Turkey to rule on converting Hagia Sophia into mosque

On Thursday morning, Turkey’s highest administrative body completed the hearing on whether Hagia Sophia, the 1,500 year old UNESCO heritage museum in Istanbul should be converted into a mosque, with a written verdict expected within 15 days. 

Turkey’s Council of State would rule on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to annul the 1934 decree that converted Hagia Sophia from a mosque into a museum. Before becoming a museum, Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine-era Greek Patriarchal cathedral, built in the sixth century, was transformed into an Ottoman mosque after the conquest of the back-then city of Constantinople by Mehmet the Conquerer in 1453.

Erdogan has reportedly instructed government officials to conduct a comprehensive study on how to change the status of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, currently a museum, into a mosque. 

“Start works for Hagia Sophia, we will assess and talk about it,” Erdogan told the AKP members during a Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in early June, Hurriyet Daily News reported, quoting anonymous sources. 

Erdogan’s plans have prompted international criticism, with Greece speaking out against the conversion, and accusing Turkey of reviving “fanatical nationalist and religious sentiment”. Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni strongly insisted that there can be no change to the UNESCO World Heritage site, without the approval of the body’s intergovernmental committee. 

The move was also heavily criticised by the US, with the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that “the United States views a change in the status of the Hagia Sophia as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and its unsurpassed ability, – so rare in the modern world – to serve humanity as a much-needed bridge between those of differing faith traditions and cultures”.

The US government also urged Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, “as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey,” and to ensure the site remains accessible to all. 

Erdogan has stated that converting the Hagia Sophia into a museum was a “very big mistake”, while its predesignation as a mosque was part of the Turkish President’s pre-election campaign, as popular demand was growing sharper. 

On June 5, Imams recited verses of the Quran inside Hagia Sophia, on the 567th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans.