Mosque or museum? Hagia Sophia's fate hangs in balance in Erdogan's Turkey

Turkey is reviewing request to revert it into a mosque, with decision expected today

recep-erdogan-reuters Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Reuters

For nearly a millennium, the magnificent Hagia Sophia in modern-day Istanbul served as one of the largest churches in the world, constructed by Byzantine emperor Justinian I. However, after Constantinople's invasion by Fatih Sultan Mehmud II, the cathedral became a mosque. For almost 500 years and all throughout the sprawling Ottoman Empire, Hagia Sophia continued to be an Islamic place of worship. But, in the early 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkey and a staunch secularist and modernist, turned it into a museum as an inter-faith bridge between the East and the West.

The 6th-century building is now at the centre of a heated debate between nationalist, conservative and religious groups who are pressing for it to be reconverted back into a mosque, and those who believe the UNESCO World Heritage site should remain a museum, underscoring Istanbul's status as a bridge between continents and cultures.

Turkey's Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, is reviewing a request by a group devoted to reverting Hagia Sophia into a mosque. They are pressing to annul Ataturk's 1934 decision to conver the mosque into a museum. A decision is expected today, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkish media reports say the government was considering the possibility of keeping Hagia Sophia open to tourists even if it were turned into a mosque. That status would be similar to Istanbul's Blue Mosque, which sits right across from Hagia Sophia and functions both as a house of worship and a tourist spot.

Underscoring the move is also Turkey's strongman president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ambitions to regain political ground lost under an economic churn and the coronavirus pandemic. 

The history of Hagia Sophia

Burnt down twice in riots and rebuilt largely in its current form by Byzantine emperor Justinian I, Hagia Sophia was the main seat of the Eastern Orthodox church for centuries, where emperors were crowned amidst ornate marble and mosaic decorations.

Four minarets were added to the terracotta-hued structure with cascading domes and the building was turned into an imperial mosque following the 1453 Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul).

The building opened its doors as a museum in 1935, under Ataturk.

However, the mosque often served as a flashpoint between the Islamists and the secularists in modern-day Turkey. Islamist groups regard the symbolic structure as a legacy of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet, and strongly object to its status as a museum. Large crowds have gathered outside Hagia Sophia on the May 31 anniversary of Constantinople's conquest to pray and demand that it be restored as a place of Muslim worship.

In the past few years, Turkey has been allowing readings from the Quran inside Hagia Sophia and Erdogan himself has recited prayers there. This year, he oversaw by video conference the recital of the prayer of conquest on the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest.

Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, considered the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, noted that Hagia Sophia had served as a place of worship for Christians for 900 years and for Muslims for 500 years. "As a museum, Hagia Sophia can function as a place and symbol of encounter, dialogue and peaceful coexistence of peoples and cultures, mutual understand and solidarity between Christianity and Islam," he said. "The potential conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque will turn millions of Christians across the world against Islam," he said. 

Erdogan's political ambitions

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who leads an Islamic-oriented party that is positioning itself as a mirror opposite to secular Ataturk policies, has previously spoken about his plan to Hagia Sophia's status to a mosque. But, his stand wasn't also.

He had previously rejected requests to convert the building into a mosque, asking the faithful to first fill the Blue Mosque. However, in the mayoral elections to Istanbul in 2019, fearing a political reversal, he announced plans to convert the museum into a mosque; his party faced a defeat in the elections anyway, as a secular opposition came to power in Istanbul for the first time in 25 years. 

Analysts believe that Erdogan—a populist, polarising leader who in nearly two decades in office has frequently blamed Turkey's secular elites for the country's problems—is using the Hagia Sophia debate to consolidate his conservative base and to distract attention from Turkey's substantial economic woes.

The New York Times reported that Turkey’s currency remains battered, while its foreign debts remain vast. Inflation and joblessness are alarmingly high. Economic growth is minimal, and anxiety considerable amid the sense that more trouble lies ahead.

"This is not just a debate about a building," said Soner Cagaptay, Turkey analyst for the Washington Institute, told news agency AP. Ataturk established Hagia Sophia as a museum to underline his vision of secularising Turkey. And nearly 100 years later, Erdogan is trying to do the opposite, he said.

"Erdogan feels the pressure of popular support dwindling and therefore he wants to use issues that he hopes will remobilise his right-wing base around nativist, populist, anti-elitist topics," said Cagaptay, author of the book Erdogan's Empire

International reactions to Turkey's move

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Turkey to desist from the move. "We urge the government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey, and to ensure it remains accessible to all," Pompeo said. 

Greece, whose relations with Turkey are fraught at the moment, also strongly objected to attempts to change Hagia Sophia into a mosque, arguing that its designation as a historic monument must be maintained. "I hope that President Erdogan does not proceed with something that will deeply hurt Turkey," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said. "This monument has endured many things and it will always return, but Turkey's image will take a severe blow. "

Tension has been high between the two neighbors and NATO allies in recent months. Greece has accused Turkey of using migrants to pressure Greece, after Ankara declared in late February that Turkey's borders to the European Union were open to all those who wanted to cross.

Thousands of migrants gathered at Turkey's border with Greece, demanding to be allowed in. Similar scenes didn't play out on Turkey's border with EU member Bulgaria.

Greece and Turkey are also at loggerheads over oil and gas exploration rights in the Mediterranean and over territorial issues in the Aegean Sea dividing the two countries. The two have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s.

-Inputs from AP via PTI