Culture

Erdogan considers turning Hagia Sophia into mosque

Istanbul (Turkey), Jun 30 (EFE) .- (Camera: Ilya Tooper / Lara Villalón) Church or mosque? The secular Turkish Republic that emerged from the Ottoman Empire decided in 1935 that the Byzantine Basilica of Hagia Sophia would be a museum without religious charge, a decision that Islamism and Ottoman nostalgics in the country, represented by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now want to reverse. On Thursday, July 2, the State Council, or Danistay, the highest administrative court, is expected to decide on the request of an unknown association to reverse the decree that 85 years ago secularized the building.FOOTAGE OF HAGIA SOPHIA.SOUNDBITES OF LÜFTI, WHO GOES TO FRIDAY PRAYERS AT THE BLUE MOSQUE IN FRONT OF HAGIA SOPHIA. Translation:"Now we have a museum here, which is neither a church nor a mosque. At the moment, the mosque is there, and that is enough for us. If the population grew a lot and there were many more people, then we would see it right to open the Hagia Sophia to prayer. But for now, there is no need. In this mosque here, for all the people who are going to pray, there is plenty of space."