Turkey's Erdogan says Hagia Sophia becomes mosque after court ruling

Published July 10, 2020
People gather in front of the Hagia Sophia after a court decision that paves the way for it to be converted from a museum back into a mosque in Istanbul on July 10. — Reuters
People gather in front of the Hagia Sophia after a court decision that paves the way for it to be converted from a museum back into a mosque in Istanbul on July 10. — Reuters

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared Istanbul's Hagia Sophia open to Muslim worship on Friday after a top court ruled that the building's conversion to a museum by modern Turkey's founding statesman was illegal.

Erdogan made his announcement just an hour after the court ruling was revealed, despite international warnings not to change the status of the nearly 1,500-year-old monument, revered by Christians and Muslims alike.

“The decision was taken to hand over the management of the Ayasofya Mosque [...] to the Religious Affairs Directorate and open it for worship,” the decision signed by Erdogan said.

Erdogan had earlier proposed restoring the mosque status of the Unesco World Heritage Site, a focal point of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and now one of the most visited monuments in Turkey.

The United States, Greece and church leaders were among those to express concern about changing the status of the huge sixth-century building, converted into a museum in the early days of the modern secular Turkish state under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

“It was concluded that the settlement deed allocated it as a mosque and its use outside this character is not possible legally,” the Council of State, Turkey's top administrative court in Ankara, said in its ruling.

“The cabinet decision in 1934 that ended its use as a mosque and defined it as a museum did not comply with laws,” it said, referring to an edict signed by Ataturk.

Russian Orthodox Church expresses regret

The association which brought the court case, the latest in a 16-year legal battle, said Hagia Sophia was the property of the Ottoman leader who captured the city in 1453 and turned the already 900-year-old Byzantine church into a mosque.

Erdogan, a pious Muslim, threw his weight behind the campaign to convert the building before local elections last year.

The Ottomans built minarets alongside the vast domed structure, while inside they added huge calligraphic panels bearing the Arabic names of the early Muslim caliphs alongside the monument's ancient Christian iconography.

The Russian Orthodox Church said it regretted that the court did not take its concerns into account when making its ruling and said the decision could lead to even greater divisions, the TASS news agency reported.

Previously, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and based in Istanbul, said converting it into a mosque would disappoint Christians and would “fracture” East and West.

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo and Greece had also urged Turkey to maintain the building as a museum.

But Turkish groups have long campaigned for Hagia Sophia's conversion into a mosque, saying this would better reflect Turkey's status as an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

Opinion

Seizing the moment

Seizing the moment

The provinces bear the primary responsibility for improving access to family planning services, particularly for poorer families.

Editorial

PIA privatisation
Updated 11 Jul, 2025

PIA privatisation

While it does give the privatisation authorities a much-needed head-start, it will not be sustainable unless preceded by policy and regulatory reforms.
Beyond expectations
11 Jul, 2025

Beyond expectations

THESE are tough times, but the country is lucky enough to still be considered home by a large expatriate workforce,...
Train in vain
11 Jul, 2025

Train in vain

TALK of ‘revival’ of the long-dead Karachi Circular Railway has turned into a running joke for denizens of this...
No negotiations
10 Jul, 2025

No negotiations

IT seems like the appeal from Kot Lakhpat Jail has fallen on deaf ears. “[…] The time for negotiations has...
Speech policing
Updated 10 Jul, 2025

Speech policing

Sweeping accusations have once more exposed just how broadly and arbitrarily Peca is being applied.
Continued detention
10 Jul, 2025

Continued detention

THE continued detention of BYC head Mahrang Baloch and five other activists indicates that the state is uninterested...