More than 100,000 people gathered at 4 am on Saturday outside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, in order to offer their morning prayer there. The event was organized by Anatolia Youth Association (AGD), as part of the organization’s campaign to turn Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

The police set up barricades around the garden of the Hagia Sophia and took extra security measures to prevent clashes.

AGD had made a call for the prayer to mark the anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire. The event also came at a time when several radical groups have been discussing the status of the museum. More specifically, independent MP Hami Yildirim, has recently filed a motion in the Turkish parliament to transform the Istanbul Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque.

According to Salih Turan, head of the Anatolia Youth Association, which has collected 15 million signatures to petition for Hagia Sophia to be turned back into a mosque, “Ayasofya is a symbol for the Islamic world and the symbol of Istanbul’s conquest. Without it, the conquest is incomplete, we have failed to honour Sultan Mehmet’s trust.”.

On the other hand, Turkish Historical Society has released a statement entitled: “Why Hagia Sophia should remain a museum” and started a campaign collecting signatures for this purpose. A few days ago, the Foundation held a press conference with the participation of prominent Turkish historians and academics, discussing their petition and campaign to keep the Hagia Sophia serving as a museum, which they claim is “unifying.”

“[Preserving Hagia Sophia as a museum] will demonstrate that Turkey is not part of the ‘clash of civilisations’ but rather a member of the ‘alliance of civilizations,'” historian Sevket Pamuk said during the press conference.

Murat Belge, a left-liberal Turkish intellectual, writer and academic, argued that the way of thinking of those who wish to return Hagia Sophia to serving as a mosque is problematic.
Finally, professor Ugur Tanyeli, an architect, called on both sides to respect the monument, pointing out that “we are talking about a 1,500-year-old monument. But now we use it like a bazaar.”