Turkish Government’s Hagia Sophia Rhetoric Adds Insult to Injury

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan converted the Hagia Sophia into a mosque on July 10, drawing criticism from foreign governments ranging from the United States to Russia, including a joint condemnation by 27 European Union foreign ministers. Ankara’s fait accompli has raised legitimate concerns about the potential damage to this sixth-century world heritage site, revered by Christians and Muslims alike. While Hagia Sophia’s conversion poses a significant risk to the monument’s sacred heritage, the Turkish government’s accompanying rhetoric will be equally damaging to interfaith relations.

In his televised address to the nation regarding Hagia Sophia, Erdoğan said its conversion into a mosque would gratify “the spirit of conquest” of Mehmet II, the Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople from the Byzantines in 1453. The next day, Erdoğan’s ultranationalist coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli echoed the Turkish president by proclaiming that the course of the Turco-Muslim conquest, “which has been going on for 567 years, has entered a new phase.”

Συνέχεια ανάγνωσης εδώ

Πηγή: providencemag.com