Threats to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque alarm Christians

Constantinople’s Αgia Sophia, one of the most famous landmarks in the world and a powerful religious symbol for both Christians and Muslims, will be turned into a mosque if Turkey’s Islamic-conservative government has its way.

Today, as the Turkey's ruling AK party prepares for elections  after more than a decade in power, the issue of religion in society is once again at the heart of politics.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew reiterated his firm opposition to such a plan. “We will oppose this, as will all Christians be they Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant'', he said at meeting with scholars on the eve of the Sinaxis, a summit of Orthodox churches kicking off Constantinople on Thursday.

''The Αgia Sophia basilica was built as a testament to Christian faith and if it is to be returned to a cult, it cannot be to any other than the Christian one',” Asia News quoted the patriarch as saying.

Erdogan’s government is “beset by a corruption scandal involving key figures in his Islamic regime according to Radikal newspaper  he may therefore “try to pin his hopes of recovering public approval on turning Αgia Sophia into a mosque on the anniversary of the 1453 Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, which falls in May.

The great Byzantine basilica became a mosque with the Ottoman conquest, and in 1934 was turned into a museum drawing millions of visitors a year by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern secular Turkish Republic in 1923. In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the secular Turkish republic in 1923, turned the mosque into a museum that welcomes millions of visitors each year

But, that is a key electoral year for an embattled Erdogan, with administrative, presidential and legislative elections ahead. While Erdogan in the past called for everyone to ''leave Αgia Sophia alone'', the political climate has now changed. Turkey's two remaining Αgia Sophia (Greek for Holy Wisdom) basilicas and museums, in the cities of Trabzon Nicaea, have in recent months been converted into mosques. The Greek government recently added its voice against the growing pressure to convert Constantinople's Αgia Sophia as well.

“Turkish officials repeated statements regarding the conversion of Christian Byzantine churches into mosques are an insult to the religious sensitivity of millions of Christians,” the Greek government said in a statement, adding that such gestures were anachronistic and incomprehensible coming from a country that claims it wants full membership in the EU.

Αgia Sophia  was for some thousand years Christianity's greatest cathedral. Built in 537 A.D. in Constantinople, the heart of the Christian empire, it was also a stalwart symbol of defiance against an ever encroaching Islam from the east.

Similarly, the 5th century Studios Monastery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is set to become an active mosque. And the existence of the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world, 5th century Mor Gabriel Monastery, is at risk. Inhabited today by only a few dozen Christians dedicated to learning the monastery's teachings, the ancient Aramaic language spoken by Jesus, and the Orthodox Syriac tradition, neighboring Muslims filed a lawsuit accusing the monks of practicing "anti-Turkish activities" and of illegally occupying land which belongs to Muslim villagers.

Last May 29th, when Turks celebrate the Fall of Constantinople, Erdogan himself declared that the jihadi invasion — which saw countless Christians enslaved, raped, or slaughtered — was the true "time of enlightenment." After showing how Erdogan got it upside down, Ralph Sidway, an Orthodox Christian author, wrote:

' Erdogan and Turkey celebrate the Fall of Constantinople, and the West congratulates them. ' We are continuing to write history today,' says Erdogan, and write it – or re-write it – they do, under the somnambulant gaze of craven Western leaders too ignorant, or too fearful, to challenge Islam's claim to moral superiority, historical righteousness and eventual world domination. By their policies, posture and pronouncements, Western European nations, and the United States, are conceding the future to a rapidly re-Islamicizing Turkey, and are aiding in Islam's stated goal of a new, global caliphate determined to conquer us, just as it conquered Constantinople 560 years ago. Every Turkish celebration of 29 May 1453 is a gauntlet flung down in challenge to the West. Each such event which goes unanswered and unchallenged by the West is another nail in the coffin of Christian culture, human rights, and free people everywhere."

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc recently threw his weight behind calls to convert the building from its present status as a museum into a mosque, and a right-wing opposition party in Ankara has tabled a bill in parliament calling for the conversion.

We look upon this poor Hagia Sophia today,” he said during a speech near the building last month. “We pray that she may smile again very soon.”

The Greek government has released a response:

“The repeated statements from Turkish officials regarding the conversion of Byzantine Christian churches into mosques are an insult to the religious sensibilities of millions of Christians and are actions that are anachronistic and incomprehensible from a state that declares it wants to participate as a full member in the European Union, a fundamental principle of which is respect for religious freedom. Byzantine Christian churches are an intrinsic element of world cultural and religious heritage, and they should receive the necessary respect and protection.”

Arinc reminded his audience of two other former Byzantine churches named Αgia Sophia, one in Iznik south-east of Constantinople and one in Trabzon on Turkey’s north-eastern Black Sea coast, whose conversion from museums into mosques he oversaw in recent years.

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has roots in political Islam, is frequently accused by critics of trying to force its Islamic values on society. The government encourages the building of new mosques. Turkey currently has close to 85,000 mosques, around 10,000 of which were built since the AKP came to power in 2002. A huge mosque is currently being constructed on the highest hill overlooking Constantinople.

In Ankara, the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) presented a draft law to parliament that could serve as a legal framework for the conversion of the Constantinople Hagia Sophia. The bill, sponsored by deputy Yusuf Halacoglu, argues that the 1930s cabinet decision to turn the Αgia Sophia into a museum was never published in Turkey’s official gazette and was therefore null and void. No date has been set for a vote on the bill.

Turkey has also been asked to explain the Αgia Sophia to UNESCO, the UN’s cultural organization.

“UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre has asked Turkey to provide more information about plans for Αgia Sophia,” spokesman Roni Amelan said in an email this week. “We are waiting for the response and cannot comment before we know more.”