This claim is a transparent attempt to whitewash an act of cultural appropriation and annihilation on a massive scale. It is useful to recall exactly how Hagia Sophia became a mosque on May 29, 1453.
The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS tells the full story. Once they breached the walls of Constantinople, Muslims raided monasteries and convents, emptying them of their inhabitants, and plundered private houses. They entered Hagia Sophia, which for nearly a thousand years had been the grandest church in Christendom. The faithful had gathered within its hallowed walls to pray during the city’s last agony. Inside the great cathedral, the Muslims killed the elderly and weak and led the rest off into slavery.
When the slaughter and pillage was finished, the Sultan Mehmet II, the Conqueror, ordered an Islamic scholar to mount the high pulpit of Hagia Sophia and declare that there was no God but Allah, and Muhammad was his prophet. The magnificent old church was turned into a mosque; hundreds of other churches in Constantinople and elsewhere suffered the same fate. Millions of Christians joined the ranks of the dhimmis; others were enslaved, and many were killed.
But now there is a document circulating, claimed to be the bill of sale of Mehmet the Conqueror, when he bought Hagia Sophia. The Turkish Supreme Court apparently used it as one justification for converting the cathedral into a mosque once again. This document could possibly be authentic, but it is noteworthy that it was never spoken of until now. I’ve never seen mention of it in numerous histories of the conquest. Also, if this “sale” did take place, it was obviously done under duress. The Muslims took over Hagia Sophia on May 29, 1453, as they were plundering Constantinople and murdering or enslaving Christians wholesale. The building was considered to have become a mosque when Mehmet sent the muezzin up to the pulpit to proclaim the Islamic shahada, not upon some sales agreement. The Ecumenical Patriarch or Emperor or whoever was deemed to be its owner was in no position to refuse to sell.
If someone came into your house, stole your possessions, killed your grandparents, enslaved your wife and children, and publicly announced that the house was his, and later gave you a bill of sale, would you consider this to be a fair-and-square real estate transaction?
“Sultan Mehmet ‘Bought’ Haiga [sic] Sophia before converting into (Mosque) Masjid – Purchase documents submitted to Turkish Supreme Court,” by Shahid Qureshi, London Post, July 13, 2020:
When Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinople at the age of 21 and ended Byzantine Empire in the 1453, he purchased the property of Hagia Sophia from his personal wealth before converting it into a Masjid (Mosque). The details of the transaction are still stored in the Turkish Museum, as can be seen in the photo below.This is the main reason why the court ordered Aya Sofya to be re converted into a Masjid.
Therefore, the credit the really goes to the forward thinking Sultan Mehmet, the conqueror of Constantinople for purchasing the church and then creating a waqf (endowment). Had it not been for his wisdom, Kemal Ataturk’s decision would not have been able to be legally overturned.
Mike says
remember everything that Mu$lims see belong to them
what was not there’s yesterday is there’s today
mortimer says
ALL OF TURKEY IS THE PERSONAL PROPERTY OF THE SULTAN’S DESCENDANTS
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/07/the-second-islamic-conquest-of-hagia-sophia/
There are many problems with this ruling, but chief among them is the fact that under 15th-century Ottoman law, as Professor Metin Günday has observed, the entire country was the personal property of the sultan. The legal precedent set in the case of Hagia Sophia seems to suggest that through the shell foundation named after Mehmet II, any living heir of the sultan can lay personal proprietary claim to the entire nation of Turkey and all of the property therein! What’s more, the Church of Hagia Sophia has now been reduced to the same legal status it held at the sack of Constantinople, with Muslims worshipping there on the legal basis of Mehmet’s bloody conquest of the Christian population.
mortimer says
If Hagia Sophia is owned by the Sultan, then his descendants can give it back to the Orthodox Church.
SAFI says
Thanks for that link, Mortimer! That’s an interesting implication which I admit I hadn’t thought so far. In any case I very much doubt there’s any such document proving that mehmet “bought” anything. I mean first of all “bought” FROM WHOM? The emperor was dead and the Patriarch was in Rome at the time when mehmet it seized it and turned it into a mosque, not that either of them or anyone else for that matter had the right to “sell” the Hagia Sophia to that sinister mohammedan pervert
Rashad, the anti-ignoramus says
So Mehmet decided to buy it even though he didn’t need to? Logic of the retards.
gravenimage says
Yes–this is obvious rot. And funny that this document has not come to light, nor ever been mentioned before now…
R Russell says
In that case, since King David bought the Temple Mount, the Arabs (AKA Palestinians) must give it back to the Jews.
Ray Jarman says
+++++++1 Excellent point!!!!
Dion D’Mello says
The muslims will never do that! They want to have the proverbial “ cake and eat it too”. An excellent point though.
Emilie Green says
Spreading an outright falsehood that a mutual exchange took place is yet another typical deception by Muslims. In other words, SOP for Muslims.
Consent is an entirely foreign concept in Islam.
mortimer says
The authenticity of the document is not confirmed by professional historians.
The issue at stake is whether one SHOULD annoy one’s neighbors JUST BECAUSE one CAN annoy them.
Civilization depends on deference to the feelings of others.
No needs the HG as a mosque. The Blue Mosque sits empty near by.
NO PIOUS MUSLIM WILL BE ABLE TO PRAY AT HG BECAUSE IT CONTAINS PICTURES!!!
GreekEmpress says
I still think the icons will be defaced,
destroyed, and removed at some point.
spiro says
It was a bloody bath when constaintinople fell to the Muslim invaders that was no purchase
Once again rewrite history
mortimer says
Robert Spencer’s explanation is that no such document would be valid in any case. A coerced contract signed under duress is invalid.
gravenimage says
+1
gravenimage says
So true, Spiro.
Chrissie01 says
another example of a superb cultural achievement of European culture, in this case architectural, that fell into the hands of these barbarous goat herders later posing as the creators of a great culture. The cathedral was plagiarized time and again as blueprint for mosques all over the muslim world. However, they failed to catch on that the four ugly minaretts around it ruined the entire concept…
Like they are ruining the concept of a humane society.
gravenimage says
When I was a child I had a book on great architecture of the world–grotesquely, it cited Hagia Sophia as the greatest example of Islamic design. Of course, I had no idea what claptrap this was when I was in grade school.
Ashley Menezes says
Deceit and Deception is their Hallmark
mortimer says
I have no doubt that the bill of sale is spurious. It may be a forgery from the time. A professional historian should weigh in on this document to assess its authenticity.
gravenimage says
I think it’s more likely a forgery from last week–that’s about when I started hearing about this tosh.
CogitoErgoSum says
A contract signed under duress is not valid. This is the kind of sick joke morons play which only makes them look more moronic.
SAFI says
there isn’t any contract (see my other comment)
The Istanbulian says
Considering that many early Zionists bought land in Israel from the owning ottomans, this claim is also not helping tayyips’s cause.
Didn’t know feet were halal.
Baba says
The European union refused to admit Turkey saying they are Muslim-majority country and they proved to them they prefer Islam.
SAFI says
LMFAO what? Sold by freakin’ who? The emperor? Dead! Died in battle before he could meet the coward mehmet! The Patriarch? Patriarch Gregory III was residing in Rome at the time! And he never returned to Constantinople. Mehmet appointed George Scholarios (AKA Gennadios) as his puppet Patriarch one year later but by that time the Hagia Sophia had already been seized by Mehmet(along with the Palace, the Church of the Holy Apostles and everything else) and made into a mosque.
Even if that wasn’t the case still no one had the right to “sell” the Hagia Sophia to that sinister mass murdering pervert mehmet! In fact the Emperor’s response to Mehmet’s letter asking for Constantinople’s surrender was exactly that neither he nor anyone else in the city had the right to surrender it because it didn’t really belong to them but rather to Saint Constantine the Great!
Anyway there’s one obvious way to solve this problem once and for all… could someone produce a forgery proving that Ataturk “bought” it “legally”? I would do it myself but I lack the Photoshop skills…
By the way this is how muslims believe it actually happened (WARNING! Taqiyya ahead!)
https://youtu.be/qVqXbCHp8n8?t=6500
GreekEmpress says
+1
gravenimage says
Good post, SAFI. I liked your pointing out on another thread that in that cartoon Hagia Sophia has no mosaics or crosses…
Stephen Slater says
Remember it was the Catholics that sacked the city and the Hagia Sophia first in the 13th century and weakened Byzantium till it was conquered in 1453.
SAFI says
That is a rather pointless “reminder” considering what this controversy is actually about
gravenimage says
That certainly did not help–but the Byzantine Empire had been under siege for *700 years*–I doubt that this incident made much difference in the long run.
Ade Fegan says
Good read ..
Where would we go for honest journalism on islam without Jihad Watch ?
gravenimage says
Turkish Supreme Court claims Mehmet the Conqueror “bought” Hagia Sophia, so it can only be a mosque
…………..
I’ve studied the conquest of Constantinople in general, and the attack on Hagia Sophia in particular, at some length, and I have only seen this claim for the past three days. It is obvious claptrap.
And yes–who would the conqueror have bought it *from*? The clerics he had just enslaved? Those fleeing for their lives? It makes no sense whatsoever; Mehmet I had just conquered the entire city–why would he buy the Cathedral?
Just more ham-fisted Taqiyya.
OLD GUY says
Islamic lying is approved by their Allah if it favors them.
How convenient.
The big lie Islam is a religion of love and peace, while they slash your neck for saying anything negative about Muhammad or Islam even if it is absolutely the truth.
Its all lies!
Brian Hoff says
The court in Turkey test the document by testing the ink se and carbon 14 testing to see how old the paper.The court was make up sectist.
gravenimage says
Erdogan has been threatening to turn Hagia Sophia back into a Mosque for many years now, but “Brian Hoff”–really, “DefenderofIslam” here is saying that they just happened to find this handy document now? Well, *that* was lucky! sarc/off
And no–I can find no claims that this document has been dated by scientists. Citations?
Before this the Turkish courts suggested that Ataturk’s signature was forged making Hagia Sophia a museum–never mind that this would have meant that Ataturk didn’t notice for the last four years of his life that Hagia Sophia wasn’t a Mosque any more. Why do Muslims even bother with this ludicrous claptrap?
Brian Hoff says
The paper is test to frind out old it is .. If cannot be younger than the date on the doc but it can be older than the date on the document.. The paper make back then have no acid content or very little acid content compared to most modern papers. Those old paper with no acid content can last more than a thousand year with good care.
gravenimage says
So no paper can be younger than the date on the document?
What *absolute crap*. I can take a piece of paper and date it 1865, or 1754, or 1453. That does not mean that the paper is actually that old.
And I ask “Brian Hoff:” here again–who has supposedly tested this paper? Of course, he will not say, because he’s got nothing.
SAFI says
What is that old old paper and what is it supposed to contain? Does it say the dead Emperor briefly came back from the dead and “sold” the Church to Mehmet before going back to being dead? Sorry, I can’t read Arabic (and neither can Turks since Ataturk. I guess that’s how the Hagia Sophia could go on being a museum for 85 years… nobody could read Mehmet’s receipt) …
Brian Hoff says
The sale is valid the document is legeal brindig. Middle men went bacj and forth untril than agreement is reach. The parties very rarely saw each other. I. See no foreign governments bring suit in the turkey legal system.
gravenimage says
Who went “back and forth”? The only “back and forth” recorded at the time was Muslim going back and forth to Hagia Sophia to rape nuns and enslave children.
And is he implying that the defeated Christians drove a hard bargain with those who had conquered them? Doesn’t he realize how ludicrous this implication is? And who supposedly sold Hagia Sophia to the Muslim invaders?
I can find no mention of this document before last week. Where is “Brian Hoff”–really, “DefenderofIslam”–getting these supposed details from?
Can “Brian Hoff” cite *any* mention of this document over the past half millenium? Of course not…