Will the very symbolic Hagia Sophia become a mosque again?

It is a suymbolic place. The former Sainte-Sophie basilica was in turn a place of Christian and then Muslim worship in 1453, when Constantinople was taken in 1453, before being transformed into a museum in 1935 on the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president and founder of the Republic of Turkey, anxious to "offer it to humanity".

Built in the 6th century and the jewels of Istanbul, it will soon know its future. The Turkish State Council examined this Thursday the complaint of several associations which militate for the reconversion in mosque of the building.

A measure that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supports, despite the tensions that this could create with several countries. He said last year that his conversion to a museum was a "very big mistake". The United States indeed called on Wednesday Turkey not to touch the statute of the building built under the Byzantine era and classified in the world heritage of UNESCO.

Diplomatic issue

Its status has regularly been the subject of controversy. It is not the first time that associations have asked for justice to demand his return to mosque status. Thursday, the prosecutor asked for the rejection of the association's request, arguing that the decision to change the status of Saint Sophia "is the responsibility of the Council of Ministers and the Presidency".

We urge the Government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect Turkey's diverse faith traditions and history, and to ensure it remains accessible to all.

Since 2003 and the arrival of Erdogan in power, activities linked to Islam have multiplied inside the former basilica, in particular through reading sessions of the Koran or collective prayers on the forecourt of the monument.

This stance by the Turkish president would be a way to satisfy his electoral base, to irritate Athens, with whom relations are strained, and to reconnect with the Ottoman past explains Anthony Skinner, of the consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft. "Erdogan could not find a symbol as powerful as Hagia Sophia to achieve all of these goals at once," he summed up.

For Asli Aydintasbas, researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations, the government must weigh the pros and cons of this decision, particularly through the prism of relations with Greece, Europe and the American administration of Donald Trump for who "religion is an important subject".

"We urge the Turkish authorities to continue to conserve Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an illustration of their commitment to respect the cultural traditions and the rich history which have shaped the Turkish Republic, and to ensure that it remains open to all "Said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday.

World

Turkey: Erdogan wants to rename the former Hagia Sophia in "Hagia Sophia mosque"

• Religion
• Recep Tayyip Erdogan
• Basilica
• Mosque
• Controversy
• Turkey
• World