Now here's an interesting article;
“Turkey's president formally changes Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque” [Suzan Fraser, stuff.co.nz, Jul 12 2020]
And here's another;
“The trouble with making Hagia Sophia a mosque again” [Ishaan
Tharoor, stuff.co.nz, Jul 14 2020]
Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pictured right), actually thinks he
can recapture the former glory of the Ottoman Empire by changing Hagia Sophia
from a museum into a mosque. Of course,
it’s more about saving himself at the next election. Sadly, my cynicism doesn't alter the fact; we're powerless to stop Erdogan.
The first article explains how “Hagia Sophia was turned into a
mosque after Istanbul's conquest by the Ottoman Empire.” Well, “Istanbul” was not conquered by the
Ottoman Turks; “Constantinople” was. The
Turks didn’t rename Constantinople until 1930, by Turkey’s then ruler, Attaturk. But Attaturk, Turkey’s hero of Gallipoli, was
a clever man. He completely reformed Turkey, but I always felt that making Hagia Sophia a neutral building then was, in some small part, an attempt to placate the victorious
Allies in the post-WWI years. I wonder if Attaturk felt the Allies might yet
sweep “the sick man of Europe” right back into Anatolia? Vengeful Greeks and Slavs might yet reclaim the
Byzatine wonders of Constantinople for Christian Europe. So it was indeed a clever international statement
when Attaturk renounced the Hagia Sophia ”mosque” and proclaimed Hagia Sophia
as a secular museum in 1934.
In the middle ages, Hagia Sophia Cathedral (pre-1453, left) was the jewel in the crown of the
City of Constantinople. Constantinople
was the last remnant of Eastern Rome; Christian Byzantium. After centuries of trying, the muslim Turks
finally breached its walls on 29 May 1453 and swept through the city. After two days of killing, raping and
plundering, Hagia Sophia was almost immediately converted into a mosque. The crosses were pulled down. The mosaics were painted over. The spectacular Byzantine frescoes were
scarred and desecrated (example below, right), and the incongruous minarets added thereafter.
Erdogan claims, “It is Turkey's sovereign right to decide
for which purpose Hagia Sofia will be used.''
Well, by that moral logic, Israel would have the “sovereign right” to
level the Al Aqsa Mosque to restore the Jewish Temple of Solomon. And that, my friends, is the path to war . .
.
Garo Paylan, an ethnic Armenian Christian, summed it up
perfectly when he tweeted; “The decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque
will make life more difficult for Christians here and for Muslims in Europe;'' all
of whom recognise the significance of Erdogan’s edict.
And even sadder? I don’t think most European Christians –
ignorant of the history – will give a toss.
FURTHER BROWSING:
"Erdogan Should Not Erase Turkey’s Christian Past" [Richard V.
Reeves, Mustafa Akyol, July 1 2020]
