The Hagia Sophia Case
Last July 2020, Turkey's President Erdogan sparked global controversy by ordering that Istanbul's Hagia ' Sophia reopen as a mosque. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Hagia Sophia was a cathedral and then a mosque before it became a museum, thus standing as a symbol of interfaith harm...
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| Published in: | Harvard law review Vol. 134; no. 3; p. 1278 |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge
Harvard Law Review Association
01-01-2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Last July 2020, Turkey's President Erdogan sparked global controversy by ordering that Istanbul's Hagia ' Sophia reopen as a mosque. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Hagia Sophia was a cathedral and then a mosque before it became a museum, thus standing as a symbol of interfaith harmony for many. Many saw President Erdogan·s move as an attempt to energize his base in the face of declining poll numbers, but the decision technically came from a court. On July 10, 2020, the Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court, held that the 1934 conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a museum constituted misappropriation of an Islamic charitable trust (waqf) and ordered that it revert to being a mosque. Despite claims that President Erdogan influenced the outcome, the decision was in fact legally correct. Where the court erred, however, was in its reasoning, as its cursor}· application of Ottoman law made an already controversial decision more vulnerable to criticism. |
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| ISSN: | 0017-811X 2161-976X |