; but the sun does not obscure a sieve; the culture has remained its sober platforms and serious environments and distinctive flags, the communication sites are still an open field for all those who love and bear, and those who seek culture find it in their main beliefs.
Is culture an individual activity?
• Culture has multiple sources and diverse concepts, and there is no doubt that creativity has its unique character; but culture is a collective activity; each nation has its own distinct cultural identity; it may sometimes be overshadowed by the globalist nature, but it cannot erase its own distinctive features. The culture and culture that makes each nation or nation its own distinct culture.
What are the memories of Hail and the Kingdom?
• • It remains in my consciousness and conscience; I spent the largest part of my life in the Kingdom and in Hail alone a quarter of a century, in Tabuk fourteen years, and in Medina nearly seven years, how can one forget this long history of his life, in Tabuk I was a young man at the age of twenty-two worked in Tabuk High School since 1968 after graduating from Cairo University to 1982, so I resigned from teaching to complete a doctoral thesis at the University Cairo also, and worked since 1984, at the Teachers College in Hail and at the Arab Open University in cooperation with the Community College also until 2006, and spent a year as Acting Director of Education in Hail Model Schools and a collaborator with the Arab Open University, and then returned as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Arabic Language at the Islamic University in Medina until 2021, and spent eight years at Jadara University in Irbid. He was then Dean of the Faculty of Literary and Linguistic Studies and then Dean of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 2006 to 2014.
What I spent in Jordan is no more than 20% of the time I spent in Saudi Arabia, and all my sons and daughters were born in it under the generous care of noble parents with magnanimity, pride and affection, how can I forget this long history, it is a source of pride and appreciation, and I will remain loyal to the Kingdom as long as I live, no matter where I live.
• How satisfied are you that you were honored in the Kingdom at the end of your employment period?
• All satisfaction and gratitude, as I found every appreciation, respect and love from all those I worked with, and after the end of my work I was honored by the then Minister of Culture Iyad Madani, in Athenia Abdul Maksoud Khoja, the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts in Riyadh, Jeddah Cultural Club in Jeddah, all literary clubs, the Teachers College, all cultural bodies and institutions. Bead and recognition.
A final word for you?
• • You and the newspaper « Okaz » glue management, editor and editors all greetings and appreciation.
The newspaper Okaz Al-Ghala, where culture was and still is at the forefront of its interests, and where cultural pages have been a platform for literary movement for decades; I was privileged to see the cultural scene in Saudi Arabia, and to contribute modestly to the publication of my critical readings on its pages in the 1980s.

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

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

Many Christians and particularly Orthodox Christian institutions, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, expressed concern, arguing that the transformation disregarded Hagia Sophia’s international and multi-faith legacy.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

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

The move was seen as reducing the building’s identity from a bridge between civilizations to a symbol of singular religious dominance.

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

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

Political motivations were widely discussed.

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

The decision aimed to rally anti-Kemalist voters.

Analysts noted that Erdogan’s timing coincided with domestic economic struggles and dwindling popularity for his administration.

Reopening Hagia Sophia as a mosque acted as a strategic political tool, appealing to nationalist and conservative Muslim sentiments to bolster Erdogan’s support.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

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.

This act was perceived as reinforcing Islamic identity and evoking Ottoman nostalgia, potentially distracting from economic and political turmoil.

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

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

Observers suggested that the decision was not just religious, but also a calculated move to consolidate power and shift public attention.

Globally, reactions from UNESCO and international organizations were swift.

UNESCO raised concerns that Turkey had not fully consulted them before changing the site’s status, stressing that such conversion could harm the Hagia Sophia’s value as a World Heritage Site.

What was UNESCO's main complaint about the reconversion?

The organization highlighted Turkey’s responsibility to safeguard the monument’s universal cultural and historical significance, warning that prioritizing religious function over preservation could endanger its physical and symbolic integrity.

Practical consequences followed the reconversion.

Increased visitor numbers after the mosque’s reopening led to reported damage: fragments have reportedly fallen from the dome, and original doors and floors have suffered wear.

Critics argue this demonstrates a shift away from rigorous historic preservation in favor of religious functionality.

Why did Erdogan restore Hagia Sophia as a mosque in 2020?

Because he wanted to end its 86-year museum status to return it to its original role as a mosque.

They claim that the focus on the structure’s current religious status risks long-term harm to its ancient fabric, undermining the responsibilities expected in managing such a venerable site.

The response in the Arab world, especially through social media channels, was largely positive.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

Many expressed pride in the Hagia Sophia’s return to use as a mosque, viewing it as a restoration of Islamic heritage and a symbolic victory for the Muslim world.

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 kind of domestic reaction did Erdogan's reconversion of Hagia Sophia receive?

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

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

Why did Erdogan restore Hagia Sophia as a mosque in 2020?

Because he wanted to end its 86-year museum status to return it to its original role as a mosque.

In online discussions and Arab media, the act was celebrated as enhancing a sense of Muslim unity and rekindling historical pride.

How did Muslims and Orthodox Christians react to the reconversion?

What kind of domestic reaction did Erdogan's reconversion of Hagia Sophia receive?

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

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

These reactions amplified the reconversion’s resonance, with social media playing a key role in framing the event as an important moment for Islamic identity.

What kind of domestic reaction did Erdogan's reconversion of Hagia Sophia receive?

Nonetheless, some observers note that in celebrating the event, less attention is given to the monument’s cross-cultural significance or broader implications for interfaith dialogue.

In summary, the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque was not just a local religious change, but a deeply symbolic and politically charged action.

How did Hagia Sophia become important for Muslims?

Sultan Mehmed II converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque,making it a key religious site for Muslims for centuries.

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.

It generated significant criticism for its perceived religious and political motives, as well as for the risks posed to both the monument’s physical preservation and its recognized role as a shared world heritage site.

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

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

The controversy demonstrates how the Hagia Sophia remains a focal point for debates about identity, secularism, and the stewardship of heritage—issues that resonate powerfully within Turkey, across the Arab world, and beyond.

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