In July, the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan turned Hagia Sophia, the most iconic church of the Orthodox Christian world, into a mosque. In August, the historical Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora was also turned into a mosque. With these initiatives, Turkey has decidedly declared its aspiration to confront the Western world and bring back to life the dynastic reality of the Ottoman Empire and its geopolitical aspirations. The decision of the Turkish regime carries specific historical and ideological connotations, and is a direct assault on religious pluralism and history itself. With its connotations and disregard of the historical and religious importance of Christian churches, and especially the great historical importance of Hagia Sophia for Christianity, this decision is an act of cultural genocide against Orthodox Christianity.
Cultural genocide can be properly defined as the coordinated totality of acts and measures undertaken to destroy the historical culture of nations or ethnic groups through spiritual, national, and cultural destruction or symbolical appropriation of their cultural legacy. The conversion of the historical Christian church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque falls into this category. As relevant detailed reports have shown, Turkey has already implemented relevant measures of cultural genocide against the historical culture of the Greek Cypriot population in the northern part of Cyprus, occupied by the Turkish army since 1974. In the occupied part of Cyprus, at least 55 churches have been converted into mosques and another 50 churches and monasteries have been converted into stables, stores, hostels, or museums, or have been demolished.
In August the status of the historical Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora was changed and the monument was reconverted to a mosque. This new decision by the Turkish government followed a 2019 decision by the Turkish Council of State that actually paved the way for the decision concerning Hagia Sophia. This unique monument contains some of the oldest and finest surviving mosaics and frescoes of Byzantine art, indicative of the Palaeologian Renaissance.
On July 10, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an executive decree that turned the historical Christian church of Hagia Sophia located in modern day’s Istanbul’s central Fatih district into a full-fledged mosque reclassifying it from a museum. Just one hour before, a Turkish court ruling had revoked the monument’s status as a museum, thereby annulling the 1934 presidential decree that had initially made Hagia Sophia a museum. In a hasty meeting that lasted just seventeen minutes, the court ruled that Hagia Sophia was owned by a religious foundation established by Mehmet II, the conquering emperor of Constantinople. According to the court’s reasoning Hagia Sophia was presented to the community of the faithful as a mosque and thus its status cannot be changed, therefore the 1934 decree had not been valid and needs to be annulled. The decree signed by Erdogan transfers the management of the site from the Ministry of Culture, where it was as a monument, to the Presidency of Religious Affairs, paving the way for its conversion.
According to a televised speech by President Erdogan, Hagia Sophia will begin its function as a mosque and open for Friday prayers on July 24. July 24 is not a random date; on this day in 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne was signed between Turkey and Greece that solidified the existing status quo between the two countries. Turkey clearly states its revisionist intentions to the international community. Erdogan thus fulfilled an aspiration of Islamist circles, both in Turkey and abroad, that had long called for its conversion into a mosque. He also further dismantles the secular legacy of Kemalism and its connections to the Western world.
Manipulation of justice in Erdoğan’s increasingly autocratic regime thus meets Islamist aspirations. The very fact that the Supreme Court of Turkey invokes an Islamic perception of law issued hundreds of years ago, before the foundation of the Turkish Republic and its legal order, demonstrates the fundamental transformation of the underlying ideological structure of the Turkish state under the Erdoğan regime. In the past the same court had on numerous occasions ruled that the use of Hagia Sophia as a museum is legal (relevant rulings were issued in 1945, 2005, 2006 and 2008). The formative principles of the historical peculiarity of Orthodox Christianity are intricately linked to the symbolism and the special historical image of the Hagia Sophia church. By turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque the Turkish regime explicitly declares its Islamist identity towards those in the Islamic world willing to perceive such a message.
Hagia Sophia (‘the Church of the Holy Wisdom of God’) is a unique monument per se and unlike any of the numerous Byzantine churches scattered in modern Turkey. It is the ideological and symbolic centre of Orthodox Christianity having served as its main church for nearly a thousand years. Its symbolic and spiritual importance equals that of St Peter in Rome, with which they formed the twin ideological centres of Christian culture. Designed by the prominent Greek architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles and built in the early 6th century under the auspices of the Byzantine emperor Justinian, Hagia Sophia, the greatest Christian cathedral for nearly a thousand years, is a marvel of architecture incorporating both post-Roman and Eastern influences. Its huge dome, a depiction of heavenly skies, dominates the building, while in the interior magnificent wall mosaics present Christian religious figures and Byzantine emperors. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 the iconic church was turned into a mosque for Islamic prayers, while four minarets were added on the exterior. Still, the monumental aspect of Hagia Sophia influenced Islamic religious architecture, as many Ottoman mosques were modelled after its design, the Blue Mosque being the most known among them. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 and amidst the secularizing programme adopted by Mustafa Kemal Hagia Sophia became a museum in 1935.
Hagia Sophia is officially recognized by UNESCO as part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul that have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985. Turkey is a member of the World Heritage Convention (1972) which it ratified back in 1983. According to Article 6, par. 3 of the Convention ‘‘each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage referred to in Articles 1 and 2 situated on the territory of other States Parties to this Convention’’. The use of Hagia Sophia as a mosque entails danger for its cultural legacy while it changes the historical identity of this church and monument. There are already reports for considerable damages to the mosaics of the interior that has been caused over the years, as Hagia Sophia had been partly used on specific instances as a mosque.
The intention and the final decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque was met with strong reactions by the Orthodox Church itself and the world community, especially the US, the EU, UNESCO, Greece and Russia.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, had said that this decision would be ‘divisive’, it would ‘‘disappoint millions of Christians around the world’’ and would cause a serious ‘fracture’ between East and West. Just before the decision, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo issued a statement saying that the US ‘‘views a change in the status of the Hagia Sophia as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and its unsurpassed ability—so rare in the modern world—to serve humanity as a much-needed bridge between those of differing faith traditions and cultures’’. After the decision the spokesperson of the US Department of State, Morgan Ortagus, noted in a statement that the US is ‘‘disappointed by the decision by the government of Turkey to change the status of the Hagia Sophia’’.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, expressing the official EU opinion, said that ‘‘President Erdogan’s decision to place the monument under the management of the Religious Affairs Presidency, is regrettable’’. The Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that ‘Greece categorically condemns Turkey’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia to a mosque’’ and that this decision is ‘‘an affront to its ecumenical character’’.
UNESCO’s reaction was rather ambivalent and insufficient to protect the history and the status of Hagia Sophia. In late June, according to Ernesto Ottone Ramírez, Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO sent a letter to the Turkish authorities regarding Erdogan’s announcement to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The letter emphasized some guiding principles, such as that the Convention on World Cultural Heritage stipulates that before any decision can be taken to change the status of a Cultural Heritage Monument, such as Hagia Sophia, a decision of the relevant UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee is required. After the signing of the decision, UNESCO issued another statement saying that it ‘‘deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, and calls for the universal value of World Heritage to be preserved’’.
Of course, Turkey’s decision was greeted enthusiastically among Islamists and extremist ideologues. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood were joyful over the prospect before the decision. In early July Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader and former MP Mohamed Al Sagheer wrote on Twitter that ‘‘prayers were performed for more than 400 years, and Mehmet the Conqueror had bought its land (Hagia Sophia) and its surroundings’’. He then went on to add: ‘‘Will Erdoğan revive the Conqueror’s methods and we hear Allahu akbar in the mosque again?’’. Another prominent Islamist writer, Qatari Faisal Al Thani went a step further by denying the Christian historical identity of Hagia Sophia, as he wrote: ‘‘Hagia Sophia ended its ties with the Church and since four centuries ago it was only a mosque’’. According to Al Thani who echoes the Turkish arguments ‘‘the decision to do so is a matter of sovereignty for the Turkish people. It will be joyful news that reinforces pride and identity. It will be considered a historic day and the beginning of a new phase. Its title is Turkey’s independence and a bright future’’.
The militant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip expressed in eloquent terms its support for Ankara’s decision. According to an official written statement that was issued by Rafat Murra, head of international press office of Hamas, the Islamist organization ‘‘the opening of Hagia Sophia to prayer is a proud moment for all Muslims”. Hamas further added that the decisions falls solely under Turkey’s sovereignty rights and it demonstrates Turkey’s self-confidence, and its place in the international arena’’. Hamas, active on the borders of Egypt, is increasingly becoming a proxy for Turkish and Iranian influence.
Still, in the Islamic world Erdoğan’s decision was not fully supported and has met considerable reactions. The Egyptian based Global Fatwa Index, a cultural foundation that aims to counter terrorist fatwas issued all over the world, issued a statement in June 7. That statement explicitly mentioned that Hagia Sophia had served as a Christian church for 916 years, from its construction in the 6th century until 1453, when the Ottoman army conquered Constantinople and effectively turned the church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. According to the statement of the Global Fatwa Index in essence ‘‘the Turkish regime is exploiting the issue of converting the Hagia Sophia to a mosque became an electoral weapon’’ for Erdoğan’s internal political ambitions. In Saudi Arabia the national Al Arabiya news network in a relevant analysis said that Turkish plans concerning Hagia Sophia actually ‘‘sow religious strife between the followers of the different faiths around the world’’.
Russia’s reaction carefully balanced between its desire to appear as a protector of Orthodox Christianity and its amicable relations with Turkey. The head of the Russian Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, condemned the prospect of the conversion as a ‘‘threat to the whole of Christian civilisation’’. Still, Russian Presidential spokesperson had kept a different stance in a statement that the whole decision is ‘‘an internal affair of the Turkish Republic’’, rather than an international issue concerning respect of religious symbolisms and culture. Despite initial impressions, Russia has a lot to gain from the continuous undermining of the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Turkish decision on Hagia Sophia promotes Russian pretensions of hegemony over the Orthodox realm, as it further weakens the position of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople. Russia, an offspring civilization of the Greek-influenced Byzantine culture, still cannot accept its secondary place in the realm of Orthodoxy, which it aims to completely control. Tension between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and Russia has been growing over the last years, especially after the Ecumenical Patriarchate granted the Ukrainian branch of the church independence from Russia despite Moscow’s fierce opposition.
Erdogan’s turning of Hagia Sophia into a mosque plays directly into Russian geostrategic aspirations in religious diplomacy; it reinforces the notion of Russia as the Third Rome (Constantinople being the Second Rome) and legitimate inheritor of the cultural and historical legacy of the Byzantine world and the image of Russia as a reliable protector of Orthodox populations in its periphery. Russia itself is a country Christianized by Byzantine influence in the 10th century. When Slavic emissaries from Kiev, then capital of the Russian state, were sent in the 11th century to the Byzantine capital, it was in the very church of Hagia Sophia that they were introduced to the splendid Byzantine liturgy: ‘‘We knew not whether we were on heaven or on Earth. For on Earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at loss on how to describe it. We know only that God dwells’ there among men’’ (Russian Primary Chronicle).
Russia and Turkey have been collaborating closely over the last years in a variety of issues, from the S-400 missile system to joint operations in Syria. Despite periodical frictions over distribution of influence zones, the two Eurasian countries are carefully extending their influence along the Middle East at the expense of Western and specifically US interests. Now, the decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque allows Russia to extend its influence over the Orthodox realm and weakens the US image as a reliable guaranteeing force of religious coexistence. It is in this context and in the general framework of respect of historical religious monuments that US policy needs to rearticulate its policy and renew diplomatic pressure for the restitution of Hagia Sophia as a museum.
The decision to turn the historical Christian church of Hagia Sophia, the epicentre of Orthodox faith, into a mosque is a direct attack on the historical and cultural legacy of the Orthodox world. Turkey aims to resurrect the notion of an unofficial ideological caliphate, just a few years before it celebrates its 100 years of the Turkish Republic. The transformation of Turkey has been unfolding steadily ever since the Erdoğan regime assumed power. Now, Turkey plunges itself fully into the Ottoman past with such symbolical gestures and with its illegal intervention in Libya, the first land of the Ottoman Empire where the latter relinquished control back in 1911.
Culture matters greatly in international relations, used to promote foreign policy interests and aspirations. US and EU policy officials should take note of the greater context of Hagia Sophia’s classification as a mosque. The world needs to wake up to the dangerous revisionist entity that Turkey has become, an aggressor against regional stability and historical legacies. Reactions are of limited use unless accompanied by active diplomatic measures that safeguard the historical realities of religious pluralism and respect for the symbols of religions.
DR. IOANNIS E. KOTOULAS (Ph.D. in Geopolitics, Ph.D. in History) is Adjunct Lecturer in Geopolitics at the University of Athens, Greece. His latest book is History and Geopolitics of Modern Greece (Athens 2019). His analyses have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, Al-Ahram Weekly and academic journals.
https://uoa.academia.edu/IoannisKotoulas
Boycott Turkey says
Turkey wants to erase Greek Byzantium history from Turkey it’s definitely genocide and also the same in illegally occupied North Cyprus vile Erdogan took advantage of the schism between the Greek and Russian Orthodox Church because Patriarch Bartholomew recognised The breakaway Ukrainian church it angered Russia and Affected relations between Greece and Russia i feel Patriarch Bartholomew was wrong what he did as it caused division it’s always when Christians where divided Turkey was able to defeat us we need to unite
b.a. freeman says
the fact that turkey has occupied northern cyprus since 1974 proves that the dumba** nazis who run the west either don’t have a clue (not likely), or are using the ummah as a proxy army to burn down the west to its foundations. they have had 36 years to figure out *why* the ummah acts as it does, and the fact of their utter silence on the subject simply proves that they *want* the ummah destroy the west.
Boycott Turkey says
I agree they either don’t have a clue or are just as evil they always seem more concerned about the so called oppressed Palestinians Kashmiris uighars rohinga but they don’t give a damn about Cyprus or any other Christians like in Nigeria Pakistan Egypt Syria no wonder Turkey does what it likes
Mauricio says
I agree that Christians need to unite in order to defeat the jihad threat and Islamist supremacy but, why blame the Ecumenical Patriarch? He is doing what is right and is not acting in order to get more power or to please Putin, like the russian Patriarch is doing. Patriarch Kirill and his supporters are behaving the same way that the Pope and his followers were behaving a millennium ago. Today, I am not sure which one is worse: if pope Francis or patriarch Kirill.
gravenimage says
Sadly, Patriarch Kirill regularly whitewashes Islam, and works with Muslim leaders, especially against the West:
https://myocn.net/four-principles-patriarch-kirill-islam-western-immorality-interfaith-dialogue/
The Moscow Patriarchate looks forward to continued dialogue and strengthened relations with Muslim leaders, especially given the rapid decline of morality in the West.
“It would be good if scholars could join the working group [of Russian Orthodox and Turkish Muslims], since it is very important to reflect together on what is going on with human civilization,” His Holiness said. “It is perfectly obvious that the Western civilization, the modern Western culture, has lost its ties with religion and that the Western world cannot be called Christian any more. Religious values are no longer present in social sphere. Such laws are being adopted that contradict God’s commandments and traditional morality.”
Apparently he is fine with the horrifying “morality” of Islam, including marrying children, raping Infidels, and mass slaughtering unbelievers.
He has also laughably said that Islamist violence is contrary to the true principles of Islam.
Boycott Turkey says
His is a hypocrite then how can he talk about religious values when he turns a blind eye to what Islam teaches and wants a useless dialogue with Turkish Muslims And stays silent on Agia Sophia being turned to a mosque I think Russia is losing its Values
SAFI says
@ Boycott Turkey
That’s a good question. I would also like to ask Kiril (given what he says in the article gravenimage cites above) why do Russians appear to be world champions in certain categories of “immorality” like domestic abuse for example?
Boycott Turkey says
I didn’t agree with what the Patriarch did because I didn’t agree splitting the Orthodox Church was right on the other hand I agree he shouldn’t do things to please Putin whether it’s right or wrong Patriarch Krill and the Pope where to silent on Agia Sophia it’s very pathetic really the pope and patriarch Krill should have been condemning Turkey and calling for sanctions also they are silent on persecuted Christians and they are suppose to be Christian leaders I don’t understand what’s going on with the Christian leaders today they have let us down
Mauricio says
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew does NOT reject russian Patriarch Kirill, but Patriarch Kirill does reject the Ecumenical Patriarch. For detailed information about this:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moscow%E2%80%93Constantinople_schism
Boycott Turkey says
Thank you it does mention it was Patriarch Krill who severed ties to Patriarch Bartholomew Russia doesn’t care about Agia Sophia because they see it as a Greek Church and want revenge on the patriarch recognising the Ukrainian Church but they don’t realise that Erdogan is also attacking Russia and using the conversion symbolic in destroying all orthodox Christianity as Kieven Rus was baptised in Agia Sophia
Mauricio says
You are welcome my friend. All of this is terrible indeed, but lets hope everything gets better. Meanwhile, we will have to continue boycotting Turkey.
mortimer says
Not just the Orthodox Church, but Protestant churches as well.
gravenimage says
Sadly true.
Boycott Turkey says
True all Christianity Protestant Catholic as well but Turkey will gain nothing from this but bad luck
b.a. freeman says
“The world needs to wake up to the dangerous revisionist entity that Turkey has become, an aggressor against regional stability and historical legacies.”
—
sadly, almost all of the western and westernized world is run by nazis, so the world will *NEVER* wake up to the danger of turkey, nor to the danger presented by any other part of the ummah. hard-core leftists will finally figure it out when the pious ummah gets around to chopping of their heads.
gravenimage says
I think the West is generally more in denial than it is run by Nazis.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
If such a thing as a closet concealing what Erdogan is were possible, he stepped out of it with his Hagia Sophia move. Transform it from a holiness tourist trap to a mosque tourist trap. At least the new arrangement is more fitting to the old building.
Sylvia Drummond says
Tourists are not interested in mosques and the islamic fanaticism of Erdogan will turn people away from visiting Turkey. Their economy will suffer and people will turn against Erdogan
gravenimage says
Yes–tourism to Turkey has tanked, and not just due to the Coronavirus:
“Turkey’s economy plunges as tourists stay away after conversion of Hagia Sophia, Chora church to mosques”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/09/turkeys-economy-plunges-as-tourists-stay-away-after-conversion-of-hagia-sophia-chora-church-to-mosques
Last year Hagia Sophia was the most visited site in Turkey–now, not so much…
mortimer says
And now some REALITY about Turkish tourism revenue … could hit $15B in 2020
23 August 2020 20:11
https://en.trend.az/business/economy/3288359.html
Turkey’s tourism industry could generate $15 billion (TL 110 billion) by the end of 2020, a senior industry representative said, as the sector slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic with a rising number of international arrivals, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
Birol Akman, chairman of the Anatolian Tourism Operators Association and board member of the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), told Anadolu Agency (AA) Sunday that the country could no longer reach its pre-pandemic goal of receiving 60 million tourists this year.
According to official figures released last week, Turkey’s most popular tourist destination Antalya welcomed more than 1 million tourists between Jan. 1 and Aug. 19 from 31 countries. While nearly 300,000 Ukrainians preferred the city for their holiday, 281,000 tourists came from Russia, followed by 221,000 Germans and 85,000 British tourists.
While the sector enjoys a rising number of tourists, the figures are nowhere close to that of the previous year. In 2019, tourism revenues hit $34.52 billion and nearly 52 million visitors arrived in the country, a rise of 13.7% from 2018. The Mediterranean resort city Antalya alone received more than 15 million visitors from 193 countries, setting an all-time tourism record.
gravenimage says
Erdoğan’s Cultural Genocide Against Turkey’s Christian Heritage
……………………
All grimly true.
And I think this is the first article I have seen from Ioannis Kotoulas, who has written on Islam in Turkey and around the Mediterranean. Welcome!
Michael Casmer says
My parish, the Ukranian Catholic Cathedral in Philadelphia is modeled on Hagia Sophia. I always wanted to go to Constantinople to see it. Oh well.
JamesC. says
My understanding is that a genocide is the more or less intentional & organised killing of a great number of people, to the point of threatening the very existence of an ethnic group. Hence the name genocide: “killing of a race”.
The slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis in the Shoah was a genocide.
The slaughter of thousands of Armenians by the Turks during World War I was a genocide.
Unless Erdogan’s regime is killing thousands of Christians so as to endanger Turkish Christianity in one or more of its forms, I don’t see how what he is doing, however tyrannical and destructive, can be called genocide.
Several cultures have acted in much the same way to the cultures they were superseding: the Jews in the OT, the Christians towards the paganism of the Roman Empire, the conquistadors in the New World, the Reformation towards much of pre-Reformation Catholicism. The appropriation or destruction of the “sacred spaces”, time, and other religious expressions of a defeated and dishonoured culture goes back to Ancient Mesopotamia.
STM that what Erdogan is doing, however deplorable, falls a good way short of genocide. The destruction of the material expression of a culture is, surely, a rather different thing from the destruction of the people whose culture it is.
IMHO, it would be better to reserve words like “genocide“ for the genuine article, so as to avoid the danger of weakening the force of such words by applying them to less serious evils.
Orthodoxy does not – or should not – absolutely need Hagia Sophia. It built Hagia Sophia. It has survived and spread without the use of it. Orthodoxy has survived a great deal of destruction throughout the centuries. Surely it has the capacity to survive this as well ?
gravenimage says
This title says “cultural genocide”.
SAFI says
There is a “cultural genocide” but it’s not a recent one. It started centuries ago with the original conversion of the Hagia Sophia and the destruction of many other churches and monuments by Mehmet Fatih (aka Mohammed the Conqueror, national hero of Turkey) in the immediate aftermath of his conquest
gravenimage says
Very true, SAFI.
OLD GUY says
Erdogan little HITLER, same dream world domination and eradication of the Jewish and christian people. His ideology will set the world back to the 1400 hundreds.