On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the iconic Hagia Sophia museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and on of the archaeological wonders of the world, will be reclassified as a mosque and will be opened for Muslim worship. The country's top court had, in a ruling, revoked the monument's secular status as a museum and the subsequent decree from the Erdogan government reconverted the status of the 1,500-year-old iconic monument into a mosque.
This has irked several across the globe, particularly among the Christian community, as well as stakeholders in neighbouring Greece. As it appears, when it comes to ancient and iconic heritage monuments, they are often marred by the folds in history.
For the uninitiated, the contentious Hagia Sophia monument is a house of worship located in Turkey's capital, Istanbul, and revered among both the Christian and Muslim communities. Throughout history, the monument has been claimed and debated over and over among religious sects, something which continues till this date.
Built as the cathedral church of Constantinople between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Roman emperor Justinian I, the 'Church of Hagia Sophia' basilica remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years. In 1204, it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire, before being restored to an Orthodox cathedral upon the return of the Byzantine Empire in 1261.
In 1453, the Byzantine Empire's capital was captured by the Ottoman Empire. Following the Fall of Constantinopole, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. However, this had caused a major contention among the orthodox Christians, Catholics, and Muslims regarding the true nature of the monument. To resolve this issue, the monument was secularised into a museum in 1935. Finally, the Turkey government has now again reclassified Hagia Sophia as a mosque.
According to reports, the top court in Turkey had, in its ruling, stated that Hagia Sophia was owned by a foundation established by Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and was presented to the community as a mosque.
The decision said that in its title deed, Hagia Sophia was defined as a “mosque” and this cannot be legally changed.
The court decision was followed quickly by President Erdogan saying that the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Istanbul would be reopened for Muslim worship, as per a report.
The report also details international reactions and condemnations at the Turkish government's decision to reclassify the iconic museum as a mosque. While Greece has branded Turkey's move as an "open provocation to the civilised world", the United States has said that it is "disappointed" by the change of status of the monument.
Russia has called the move "a mistake", while Cyprus has strongly condemned the decision as well.
Christian communities from across the world have expressed dismay at the decision.
Even the UNESCO and the European Union (EU) have said that the decision was "regrettable" and hinted at the fact that there should have been a dialogue in the global community beforehand before going for a decision like this.
