Violent Turkey if the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul in a museum or a mosque

Seraffettin was at home under the locking ring, on May 29, when a Muslim cleric recited Koranic verses on a carpet gallery in the Museum of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. But the reading of the Imam, the 567th anniversary of the Ottoman conquest to mark the city, in the spirit of the seller bread simit lingered week after his return to the forecourt most visited attraction of Turkey. “Sophia belongs officially to Turkey”, said Seraffettin July 7 outside the 6th century World Heritage Site, where he sold the dotted snack sesame seeds for 15 years. “But we have to understand that people come to visit them from many different countries. We have to let them see the history and the feeling.” Like other suppliers, refused to give his full name, so that I can speak freely. A main office of energy for Orthodox Christians for nearly 1000 years Hagia Sophia, Ayasofya as known in Turkish, was a mosque in 1453, after the Ottomans breached Konstantin Opel walls. The mosaics and frescoes were painted over, and for centuries stood as a symbol of rivalry between Christians and Muslims. In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey regarded as a secular nation into account, it has been turned into a museum. But later in July, a court is set to decide whether the decree Ataturk era may be declared invalid, to make way for the paving of Saint Sophia into a mosque again. Orthodox Christians in Greece and Russia were stunned. Based in Istanbul Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said in a statement that the move would upset the millions of construction of Christians around the world and could “break” of relations between East and West. A senior official in the meantime the Russian Orthodox Church has complained about what he described as a “back to the Middle Ages.” On July 1, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo weighed into the debate. In a tweet, he has urged Turkey Hagia Sophia is a museum to keep pluralism to show aspects. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said such reactions were Domestically, the state of Santa Sofia hits the center of the struggle between Turkey past and future of Erdogan’s brand of religious nationalism embodies “a direct attack. Equivalent on our sovereignty.” “Istanbul is a city of mosques and is the politics that surrounds it,” says Soner Cagaptay, author of Empire Erdogan: Turkey and Middle East politics. to make the Hagia Sophia Museum commitment to secularism emphasized Atatürk says. Now, almost a century later, Erdogan is the opposite “Turkey seeks flood the public space with his understanding of religion.” Turkey secular rulers 20th century often limits the freedom of religious expression, for decades the veil in state institutions to prohibit, among other measures. It ‘hard to argue that these restrictions to be a problem, says Cagaptay, but Hagia Sophia continued Erdogan authorized closing prayer saying that his “conservative base is harassed or it could be bullied, is expected to fall from power.” Erdogan hold on power looks to be less secure than in the past. In 2019, shortly after Turkey suffered its first recession in a decade, its governmental Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the mayorship of Istanbul, which he had held for 25 years. Prominent defections, including former Economy Minister Ali Babacan risk splitting his base at the moment is full of fresh pressure on the Turkish economy global pandemic. Polls suggest something more Turks argue Hagia Sophia into a mosque when he opposed. the government is not that the majority also thinks the debate now raised primarily to serve the agenda. Over 55% of respondents to a poll conducted from June through Turkey Metropoll, said the main purpose is to distract from discussions of Turkey’s economic crisis or create an argument that the government can use to influence the early elections. “It ‘a bluff, like poker,” says Mehmet, 60, a business has carpets and silverware for sale in the near Seraffettin cart SIMIT. For now, he says, there is no need to convert the building. “We fill all the other mosques in Turkey?” There are indications, the court may decide in favor of Erdogan. In a similar case in November last year, a court ruled that a turkish Atatürk era decree would be illegal to make a museum for the nearby Church of Chora. As Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman period. For the court ruling, which “can not be used for its essential function,” Foreign Policy Report. However, in front of the mosque of Hagia Sophia was, it was a cathedral. At least one Orthodox leader believes that it may be time for a completely new approach. Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Sahak Mashalian approved the idea to restore the Hagia Sophia as a place of worship for Christians and Muslims, says Turkey Hurriyet newspaper – an announcement that controversy between Greek and Armenian communities triggered. But Sophia has long attracted visitors of all beliefs. Last year, its immense dome, minarets and ornate medieval frescoes attracted tourists around 3.7 million, making it the most visited monument of Turkey. But Sami Bozbey, a trilingual tour guide concerned that its status changes waiting times may be longer or it might mean to cover the mosaic images of the human form, which are considered idolatrous in mosques. He fears that foreigners might discourage a visit and hurt an industry already reeling from the pandemic. “Look around,” he says, scanning the court for tourists “struggling for everyone.” With reporting by Engin Bas / Istanbul
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