Published 11:27 IST, July 11th 2020
Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's iconic monument to be turned into a mosque after court ruling
Hagia Sophia's 80-year-old museum status revoked; to be turned back to a mosque. The 1500-year-old structure was originally a church during the Byzantine empire
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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.
BREAKING — Erdogan signs the decree to re-open Hagia Sophia as a mosque pic.twitter.com/pk4tpetGYE
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) July 10, 2020
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.
Hagia Sophia: UNESCO deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, and calls for the universal value of #WorldHeritage to be preserved.
— UNESCO (@UNESCO) July 10, 2020
Full statement: https://t.co/WiZpjyagqF pic.twitter.com/klcMR9pmxC
A very unfortunate,bad decision by Turkish government to convert #HagiaSophia into a mosque.With no respect to history,no respect to pluralism.This worldheritage should be a museum,doors open to everyone,people of all religions &none.Its dome is big enough to embrace ALL humanity pic.twitter.com/GvTo6zrX2G
— Elif Şafak / Elif Shafak (@Elif_Safak) July 10, 2020
After the Turkish court's ruling, hundreds of people gathered outside the monument to celebrate and offer Friday peryers
Hundreds of Muslims perform Maghrib prayer in front of Hagia Sophia pic.twitter.com/sH3r1kEXH4
— FacTurkey 🇹🇷 (@MENA_Facts) July 10, 2020
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.
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.
11:27 IST, July 11th 2020