The Iranian government has praised the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque. Likewise, the Palestinian Hamas has praised the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque, as has Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In addition, it has been asserted that a pro Taliban group in Turkey raised the flag of the Taliban in Hagia Sophia. The Taliban of course being the psychopathic regime in Afghanistan that imposed a policy of complete repression on women, that outlawed books, music, films, and sports. The Taliban was also the regime that hosted Al Qaida.
There are some disputes as to whether this was the flag of the Taliban. Some have asserted that this was actually the flag of the jihadist groups affiliated with Al Qaida in Syria. In any case, the flag was that of a fanatical jihadist movement complicit in acts of terrorism.
As difficult as it may be for Orthodox Greeks to see Hagia Sophia as a Mosque, there is no question that there are political benefits for Greece and Cyprus. The Erdogan regime continues to associate itself with the most fanatical and extreme jihadists. The display of a flag associated with terrorists (it does not make a difference which terrorists ) is further evidence that Turkey is becoming the center of international jihadism.
There are going to be negative political and diplomatic repercussions for the disturbance to Hagia Sophia. We are beginning to see those repercussions by the international show of support for the Erdogan regime by Jihadists around the world. Turkey is now the Jihadist state that is at least geographically part of Europe.
This represents a serious problem for Europe, America, and Russia. Greek diplomacy must focus on and highlight this threat.
2 replies on “Hagia Sophia Diaries 12”
Turkey’s Lira massively depreciated against the EURO today, going from 8.12 Lira to the EURO to 8.37 at the close of FOREX trading. The Lira also dropped against the US Dollar, which is extraordinary because the Dollar is somewhat weak right now. Turkey is burning through massive amounts of foreign exchange just to keep the Lira at a stable level and even then it is depreciating. There are rumors circulating in FOREX markets that the Turkish Central Bank has essentially run out of hard currency and can no longer sell Dollars and EUROS to keep the Lira afloat. This all falls at the doorstep of Tayyip Erdogan, he strong armed the Turkish Central Bank to follow expansionary policies at the same time inflation was 12% and the pandemic was shutting down Turkish exports. There may well be a run on Turkish banks in the near future, causing the government to restrict withdrawals and/or shut the banks for a period of time. This happened in Greece in 2014, but the Greeks benefited from having the strong EURO to rely on. Turkey’s currency the Lira will be depreciating at the same time they have to limit withdrawals by account holders. It could get very ugly, very quickly
Turkey’s economic policies are bringing down Erdogan’s poll numbers very quickly. Turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque was partly intended to shore up his base of Islamic fundamentalists, but most Turks care more about just putting food on the table and keeping their jobs. Turkey MAY have to turn to the IMF for a bailout and that would be a PR disaster for Erdogan. Whatever happens, it’s just deserts for this narcisstic, power-mad dictator. I’ll be following events with keen interest.