A video from inside the Hagia Sophia shows hundreds of children shouting the well-known Islamist slogan of “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great).

The event took place in the context of the “Hagia Sophia Summer School Meeting”, organized by the TÜGVA (Turkish Youth Foundation), in which Bilal Erdoğan, the son of the president of Turkey, is reported to have an administrative position.

The images from the interior of the Eastern Orthodox Christian-constructed Cathedral are disturbing.

First, someone tells the children the phrase “takbeer” and then they all shout “Allahu akbar” (Allah is great), Tourkika Nea reports.

A few days ago, on the anniversary of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Turkish media reported on the two special editions as well as the documentary presented by the Directorate of Communications of the Turkish Presidency.

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wrote the foreword to one of the two books, recalling that a presidential decree on July 10, 2020, ensured the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque.

“Glory be to Allah, who gave us the opportunity to restore the symbol of the Fall [of Constantinople], the will and trust of the Conqueror, Hagia Sophia, to its original state 86 years later,” Erdoğan said in a message on Twitter.

“May the resurrection of Hagia Sophia be once again beneficial. In the framework of international law,” he added.

In the preface of the book, the Turkish president states that the fact that Hagia Sophia regained “its position as a place of worship does not mean that it has lost its status as a world cultural heritage”.

And this is because, as he argues, “the Hagia Sophia mosque, which is a symbol of the victory of a conquest that opened and closed an era and the important relics of our ancestors, will continue to live as a world cultural heritage, as it is a work that adds beauty to Istanbul.”

“Its re-opening as a mosque after 86 years is certainly a historic event. This project, prepared by the Communications Directorate, reveals the historical, architectural, religious, and cultural importance of the Hagia Sophia mosque.

“It also places the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque in the context of national and international law.”

Dr.Awais abbasi @AwaisAh34621754 wrote in 2020, "Historic Correction or Religious Politics? Turkey’s conversion of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque is not the first act of its kind. Here is an insight into how houses of worship have remained a point of conflict between different religious groups."

References:

greekcitytimes.com