Turkey rejects criticism of Greece over Hagia Sophia
One of the most significant historic sites in Turkey’s İstanbul, the ancient Hagia Sophia, has once again caused a dispute between authorities in Turkey and Greece as Turkey’s government under AKP again allowed the site, which was given the statues of a museum back in 1935, to be used for Islamic prayers during the month of Ramadan.
A magnificent ancient church converted into a mosque by Ottoman Turks after the conquest of İstanbul in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was granted the status of a museum in 1935 by the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who defined the structure as a ‘gift to humanity’.
In reaction to prayers being read out-loud inside the structure and its live broadcast on Turkey’s state-run TRT channel, Greece issued a statement criticizing it.
“Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO world heritage site. The attempt to convert it into a mosque - through reading of the Quran, holding of prayers, and a number of other actions - is an affront to the international community, which needs to be duly mobilized and to react”, the statement read.
On Friday (June 23), a rejection came from Ankara with a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which said: “The Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Greece, instead of extending its congratulations to the Turkish people on the holy month of Ramadan and the Laylat ul-Qadr, opted for distorting the recital of Quran and call for prayer in Hagia Sophia.”
In its statement, Turkey’s foreign ministry also accused Athens with failing to ensure granting of religious rights to its Muslim minority and said: “The record of Greece in the field of freedom of religion, which is among the fundamental human rights, is well-known”.
As Greek media reported, main opposition party New Democracy’s head Kyriakos Mitsotakis also condemned the act of Turkey’s government in a letter sent to UNESCO and called it a ‘provocation’ by government of Turkey.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/ayasofya-krizine-unesco-da-dahil-oldu-166382.html