The conversion or not of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople from a museum into a mosque is the subject of today’s meeting of the Turkish Supreme Court, amid widespread reactions and outrageous interventions that have brought the issue to the forefront of public debate.
Turkey’s Supreme Court is now called upon to rule on an appeal by two NGOs seeking the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. A postponement of the decision by the court cannot be ruled out.
In the event that the Supreme Court accepts the appeals, the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque requires an administrative decision of the government. In any event, even if the appeal is rejected, President Erdogan still holds the “key” in his hands, without anyone being able to discount what he will do. Previously, the Turkish president made a series of provocative statements about the possible conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, going so far as to refer to the reading of the Quran inside the temple on the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople on May 29.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo intervened on the issue of Hagia Sophia yesterday, calling on the Turkish government to maintain the current status of the World Heritage Site and not turn it into a Muslim mosque.
