Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's iconic monument to be turned into a mosque after court ruling

Turkey's top court on Friday, July 10, revoked Hagia Sophia's 80-year-old museum status, paving way for it be converted back to a masque.

Istanbul's iconic monument Hagia Sophia, the UNESCO world heritage site will now be reopened as a masque to let Muslim worshipping, the Council of State confirmed after the court announced its judgement.

The 1500-year-old crown jewel of Istanbul caught international limelight once again after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his conversion proposal and kicked up a storm of national and international critics who claimed the move was discriminatory and regressive. On Friday, after the court's ruling, the leader signed a decree as he handed over the monument to Turkey's Religious Affairs directorate.

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Museum status revoked

Shortly following the judgement announced by Turkey's top court, UNESCO posted on their Twitter handle that it regretted the decision and referred to the revocation ruling as being done 'without prior discussion and calls for universal value' of world heritage sites to be preserved.

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After the Turkish court's ruling, hundreds of people gathered outside the monument to celebrate and offer Friday peryers

Notably, Hagia Sophia was once a church during the Byzantine empire, which was later converted to a mosque by the Ottoman leaders and it remained as such for much of its history until reportedly eight decades ago when it was converted into a museum.
Before the court's ruling, a survey was conducted by Istanbul Economics Research, where it was found that 47% of the public was in favour of turning the monument into a mosque, while 38% reported that it had to stay a museum for the collective benefit of society and harmony among its people.

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The proposal has been heavily criticised by religious and political figures alike. US Secretary of State of Mike Pompeo, the Greek and Russian governments, as well as Turkey's orthodox Christian groups, have urged president Erdogan to consider keeping the building a museum.

Experts believe Turkish president and right-wing leader Erdogan headed this cause purely to strengthen his position in the party and project himself as a stronger leader for 2023 elections. Hagia Sophia could present as the perfect distraction – a lifeboat to sail through the current economic crisis brought by the COVID pandemic. 

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