This archive report was first published on 11 July 2020.
July 11, 2020 - In a move that has sparked widespread criticism and condemnation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the conversion of Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, into a mosque.
The stunning building, which was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire, was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.
Erdogan's decision comes after the cancellation by a top court of a 1934 cabinet decision under modern Turkey's secularising founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to preserve the church-turned-mosque as a museum.
"Those who do not take a step against Islamophobia in their own countries... attack Turkey's will to use its sovereign rights," Erdogan said during a ceremony he attended via video-conference.
"We made this decision not looking at what others say but looking what our right is and what our nation wants, just like what we have done in Syria, in Libya and elsewhere," the Turkish leader said Saturday.
The move has been met with swift condemnation from Greece, France, and the United States, with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko expressing regret and calling for Turkey to honour its commitments to the World Heritage status of the cathedral.
"The cathedral is on Turkey's territory, but it is without question everybody's heritage," Grushko said.
"We would like to hope that (Turkey) will fully honour all of the commitments having to do with the World Heritage status of the cathedral, in terms of its management, protection, and access."
