The Hagia Sophia was originally a church until the Ottomans in the 15th century turned it into a mosque. Then, with the creation of a secular Turkey it was converted into a museum and no religious rituals have been done there for almost 100years. Now, with President Erdogan turning Turkey away from Kamal Attaturk's secularism and towards sharia and pure Islam, it is no wonder that Muslims are agitating for a return to the glory days of Islam. They see the next caliphate just over the horizon and are working hard to make it a reality.
From GMA News May 27 by Ayla Jean Yackley
Worshippers shouted, "Break the chains, let Hagia Sophia Mosque open," and "God is great" before kneeling in prayer as tourists looked on.
Turkey's secular laws prevent Muslims and Christians from formal worship within the 6th-century monument, the world's greatest cathedral for almost a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century.
"Keeping Hagia Sophia Mosque closed is an insult to our mostly Muslim population of 75 million. It symbolises our ill-treatment by the West," Salih Turhan, head of the Anatolian Youth Association, which organised the event, told the crowd, whose male and female worshippers prayed separately according to Islamic custom.
From GMA News May 27 by Ayla Jean Yackley
Muslims praying that historic museum in Turkey be turned into mosque
Thousands of devout Muslims prayed outside Turkey's historic Hagia Sophia museum on Saturday to protest a 1934 law that bars religious services at the former church and mosque.Worshippers shouted, "Break the chains, let Hagia Sophia Mosque open," and "God is great" before kneeling in prayer as tourists looked on.
Turkey's secular laws prevent Muslims and Christians from formal worship within the 6th-century monument, the world's greatest cathedral for almost a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century.
"Keeping Hagia Sophia Mosque closed is an insult to our mostly Muslim population of 75 million. It symbolises our ill-treatment by the West," Salih Turhan, head of the Anatolian Youth Association, which organised the event, told the crowd, whose male and female worshippers prayed separately according to Islamic custom.
Kamal Attaturk started Turkey and was responsible for the Hagia Sophia conversion into a museum. The blame on the West is more demonization and propagandizing, and has nothing to do with reality. Then again, that is one behavior Islam does really well.
The government has rejected requests from both Christians and Muslims to hold formal prayers at the site, historically and spiritually significant to adherents of both religions.
The rally's size and location signals more tolerance for religious expression under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose party traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement.
The government has rejected requests from both Christians and Muslims to hold formal prayers at the site, historically and spiritually significant to adherents of both religions.
The rally's size and location signals more tolerance for religious expression under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose party traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement.
Uh huh. Read it all
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