Tusindvis af muslimer var lørdag samlet i bøn foran Hagia Sophia i Istanbul, med krav om at basilikaen igjen bliver moské.

Det var Kemal Atatürk, der i 1934 endrede status til museum.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan og AKP-partiet har sat sekularismen Atatürk indførte i revers. Det er derfor et logisk skridt at islamisterne kræver Hagia Sophia genåbnet som moské.

Men det vil have en vigtig symbolsk betydning. Den vil ske på baggrund af omfattende forfølgelse af kristne i kristendommens historiske kerneområder.

Man kan ikke undgå at tænke på, at tyrkerne dræbte 1,5 millioner armeniere, fordi de var kristne.

Det er ikke fredelig sameksistens der ligger bag ønsket om at genåbne Hagia Sophia.

Mødet lørdag blev holdt ved 563-årsdagen for osmannernes erobring af Konstantinopel.

The prayer was performed by Murat Mustafa el-Hasan, a Hedjaz imam, and the prayer was followed by slogans for the opening of Hagia Sophia.

The head of Anatolian Youth Association, Salih Turhan, said that they are hoping to perform prayers inside Hagia Sophia.

“Hagia Sophia, which was turned into a museum in 1934, should serve as a mosque again because the decision was fait accompli without public’s will,” he said.

The head of Istanbul district of Anatolian Youth Association, Ali Uğur Bulut, said that they are celebrating the conquest with longing for Hagia Sophia.

“Keeping Hagia Sophia closed is becoming the target of 80 million Muslims’ curse. Hagia Sophia will be opened again,” Bulut said.

Originally built as a Christian basilica in the 6th sixth century during the Byzantium Empire, Hagia Sophia is currently on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It was a church for 916 years.

Hagia Sophia remained a keystone of Orthodox Christianity until 1453, when Istanbul was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmet II. Sultan Mehmet ordered the Hagia Sophia to be converted into a mosque as a symbol of Ottoman victory, and it served as a mosque for 482 years.

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/thousands-perform-conquest-prayer-in-front-of-hagia-sophia-2472687