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Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia reopens to worship as mosque after top administrative court repeals 1934 decree
This aerial picture shows Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, April 25, 2020. (AFP Photo)
Turkey’s top administrative court on Friday annulled the 1934 government decree that turned Hagia Sophia into a museum. The long-awaited ruling has opened the way for Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia to be used as a mosque.
Upon the court’s ruling, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a presidential decree to hand over Hagia Sophia to Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs and open for worship while congratulating the Turkish people.
The court stated that Hagia Sophia is officially registered as a mosque in its deed, adding that it was decided its use for anything other than a mosque was legally not possible. “The Cabinet decision in 1934 that ended its use as a mosque and defined it as a museum did not comply with laws,” it said.
The Permanent Foundations Service to Historical Artifacts and Environment Association, an Istanbul-based nongovernmental organization, had filed a petition at the 10th Chamber of the Council of State seeking annulment of the decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a museum after being a mosque for nearly 500 years. The court heard the parties’ arguments at a July 2 hearing before issuing its ruling.
The petition said Hagia Sophia was the private property of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who in 1453 captured Istanbul and turned the religious structure into a mosque.
Hagia Sophia, one of the world’s most important historical and cultural heritage sites, was built in the sixth century during the reign of the Byzantine Empire and served as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church. It was converted into an imperial mosque with the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453. The structure was converted into a museum during the strictly secular single-party rule in 1935, but there have been discussions about converting it back to a mosque, with public demand to restore it as a place of worship gaining traction on social media.
“The issue of Hagia Sophia’s statute is an internal affair of Turkey and its right of sovereignty,” Cengiz Tomar, rector of Ahmet Yesevi University told Daily Sabah. “It was turned into a museum through a Cabinet decree and can once again turn into a mosque with a decree. However, since there will be both internal and external reactions, in response the government would have wanted to support the legality of the decision with a high court legal opinion.”
While some groups have long been pressing for the structure, which they regard as a Muslim Ottoman legacy, to be converted back into a mosque, others believe the UNESCO World Heritage site should remain a museum as a symbol of Christian and Muslim solidarity. The United States, Russia and Greece, along with UNESCO, had expressed concerns ahead of the ruling.
Amid the international reactions over the status of Hagia Sophia, Ankara says that the issue is a domestic affair.
Source:dailysabah.com
Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia reopens to worship as mosque after top administrative court repeals 1934 decree
This aerial picture shows Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, April 25, 2020. (AFP Photo)
Turkey’s top administrative court on Friday annulled the 1934 government decree that turned Hagia Sophia into a museum. The long-awaited ruling has opened the way for Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia to be used as a mosque.
Upon the court’s ruling, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a presidential decree to hand over Hagia Sophia to Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs and open for worship while congratulating the Turkish people.
The court stated that Hagia Sophia is officially registered as a mosque in its deed, adding that it was decided its use for anything other than a mosque was legally not possible. “The Cabinet decision in 1934 that ended its use as a mosque and defined it as a museum did not comply with laws,” it said.
The Permanent Foundations Service to Historical Artifacts and Environment Association, an Istanbul-based nongovernmental organization, had filed a petition at the 10th Chamber of the Council of State seeking annulment of the decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a museum after being a mosque for nearly 500 years. The court heard the parties’ arguments at a July 2 hearing before issuing its ruling.
The petition said Hagia Sophia was the private property of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who in 1453 captured Istanbul and turned the religious structure into a mosque.
Hagia Sophia, one of the world’s most important historical and cultural heritage sites, was built in the sixth century during the reign of the Byzantine Empire and served as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church. It was converted into an imperial mosque with the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453. The structure was converted into a museum during the strictly secular single-party rule in 1935, but there have been discussions about converting it back to a mosque, with public demand to restore it as a place of worship gaining traction on social media.
“The issue of Hagia Sophia’s statute is an internal affair of Turkey and its right of sovereignty,” Cengiz Tomar, rector of Ahmet Yesevi University told Daily Sabah. “It was turned into a museum through a Cabinet decree and can once again turn into a mosque with a decree. However, since there will be both internal and external reactions, in response the government would have wanted to support the legality of the decision with a high court legal opinion.”
While some groups have long been pressing for the structure, which they regard as a Muslim Ottoman legacy, to be converted back into a mosque, others believe the UNESCO World Heritage site should remain a museum as a symbol of Christian and Muslim solidarity. The United States, Russia and Greece, along with UNESCO, had expressed concerns ahead of the ruling.
Amid the international reactions over the status of Hagia Sophia, Ankara says that the issue is a domestic affair.
Source:dailysabah.com