ERDOGAN IS PLAYING WITH FIRE OVER "THE HAGIA SOPHIA AND TURKEY'S SUPREMACISM"

Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Supremacism

According to his fans, Turkey's Islamist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, conquered Istanbul for the second time when he signed a decree to convert the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul, built in 537, into a mosque. Pictured: Islamists celebrate Erdogan's decree outside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, on July 11, 2020. (Photo by Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)

by Burak Bekdil  •  July 14th 

• Why now? Erdoğan possibly thought the move could reverse the ongoing erosion of his popularity due, among others, to a looming economic crisis. All the same, it appears to be wrongly timed, as presidential and parliamentary elections are three years from now and Turks are notorious for not having a good memory. Praying at the Hagia Sophia Mosque will not turn a hungry man into a happy man.
• "This is against the Quranic commandments... Prophet Mohammed never converted a Jewish or Christian house of prayer into a mosque." — Cemil Kılıç, Muslim theologian, t24.com.tr, July 12, 2020.
• An Islamist leader decides to convert a monumental cathedral into a mosque, and his fans, are spilling out hatred against Jews. This is Turkey's new normal.

According to his fans and political allies, Turkey's Islamist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, conquered Istanbul for the second time when he signed a decree to convert the monumental Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul, built in 537, into a mosque. With that logic, he became the first statesman who conquered a city that already belongs to his country.

"First, you should fill Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque, Istanbul) ... This is a plot, this is sheer provocation," Erdoğan told a crowd as recently as in March 2019 when party fans demanded the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. He was right. Most of Istanbul's nearly 3,000 mosques (one mosque per 5,000 population) do not attract crowds. Sixteen months later, Erdoğan changed his mind.

Continue Reading Article