The ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, demanded the return of the Mosque of Cordoba to the ownership of Muslims, while the Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman congratulated Turkey, its president and the Islamic nation on the return of the Hagia Sophia as a home for God.

Sheikh Sultan said - in a television interview - that he was informed that the municipality had placed the mosque under the authority of the church, and commented on this by saying, "He gave those who did not own to those who did not deserve." He stressed that the ownership of the mosque belongs to Muslims.

This statement coincided with the uproar caused by the Turkish Supreme Administrative Court annulling the decision of the Council of Ministers of November 24, 1934 to transfer the Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum.

His Highness

- Sharjah News (@Sharjahnews) July 16, 2020

The Hagia Sophia is located in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, and was a mosque for 481 years, and was converted into a museum in 1934, which is one of the most important architectural monuments in the history of the region.

Many international parties rejected this decision, and called for keeping the Hagia Sophia museum, while many responded to this proposition by recalling the fate of many mosques, many of which were converted to churches, and were placed under the authority of the church, including the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

The Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al-Khalili, congratulated Turkey, its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Islamic nation on his return of a Hagia Sophia teacher back to a house of God’s homes.

The Mufti of the Sultanate described the decision to return the Hagia Sophia to its previous position as the successful step of the Turkish people and its leader, considering the pause of the nation "marking a great joy that will soon be received - God willing - the return of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to the pure Muslim hands, and raising the hand of the occupation from it."

We thank the Islamic Ummah in all its categories for its participation in rejoicing and celebration of the return of #Aya_Sofia to the confines of Islam after it was removed by depriving the callers of the muezzins from above its minarets, and from the rosaries of the kneeling prostrate prostrating in its mihrab. pic.twitter.com/MY90w7TxvO

- Ahmed bin Hamad Al-Khalili (@AhmedHAlKhalili) July 16, 2020

On Thursday, Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem expressed their support for Turkey's decision to return the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to a mosque.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered in front of the Turkish Consulate General in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (downtown Jerusalem) to celebrate the decision.

The celebrants of the decision uploaded pictures of Turkish President Erdogan and another of Hagia Sophia, and chanted slogans in support of the decision, affirming the right of Muslims to the mosque.

The head of the "outlawed" Islamic movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, confirmed on Thursday that the reopening of the Hagia Sophia as a mosque in Turkey is a prelude to the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

This came in statements to reporters during his trial in the city of Haifa, where the Central Court rejected an appeal that he lodged against the decision to imprison him.

Sheikh Salah said, "I confirm the statement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the reopening of the Hagia Sophia Mosque is the close introduction to the restoration of sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."