The blowback from Turkish President Erdogan’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a Mosque continues. Articles and commentaries continue to be published daily throughout the world criticizing Erdogan’s decision. Many of the commentaries are written by Turkish dissidents who are appalled by collapse of Turkish secularism and the growing authoritarianism of the Erdogan government in recent years.
The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque was supposed to be a symbol of neo-Ottoman triumphalism. The Erdogan government was supposed to celebrate the victory over the secularism of Mustafa Kemal as well as the conquest of the capital of Eastern Christianity by the Ottoman Turks. It is now known that a Muslim cleric who lead prayers in Hagia Sophia died of a heart attack. Furthermore, three thousand people in or outside Hagia Sophia were infected with the corona virus.
The conversion of Hagia Sophia was an initial public relations disaster. The health threat as a result of the huge gathering at the site is an even bigger disaster. President Erdogan himself can be blamed for spreading the corona virus among his own population. This is an act of blatant incompetence and moral failure.
There has been speculation that the whole Hagia Sophia affair was intended to bolster Erdogan’s popularity. If so, this attempt was a spectacular failure. The Turkish population will not be thrilled with the fact that a dangerous disease has spread because of the narcissism and arrogance of the President.
This could be a significant moment for Turkey. Hagia Sophia could become the cause of the downfall of the Erdogan regime. That is very unlikely, but possible. Leaving aside the Turkish President causing his own citizens to become infected with corona virus, the regime had been planting the seeds of its own destruction by interfering with Hagia Sophia.
The Erdogan regime has expansionist tendencies. Ankara tried (and failed) to expand its influence in Syria. It has more successfully established influence in Libya. The Hagia Sophia debacle has had very minimal benefits (that have been heavily outweighed by the international backlash) in terms of establishing closer Turkish ties with Iran, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Erdogan has territorial claims on the Greek islands. The international climate was already critical of Turkish influence and expansionism even before the Hagia Sophia debacle. Erdogan’s stunt succeeded in bringing unwanted attention to Turkey. As such, any Turkish expansionism has been preceded by an awakening throughout the world that Turkey is a menace and a danger.
Theological interpretations aside, Hagia Sophia has become a curse for the Turkish leadership. The political and diplomatic fallout has led to maximum media coverage throughout the world. Attention has been brought down on both Turkish expansionistic activity and the domestic abuse of political dissidents and minorities.
Whatever happens in Turkey, the debacle at Hagia Sophia will have seriously damaged the Erdogan regime.
One reply on “Hagia Sophia Diaries 14”
Well said, Ted. In addition, Hagia Sophia was THE TOP tourist attraction in Istanbul. Christian tourists knew the history of the Church before it became a Mosque and saw the mosaics and iconography. Now when they visit they see curtains hiding those, so as ‘not to offend Muslim sensibilities’. They see and recognize where the intolerance really is.
Erdogan turned Hagia Sophia into a Mosque because his economy and currency are in tatters and his party lost at two regional elections in the big urban centers. He’s in political trouble and he knows it, even though he controls the Courts, Police, much of the military and nearly all the news media. Criticism of Erdogan and AKP policies is not permitted, but he can’t stop voters from deploring the state of Turkey today.