Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected on Saturday the international condemnation of the transformation of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque, arguing that it was " sovereign rights " of his country.
Read also: Erdogan re-Islamizes Hagia Sophia and challenges Europe again
" Those who do not stumble against Islamophobia in their own countries (...) attack Turkey's will to use its sovereign rights ," said Erdogan during a video conference ceremony. " We made this decision not in relation to what others say but in relation to our rights, as we have done in Syria, Libya and elsewhere, " he added.
The Council of State, the highest administrative court in Turkey, acceded to the request of several associations on Friday by revoking a government measure of 1934 conferring on Hagia Sophia the status of museum. Shortly after, Erdogan announced that the former Byzantine basilica of the former Constantinople would be open to Muslim prayers as a mosque on Friday July 24.
A major architectural work built in the 6th century by the Byzantines who crowned their emperors there, Hagia Sophia is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and one of the main tourist attractions of Istanbul with some 3.8 million visitors in 2019. Converted into a mosque after the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, it was transformed into a museum in 1934 by the leader of the young Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal, anxious to " offer it to humanity ".
Read also: Paris "deplores" the conversion of the former Saint-Sophie basilica into a mosque
Several countries, notably Russia and Greece, which closely follow the fate of Byzantine heritage in Turkey, as well as the United States and France, had in particular warned Ankara against the transformation of Hagia Sophia into a place of Muslim worship , a measure for which Mr. Erdogan, from an Islamo-conservative party, has campaigned for years.
"P rovocation "
Reactions were quick: Athens condemned the decision " with the greatest firmness ", Washington said it was " disappointed " and Paris " deplored " it. Greece, through the voice of its Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, considered that it was a " provocation towards the civilized world ": " The nationalism shown by President Erdogan brings his country back six centuries "
The Russian Orthodox Church regretted that the " concern " of " millions of Christians " had not been heard by the Turkish court. The World Council of Churches, which brings together around 350 Christian churches, notably Protestant and Orthodox, expressed its " sorrow " and " dismay ".
Since Erdogan came to power in 2003, activities related to Islam have multiplied inside of Hagia Sophia, with notably sessions of reading the Koran or collective prayers on the square in front of the monument.
Read also: Washington says it is "disappointed" by the conversion of the former Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque
On Saturday, the basilica was closed, the police having installed barriers around the monument. " We wanted to (...) visit the Hagia Sophia museum, unfortunately we realized that it is closed from today, " responded Renato Daeo, an Italian tourist.
Accompanied by her 16 month old daughter and her husband, Ksennia Bessonova, Russian living in Turkey, suffered the same disappointment: "it was our little dream because since the birth of our daughter, we had not been able to come (visit the basilica), in a way I feel sad ”.
Even if a reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque will not prevent tourists of all beliefs from going there - many of them visit the nearby Blue Mosque every day - it was foreseeable that changing the status of such an emblematic place in the history of Christianity arouses tensions abroad.
Read also: Jean-François Colosimo: "Let Erdogan not transform the Hagia Sophia into a mosque!"
But Erdogan, nostalgic for the Ottoman Empire, is today seeking to rally the conservative electorate against the background of the economic crisis due to the pandemic of new coronavirus and a difficult regional context. “ It's a decision I've been waiting for for years. It is a shame that it has not intervened before, that is why I am very happy ”, assured as of Friday is Umut Cagri, a resident of Istanbul.
Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the Ankara office of the organization German Marshall Fund, also noted on Saturday to AFP that this decision could earn Mr. Erdogan the support of many of his compatriots " for religious feelings and nationalists (...) It is a debate that President Erdogan cannot lose and that the opposition cannot win ”.
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