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On Wednesday, a war of words existed between Turkey and Greece over the possible conversion of Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul‘s most stunning landmarks, into a mosque. The feud over the 1,476-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site is the latest to erupt between the two neighbours over religion. Greece reacted furiously to remarks by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç that he hoped to change the status of Hagia Sophia, which is now a museum. On Monday, Arınç said, “We’re looking at a sad Hagia Sophia, but hopefully we’ll see it smiling again soon”, describing the complex in Istanbul’s historic quarter as the “Hagia Sophia Mosque”.
Hagia Sophia, which dates back to 537, was a church for centuries… and the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople… before the Ottoman conquerors converted it to a mosque in 1453. After the emergence of modern secular Turkey, it opened as a museum in 1935. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “Recurrent statements made by high-ranking Turkish officials about converting Byzantine (sic) Christian churches into mosques offend the religious feeling of millions of Christians”. However, on Wednesday, Turkey bluntly retorted, “We have nothing to learn” from Greece about freedom of religion. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “Greece’s spiteful treatment of Ottoman-era cultural artefacts and places of worship is well-known by all”.
Greece was once part of the Ottoman Empire; it and Turkey share a history marred by bitter territorial disputes and Christian-Muslim feuds. Mosques are a thorny issue in Greece, where the population is predominantly Greek Orthodox. Athens is one of the few European capitals without an official mosque. On Monday, Arınç, a member of the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) said that two other religious sites in Turkey, also named Hagia Sophia, would become mosques (here and here). Its secular opponents often accuse the government of forcing Islamist values on the predominantly-Muslim, but strictly-secular country.
20 November 2013
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-20/238455-turkey-and-greece-feud-over-hagia-sophia.ashx
Voices from Russia 
Turkey and Greece Feud over Hagia Sophia
Tags: Bülent Arınç, Byzantine, Christian, Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, EU, European Union, Greece, Greek Foreign Ministry, Greek Orthodox, Greek Orthodox Church, Hagia Sophia, Islam, Istanbul, Justice and Development Party, Orthodox, Orthodoxy, political commentary, politics, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Turkey
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On Wednesday, a war of words existed between Turkey and Greece over the possible conversion of Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul‘s most stunning landmarks, into a mosque. The feud over the 1,476-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site is the latest to erupt between the two neighbours over religion. Greece reacted furiously to remarks by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç that he hoped to change the status of Hagia Sophia, which is now a museum. On Monday, Arınç said, “We’re looking at a sad Hagia Sophia, but hopefully we’ll see it smiling again soon”, describing the complex in Istanbul’s historic quarter as the “Hagia Sophia Mosque”.
Hagia Sophia, which dates back to 537, was a church for centuries… and the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople… before the Ottoman conquerors converted it to a mosque in 1453. After the emergence of modern secular Turkey, it opened as a museum in 1935. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “Recurrent statements made by high-ranking Turkish officials about converting Byzantine (sic) Christian churches into mosques offend the religious feeling of millions of Christians”. However, on Wednesday, Turkey bluntly retorted, “We have nothing to learn” from Greece about freedom of religion. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “Greece’s spiteful treatment of Ottoman-era cultural artefacts and places of worship is well-known by all”.
Greece was once part of the Ottoman Empire; it and Turkey share a history marred by bitter territorial disputes and Christian-Muslim feuds. Mosques are a thorny issue in Greece, where the population is predominantly Greek Orthodox. Athens is one of the few European capitals without an official mosque. On Monday, Arınç, a member of the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) said that two other religious sites in Turkey, also named Hagia Sophia, would become mosques (here and here). Its secular opponents often accuse the government of forcing Islamist values on the predominantly-Muslim, but strictly-secular country.
20 November 2013
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-20/238455-turkey-and-greece-feud-over-hagia-sophia.ashx
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