Hagia Sophia: A matter of sovereignty or political narrow-mindedness? | Inside Story

submitted by Marvin's Underground Evening Lectures on 12/06/21 1

One of the world's most famous landmarks, the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul, has been turned back into a mosque. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the site will be open to Muslim worship in less than two weeks, after a top court ruled the building's conversion to a museum in 1934 was illegal. Built 1,500 years ago as an Orthdox Christian cathedral, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453. While UNESCO and Greek, Russian and other church leaders have denounced Turkey's decision, its foreign ministry insists it's a 'domestic issue of national sovereignty'. But is this an act of religious significance or political narrow-mindedness? Presenter: Adrian Finighan Guests Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mehmet Celik, managing editor of the Turkish newspaper The Daily Sabah. Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of the book, 'Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty' - Subscribe to our channel: aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: www.aljazeera.com/ #AlJazeeraEnglish #HagiaMosque #Turkey

Leave a comment

Be the first to comment

Email
Message
×
Embed video on a website or blog
Width
px
Height
px
×
Join Huzzaz
Start collecting all your favorite videos
×
Log in
Join Huzzaz

facebook login
×
Retrieve username and password
Name
Enter your email address to retrieve your username and password
(Check your spam folder if you don't find it in your inbox)

×