Turkey's Supreme Court has ruled to convert Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque. This world-famous building was built as a church. Turkey's Islamic and nationalist groups have long been demanding the conversion of the Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque.
Hagia Sophia has always been a burning issue in Turkey's elections. Current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voted in the election promising to convert the building into a mosque.
A few days ago, Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim said that we will continue to protect the country's cultural and religious heritage. Moderate Islamic parties have been working against the Kemalist ideology of the current Turkish President Erdogan Kamal Atatürk, who belongs to the AKP.
This world-famous building of the Turkish capital Istanbul was built by Justinian, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire, in about 532 AD. At that time the city was known as Kustuntuniya or Constantinople. After the construction was completed in 537 AD, this building was made into a church.
In 1453, the city was attacked and captured by the Islamic Ottoman Empire Sultan Mehmet II. After which the name of Kustuntunia was changed to Istanbul. A few years later, Islamic fundamentalists ransacked the church and converted it into a mosque. Not only this, but historical buildings throughout Istanbul were also destroyed and given Islamic colour.
In 1930, when the founder of modern Turkey, Kamal Ata Turk, took power, he tried hard to make his country secular. Meanwhile, this mosque was converted into a museum. In 1935, Hagia Sophia was made a museum and opened to the general public.
UNESCO has warned Turkey on converting the Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque. UNESCO said that the government must talk to them before taking any decision. This 1500-year-old building is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. A spokesman said that Turkey must ensure that its universal values are not affected before any changes are made. For this, an investigation by the World Heritage Committee is also necessary.
