Turkey turns Hagia Sophia into a mosque

[Santander]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53366307

The world-famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul - originally founded as a cathedral - has been turned back into a mosque.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the decision after a court annulled the site's museum status.

Built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453.

In 1934 it became a museum and is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

Defending the move, a Turkish official stressed that tourists could still visit the site after it once more became a mosque.

"May it be beneficial," Mr Erdogan said on Twitter, sharing a caption of the decision with his signature.

F**k Erdogan.

[RI]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

[Cassius]

Well, it was a mosque for five centuries, there’s little harm in it being one once more.

[Helsinkian]

Well, it was a mosque for five centuries, there’s little harm in it being one once more.

It was a church for twice that time, so let's restore it to one?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

are they going to cover up the frescoes again?

[CumbrianLefty]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

Yeah, cos the last one to this neck of the woods ended so well

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

It’s their country. It’s their building. I don’t particularly care. I appreciate its architecture and history but if it’s still going to be open to the public than what’s the big deal?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

are they going to cover up the frescoes again?

They’ll probably be placed in a museum where they can be viewed by the woke generations in their proper historic context.

[jaymichaud]

Turkish Islamists are the worst

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Any religious minorities should really get out of Turkey before the borders slam shut.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

are they going to cover up the frescoes again?

They've suggested not: the general supposition is that this is because the building is in such a shockingly poor state of repair that the risk of (say) the dome collapsing during Islamification work would be quite high, and they would rather avoid that sort of embarrassing symbolism.

[afleitch]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

Not cool.

[Frodo]

I'll engage in some whataboutism: turnabout is fair play, considering how many former mosques in what was al-Andalus are now churches and cathedrals, like the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Córdoba:

[Omega21]

I'll engage in some whataboutism: turnabout is fair play, considering how many former mosques in what was al-Andalus are now churches and cathedrals, like the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Córdoba:

Bro, the one you quoted was literally built as a church, and only later converted into a mosque lol

[Santander]

Bro, the one you quoted was literally built as a church, and only later converted into a mosque lol

Not to mention it was converted back to a church almost 800 years ago, lol.

[Former President tack50]

On an unrelated note, there is a semi-memorable Vox ad from when they were irrelevantant got like 0.5% of the vote that precisely threatens that "The left will islamize Spain and make the Cordoba cathedral into a mosque again" lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8v0BrRFdQ

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

On an unrelated note, there is a semi-memorable Vox ad from when they were irrelevantant got like 0.5% of the vote that precisely threatens that "The left will islamize Spain and make the Cordoba cathedral into a mosque again" lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8v0BrRFdQ

Pablo Sanchez will turn Cordoba Cathedral into a mosque when you become Tengri.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

If anything could unite Israel and Palestine, it's the 10th crusade.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Bro, the one you quoted was literally built as a church, and only later converted into a mosque lol

Not to mention it was converted back to a church almost 800 years ago, lol.

As long as they don't convert it into a drive through McDonalds serving kebabs, it's all good.

[HisGrace]

Bro, the one you quoted was literally built as a church, and only later converted into a mosque lol

Not to mention it was converted back to a church almost 800 years ago, lol.

"Christians did a bad thing in the middle ages so it's fine for Muslims to keep doing it all the way into the 21st Century" is one of the most tedious takes.

[Idaho Conservative]

Kick Turkey out of NATO.  Not only because of this, just in general, it is a horrible country and not an ally.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

Dumbass.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

I mean, surely you're aware that the main reason why it has sadly not been used as a cathedral for so many centuries is ultimately a consequence of well...

[CumbrianLefty]

For real though, this is their attempt to take attention off their horrible reaction to COVID-19. They've been giving out fraudulent and altered numbers from the start (especially the death count) and more and more Turks are losing their jobs and their patience towards them. In an attempt to change the narrative they started these talks about Hagia Sophia becoming a mosque several weeks ago. This will keep their base distracted for a while (but the closest election is in 2023 so I doubt the move will stay relevant until then).

Make no mistake though, its impact is huge right now in AKP's/Erdogan's voterbase. This is the type of culture war "victory" they needed to boost morale.

That's...not correct? Turkey was one of the countries to act fastest against the Coronavirus, shutting schools on March 12th, when the Country had a single confirmed case, and closing Restaurants, Cafe's and many other venues on March 15th when the Country had 18 cases. For comparison Germany, which has been held up as one of the best examples of dealing with the Virus, did so on March 13 (3600 Cases) and March 20-22 (19600 Cases) respectively. In addition to that Turkey has managed to achieve similar containment to most european countries without shutting down major parts of the economy: Turkey's lockdown has been targeted, against the over-65s and under-20s, which were locked down completely, weekend curfews were imposed, and major cities were sealed off, but most shops and much of the economy continued operating.

It's why the contraction in Turkish GDP for 2020 is forecasted (by the IMF for instance) to be around 5%, with full recovery by 2021, contrasted to the double digit falls in much of Europe and despite the vast underlying problems of the Turkish economy in recent years. It is a popular talking point for those anyways politically inclined so, but there is no real evidence to suggest that Turkish Covid-19 statistics are significantly more inaccurate to the extent of those in much of Europe. Taken as percentage of Excess deaths for instance in Istanbul (no proper nationwide numbers), yes Covid-19 deaths (mar-apr) are only 40% of the excess death toll. But that's a similar number to many European countries (Netherlands with 44% for instance). Are those fraudulent numbers, or are they because many deaths have not tested positive, a similar issue as in most European countries? In any event Turkey's death toll still remains much lower.

One does not need to be a Turkish nationalist to acknowledge this. A good article by the BBC here for instance: www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52831017

Not that there weren't missteps. There was much controversy about the failure during the distribution of face masks or Erdogan's appeal for citizens to donate to the state at a time where the reverse should be happening. Pettyness when dealing with Istanbul's mayor Imamoglu and general problems with Turkey's extreme centralisation didn't help. Of course the Turkish economy has been hit hard, reliant on Tourism. But Turkey's response has hardly been as bad as you make it out to be, especially compared to most European countries. Erdogan's approval is still considerably higher than it was pre Coronavirus (51%/48% Metropoll/Area now versus 42% Metropoll in January). During the Peak of the Crisis he was even up at 58%.

It is a distraction, of course, but probably aimed less at a audience at home as a global audience in the Muslim world. Political Islam has been somewhat losing its Appeal in Turkey, and if polling is anything to go by most Turks are not being particularly wooed by the gesture.

Thank you for that interesting overview that goes beyond stock cliches.

[Lord Halifax]

Time for a new crusade, Orthodox bros

I mean, surely you're aware that the main reason why it has sadly not been used as a cathedral for so many centuries is ultimately a consequence of well...

British wankers preventing Russia from obliterating the Ottomans in the second half of the 19th century? Without Western intervention in the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War the city would have been reconquered and Hagia Sofia restored as an Orthodox church.