Hagia Sophia's 2020 Mosque Conversion Sparks Debate on Cultural Heritage and Political Instrumentalization
On July 2, 2020, Turkish courts declared that a decree from 1934, which designated Hagia Sophia as a museum, was invalid. Subsequently, on July 24, 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proclaimed its reopening as a mosque. Initially constructed as an Eastern Orthodox church in 537 CE, it transitioned into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest in 1453. The 1934 transformation into a museum was part of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's secularization efforts, the founder of modern Turkey. Western media frequently depicts this reconversion as a 'regression', merging the concepts of cultural weaponization and destruction. The article challenges the perception of museums as neutral entities and advocates for a multi-faith worship model, emphasizing the site's historical political significance. The piece is authored by Sarah Jilani and published by ArtReview.
Key facts
- Turkish courts ruled the 1934 decree making Hagia Sophia a museum was unlawful on 2 July 2020.
- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced preparations to reopen Hagia Sophia as a mosque on 24 July 2020.
- Hagia Sophia was originally built as an Eastern Orthodox church in 537 CE under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
- The building was converted into a mosque in 1453 by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II after the conquest of Constantinople.
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk transformed Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934 as part of secularization policies.
- Western media coverage, especially in the US and UK, has frequently framed the reconversion as a 'regression'.
- The author argues that both the museum and mosque phases represent ideological uses of the building for political consolidation.
- Sarah Jilani is the author and a doctoral candidate in postcolonial literatures at the University of Cambridge.
Entities
Artists
- Justinian I
- Sultan Mehmed II
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- Sarah Jilani
Institutions
- ArtReview
- The Economist
- Times Literary Supplement
- University of Cambridge
Locations
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Constantinople
- UK
- US