Interactions continued over Turkey's decision to return the Hagia Sophia mosque, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it is the sovereign right of his country, in response to the aspirations of the Turkish people.

Erdogan criticized - in a speech via a television circle during the opening of a bridge in Siirt province on Saturday - Western countries for not taking steps to confront the growing Islamophobia they have.

"Those who have not taken any step to reduce anti-Islam in their countries are attacking Turkey's will to use its sovereign rights," he said.

"By taking the decision to return the Hagia Sophia mosque, we did not care what others say, but rather we focused on what is right for us and what our people want, as we did in Syria, Libya and in many situations. We will continue on our path to build a strong and large Turkey."

On Friday, the Turkish president signed a decree to reopen the Hagia Sophia for worship, following a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court to overturn the cabinet decision of November 24, 1934, to convert the Hagia Sophia from a mosque into a museum.

The identity of Hagia Sophia

For his part, the Turkish head of religious affairs, Sheikh Ali Arbash, said that the Hagia Sophia had been a mosque for 481 years, and had turned into a museum for a temporary period of 86 years, and he was restoring his true identity a mosque again.

In response to questions from journalists in the northern Turkish state of Amasya, Arbash called on those protesting against the opening of the Hagia Sophia for worship to arbitrate their minds and stand up to the truth, as he put it.

He confirmed that Hagia Sophia will recover his identity when he opens to worshipers on Friday, July 24.

In the same context, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Qalan said - in press statements on Saturday - that access to the Hagia Sophia mosque will be available to all without distinction between religions, stressing that freedom of religion in Turkey is fixed by the presence of more than 400 churches and synagogues.

The response to UNESCO

They criticized what they said was a comment issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), asking: "Why does the Hagia Sophia lose its World Heritage status when it opens a mosque?"

"Is this discrimination against mosques? If this decision is taken, UNESCO's standards will be questioned," he added.

The Turkish spokesman saw that there is "a comprehensive consensus in (Turkish) society - including the opposition - over the decision to open the Hagia Sophia Mosque for worship."

A hundred years ago, the Hagia Sophia was a church and a prominent landmark of the Byzantine Empire, until Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror bought it and converted it into a mosque after the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453.

A Turkish presidential spokesman criticized a comment by former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt on the decision to open the Hagia Sophia for worship.

"Most of Europe's current views on Turkey are already based on prejudices and wrong concerns," the spokesman said in a tweet on Twitter.

He believed that continuing a relationship based on equality, mutual respect and common interest would be beneficial to all.