Turkey’s President Erdogan Announces Turkey’s Greatest Cathedral the Hagia Sophia Will Once Again Be Turned into a Mosque

Turkey is once again on its way to becoming a radical Islamist state. The Hagia Sophia was built by Christians and was an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral from 537 until 1453 until Muslims conquered Constantinople changed its name to Istanbul and turned the historic cathedral into a mosque.

For the past eighty years Hagia Sophia has been a museum. But, that was before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came into power.

On Friday Erdogan announced the Hagia Sophia would be reopened for Muslim worship.

The Hagia Sophia — Greek for “Holy Wisdom” — was for nearly one thousand years Christianity’s greatest cathedral.

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 neighbouring 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.

The head of the World Council of Churches wrote a letter to Erdogan expressing his dismay over Turkey’s decision to reestablish a mosque at the site.