Distorting history in the Hagia Sophia museum

By Engr. Edgar Mana-ay

 

The Hagia Sophia is an architectural masterpiece cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey, and a UNESCO world heritage site since 1985.

For almost a thousand years, beginning 360 AD, this enormous architectural marvel was the biggest basilica of the Greek Orthodox Christian Church during the Byzantine era which can house up to 10,000 worshippers.

For the past 1,700 years this famous edifice has changed its use; this sad and checkered history includes changes from a Christian cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church, then to a Mosque during the Ottoman Empire, then to a Museum during the early era of the Republic of Turkey and now back again as a Mosque last July 24 at the insistent  clout of  “Erdoganism” rule of Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In 330 AD, there was a split in the Roman Empire and Church wherein Emperor Constantine I established his empire/church in Byzantine on the European side of the Bosporus calling his City Constantinople which is known today as Istanbul, the capital city of Turkey. This eastern half of the Roman empire outlasted its western counterpart as a Christian empire until 1453 when the Ottoman who are Muslims captured Constantinople and changed its name to Istanbul. In 476 BC the western part of the Roman empire fell to conquest by the Barbarian Odiacer who deposed its last Roman emperor.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman empire with its own emperor and pope, continued to prosper for centuries because of the flourishing Greek culture where it is located, known as the Byzantine era. Greek was the official language and the empire official religion became known as the Greek Orthodox Christian Church.

The Hagia Sophia cathedral became the center of Byzantine culture and politics for almost 1,000 years of its existence. As the Greek Christian Orthodox was the official religion of the Byzantine, the Hagia Sophia was the central Church of the faith where new emperors and popes were crowned. There is a big difference in the religious practices between the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox, but this is not part of the discussion in this column.

Hagia Sophia was a Christian cathedral until 1453 when the Muslims of the Ottoman empire captured Constantinople, and by the threat of the sword forcibly converted the populace to embrace the Islam faith and in the process also converted Hagia Sophia cathedral into a Muslim mosque.

With the collapse of the Ottoman empire and the establishment of modern Turkey in 1930, its first president, the secular and modernist Mustafa Kema Ataturk who was aware of the history of Hagia Sophia, closed the mosque in 1931 and by 1935 its cabinet approved the use as museum, a master move to break Turkey overtly  Muslim and Ottoman roots towards a true democratic and secular country.

But then as people change in running the government, ensuing policies and directions also change. The present Turkey President Erdogan encouraged by Turkish’s society rise in nationalistic fervor with growing recognition of the Ottoman era with he himself having the illusion of grandeur for the power and influence of the Ottoman empire, took upon himself to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Politically, the dispute over Hagia Sophia is NOT strictly an isolated geopolitical issue concerning Greece and Turkey or even simply the Western World and Turkey. Rather its more about lack of religious pluralism, freedom and tolerance in Turkey today and Turkish action regarding Hagia Sophia is a direct reflection of this troubling trend.

But Edrogan insisted that his decision to convert (without consulting UNESCO) represents a form of Turkish nationalism based upon traditional and Islamic values and that it was the desire of the Turkish people which is 99.8% Muslims. It also rejected the idea that the decision to change Hagia Sophia status was a calculated political move in order for him to gain more support after the failed coup in 2016.

Global reaction to Turkey’s conversion of Hagia Sophia has been largely negative and Turkey finds itself at odds with the western world. It had also diminished the chances of Turkey in joining the European Union (EU) of which it has vigorously lobbied for the past 10 years.

It is also viewed as a provocation to the civilized world which recognized the unique value and ecumenical nature of the monument and an affront to the basic freedom of religion. It also sends a distress signal to the minorities living in Turkey (Greeks, Armenians, Jews and Syriacs) that they are a conquered minorities living under the sword just like during the Ottoman and the crusaders era.

Even Turkey’s behavior in the world arena of geopolitics is approaching that of rogue nations, Iran and China. In the Libya turmoil, Turkey desperate for a foothold in the Arab world sides with Qatar in the Libya civil war against Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Seeing the vast potential in the Mediterranean Sea gas and oil resource, Turkey teamed up with Russia against Greece, Egypt, Israel and the United States to illegally lay claim to all the Mediterranean resources for themselves.

This column is not a calisthenics on world history and current events but about an object lesson we have to learn on the very serious behavior of Turkey in distorting history and suppressing other forms of beliefs outside of its Muslim faith. The freedom of religion and worship and its tolerance is a bulwark of any democratic country especially the Philippines.

Sad to say, the same religious faith practiced by the ISIS and Turkey is also slowly creeping at the very core values of our democratic freedom on faith and belief, forcing it by legal or illegal means to others who does not want to adopt it.

Although very farfetched, just imagine if the very old landmarks in Jaro representing the freedom and peaceful co-existence of the various religious groups, the Jaro Cathedral about 300 years old and the Jaro Evangelical Church about a hundred years old are converted to other religious edifices of worship! Many dead will turn over in their graves. We should be vigilant that the freedom of expression and worship and peaceful co-existence among the various religious groups is maintained in our society.

For according to Ralph W. Sockman: “The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.”