ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday that the Hagia Sophia, one of the architectural wonders of the world, would be reopened for Muslim worship as a mosque, sparking fury in the Christian community and neighboring Greece. His declaration came after a top Turkish court revoked the sixth-century Byzantine monument’s status as a museum, clearing the way for it to be turned back into a mosque.

In an address to the nation, Erdogan said the first Muslim prayers at the Hagia Sophia would be performed on July 24. “God willing, we will perform Friday prayers all together on July 24 and reopen Hagia Sophia to worshipping,” he said, assuring that it would open its door to all, including non-Muslims. “Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims.”

The Council of State, Turkey’s highest administrative court, unanimously cancelled a 1934 cabinet decision to turn it into a museum and said Hagia Sophia was registered as a mosque in its property deeds. Shortly after the court decision, Erdogan signed a presidential decree handing over the administration of “Hagia Sophia Mosque” to Turkey’s religious affairs directorate known as Diyanet.

A few hundred Turks carrying Turkish flags gathered outside Hagia Sophia shouting “Chains broken, Hagia Sophia reopened”. Police heightened security measures around the building, according to AFP journalists. Hundreds of worshippers performed evening prayers outside the building after the alteration to its status. “It’s been a dream since we were kids,” said Erdal Gencler, an Istanbul resident. Fatma, a woman with tears in her eyes, said: “Of course I am crying. (Hagia Sophia) belongs to us.”

Greece swiftly condemned the move by Muslim-majority Turkey as a provocation while the United States also expressed disappointment. The Russian Orthodox Church was equally scathing. Erdogan urged everyone to respect Turkey’s decision and said the issue of what purposes Hagia Sophia would serve “concerns Turkey’s sovereign rights”.

The UNESCO World Heritage site in historic Istanbul, a magnet for tourists worldwide, was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.  Hagia Sophia, which stands opposite the impressive Sultanahmet Mosque - often called the Blue Mosque - has been a museum since 1935 and open to believers of all faiths. Last year, 3.8 million tourists visited the monument. Transforming it from a mosque was a key reform under the new republic born out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

Erdogan has in recent years placed great emphasis on the battles which resulted in the defeat of Byzantium by the Ottomans, with lavish celebrations held every year to mark the conquest. Muslim clerics have occasionally recited prayers in the museum on key anniversaries or religious holidays. In 2018, Erdogan himself recited a verse from the Holy Quran at Hagia Sophia. - AFP