ASSIGNMENT

ARTICLE ON HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE.

SUBJECT: MASS COMMUNICATION

NAME: AFFAN DURRANI

SUBMITTED TO: DR. NIGHAT SARWER

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) was originally built as a basilica for the
Greek Orthodox Christian Church. However, its function has changed several times
in the centuries since.

Byzantine Emperor Constantius commissioned construction of the first Hagia

Sophia in 360 A.D. At the time of the first church’s construction, Istanbul was
known as Constantinople, taking its name from Constantius’ father, Constantine I,
the first ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

The first Hagia Sophia featured a wooden roof. The structure was burned to the
ground in 404 A.D, as a result of political conflicts

Arkadios’ successor, Emperor Theodosios II, rebuilt the Hagia Sophia, and the new
structure was completed in 415.

However , a little more than one century later, the structure was again burned for
a second time during the so-called “Nika revolts” against Emperor Justinian I, who
ruled from 527 to 565.

Unable to repair the damage caused by the fire, Justinian ordered the demolition
of the Hagia Sophia in 532. He commissioned renowned architects Isidoros (Milet)
and Anthemios (Tralles) to build a new basilica.

The third Hagia Sophia was completed in 537, and it remains standing today.

The first religious services in the new Hagia Sophia were held on "December 27,
537". At the time, Emperor Justinian is reported to have said, “My Lord, thank you
for giving me the chance to create such a worshipping place.
The Hagia Sophia served this pivotal role in Byzantine culture and politics for much
of its first 900 years of existence.

However, during the Crusades, the city of Constantinople, and by extension the
Hagia Sophia, was under Roman control for a brief period in the 13th century. The
Hagia Sophia was severely damaged during this period, but was repaired when the
Byzantines once again took control of the surrounding city.

In 1261 Hagia Sophia was converted to an Eastern Orthodox Church again. After
some period of time An earthquake caused severe damage throughout the
striation, various parts of the building collapsed, and the church was closed in
1346

The next significant period of change for the Hagia Sophia began less than 150
years later, when the Ottomans, led by Emperor Fatih Sultan Muhammad
—known as Muhammad the Conqueror—captured Constantinople in 1453. The
Ottomans renamed the city Istanbul..

As Islam was the central religion of the Ottomans, the Hagia Sophia was renovated
into a mosque.

In 1935, nine years after the Republic of Turkey. The building transformed into a
museum on the order of the first President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. the
legendary structure has been operated as a museum by the national government,
and it reportedly attracts more than three million visitors annually.
In 2018, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spoken of reverting the
status of the Hagia Sophia back to a mosque. On 31 March 2018 Erdoğan recited
the first verse of the Quran in the Hagia Sophia, dedicating the prayer to the
"souls of all who left us this work as inheritance, especially Istanbul's conqueror,"

In March 2019 Erdoğan said that he would change the status of Hagia Sophia from
a museum to a mosque,As a UNESCO World Heritage site, this change would
require approval from UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. In late 2019
Erdoğan's office took over the administration and upkeep of the nearby Topkapı
Palace Museum, transferring responsibility for the site from the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism by presidential decree.

PRESENT SITUATION:

In May 2020, Turkey's government celebrated the 567th anniversary of the Fall of
Constantinople with an Islamic prayer in Hagia Sophia. Turkish president Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan said during a televised broadcast "Al-Fath surah will be recited and
prayers will be done at Hagia Sophia as part of conquest festival".

On 25 June, John Haldon, president of the International Association of Byzantine

Studies, wrote an open letter to Erdoğan asking that he "consider the value of
keeping the Aya Sofya as a museum".

On 10 July 2020, the decision of the Council of Ministers to transform the Hagia
Sophia into a museum was cancelled by the Council of State, decreeing that Hagia
Sophia can be used only as a mosque and not “for any other purpose”.

On 17 July, Erdoğan announced that the first prayers in the Hagia Sophia would
be open to between 1,000 and 1,500 worshippers, and reiterated that the issue
was a matter of Turkey's sovereignty and international reaction would not deter
him. Turkey invited foreign leaders and officials, including Pope Francis, "for the
first prayers which was held on Friday on July 24 2020" , in the Hagia Sophia.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, Erbaş said Hagia Sophia would
accommodate up to 1,000 worshippers at a time and asked that they bring
"masks, a prayer rug, patience and understanding".

REACTION AND EMOTIONS OF SOME ISLAMIC COUNTRIES:

Muslim community leaders from around the globe have welcomed Turkey's
decision to revert Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia back into a mosque,
congratulating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the move.
1: In a letter addressed to the Turkey's president, chief of Pakistan's
Jamaat-e-Islami party Siraj ul Haq said the news of opening Hagia Sophia for
Muslim prayers after 86 years "warmed hearts of Muslims all round the world
and particularly in Pakistan."
"Accept our heartiest greetings over the major decision which has reversed the
injustice committed decades back," Haq said in his letter to Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
2: Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawky Allam said on Saturday that Turkey's conversion
of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia into a mosque is impermissible in Islam,
“We, as Muslims, are commanded to preserve churches. Prophet Muhammad
was always recommending in wars not to destroy temples or kill monks,” Allam
said during a televised interview".
3: Arab states have largely remained officially silent on the move, given that
Turkey's relations with major Arab countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia are at a
low point, while responses on their conventional and social media have also been
divided and varied.
A rare expression of opinion by an Arab minister came from the United Arab
Emirates. The Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development Noura Al Kaabi
tweeted on July 11 that "Hagia Sophia has been a historic landmark for
thousands of years. Changing its status will harm its cultural value. It has
remained a valuable symbol and icon of interfaith dialogue between cultures
and civilizations."
4: Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the chairman of the Religious Council of the Caucasus,
congratulated Erbaş over Turkey's move, while a letter from Rateb Jneid, head of
the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, conveyed his support for the
decision.
5: The Republic of Turkey under Erdoğan's leadership is "a rising star and
indispensable source of hope for Muslims and the oppressed," Shaqir Fetahu,
deputy chair of the Islamic Religious Union of the Republic of Macedonia, said in
his letter.
Also thanking Erdoğan and praising the decision were Sheikh Ahmad bin Hamad
al-Khalili, the grand mufti of the Sultanate of Oman; Abdel-Hadi al-Agha,
undersecretary of Palestine's Religious Affairs Ministry and Sheikh Maulana
Shabbir Saloojee, the rector of Darul Uloom Zakariyya, an Islamic university in
Lenasia, South Africa.

RESERVATION OF WESTERN COUNTRIES:

CHURCH LEADERS:

The Orthodox Church expressed dismay at Turkey's decision to revoke the

museum status of Hagia Sophia, accusing it of ignoring voices of many Christians.
"The concern of many Christians has not been heard," Orthodox Church
spokesman Vladimir Legoida said in comments carried by the Russian press
agency Interfax.
"Today's court ruling shows that each one involves the necessity for extreme
delicacy during this matter were ignored," Legoida said.
The Orthodox Church previously urged caution over calls to change the status of
the historic former cathedral, and Russian Patriarch Kirill said he was "deeply
concerned" about such a potential move and called it a "threat to the entire of
Christian civilisation".
Previously, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of some 300
million Orthodox Christians worldwide and based in Istanbul,"said converting it
into a mosque would disappoint Christians and would 'fracture' East and West".
UNESCO:
UNESCO said its World Heritage Committee would review Hagia Sophia's status,
saying it had been "regrettable that the Turkish decision wasn't the topic of
dialog nor notification beforehand".
"UNESCO calls on the Turkish authorities to open a dialog at once so as to avoid
a step back from the universal value of this exceptional heritage whose
preservation will be reviewed by the planet Heritage Committee in its next
session," the United Nation's cultural body said during a statement.
THE EURUPEAN UNION:
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the decision
"regrettable".
"The ruling by the Turkish Council of State to overturn one among modern
Turkey's landmark decisions and President Erdogan's decision to put the
monument under the management of the Religious Affairs Presidency is
regrettable," he said during a statement.
CYPRUS:
Cypriot secretary of state Nikos Christodoulides, a Greek Cypriot, posted on his
official Twitter account that Cyprus "strongly condemns Turkey's actions on Hagia
Sophia in its effort to distract domestic opinion and calls on Turkey to respect its
international obligations".
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
"We are disappointed by the choice by the govt of Turkey to vary the status of
the Hagia Sophia," Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokesperson, said during
a statement.
"We understand the Turkish Government remains committed to maintaining
access to the Hagia Sophia for all visitors, and appearance forward to hearing its
plans for continued stewardship of the Hagia Sophia to make sure it remains
accessible without impediment for all."
GREECE:
Greece branded Turkey's move an "open provocation to the civilised world".
Greece condemned a decision by Turkey to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia
museum into a mosque, saying it would have repercussions not only on relations
between the two countries, but on Turkey’s ties with the European Union.
“Greece condemns in the most intense manner the decision of Turkey to convert
Hagia Sophia into a mosque. This is a choice which offends all those who also
recognize the monument as a World Heritage Site. And of course it does not only
affect relations between Turkey and Greece, but its relations with the European
Union,” Mitsotakis’s office said in a written statement.Former Greek foreign
minister Dora Bakoyannis and Mitsotakis’s sister tweeted that Erdogan had
“crossed the Rubicon” with its decision, effectively moving itself way from the
Western world.
RUSSIA:
Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee within the
Russian upper house of parliament, called the action "a mistake".
"Turning it into a mosque won't do anything for the Muslim world. It doesn't
bring nations together, but on the contrary brings them into collision," he said.
HAMAS
Palestinian group Hamas has welcomed the verdict allowing the opening of Hagia
Sophia as a mosque.
"Opening of Hagia Sophia to prayer is a proud moment for all Muslims," said
Rafat Murra, head of international press office of Hamas, in a written statement,
quoted by Turkey's Anadolu Agency.Murra stressed that the decision fell under
Turkey's sovereignty rights.

NORTHERN CYPRUS:
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognised only by Turkey, is happy
with the opening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque.
"Hagia Sophia has been Turkish, a mosque and a world heritage since 1453. The
decision to use it as a mosque, at an equivalent time to be visited as a museum,
is sound and it's pleasing," Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said.