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HAGIA SOPHIA CAUGHT BETWEEN POLITICS, HISTORY
AL-MONITOR
June 8 2014
Author: As-Safir (Lebanon)
Posted June 8, 2014
It seems that history, or at least parts of it, has left in its
wake countless problems -- hatred and feuds, among other things --
which take shape as symbols that express them. The symbol turns
into a warhorse of consecutive or separated rounds, depending on
the circumstances.
One of these symbols is the Hagia Sophia (Church of the Divine Wisdom)
in Istanbul, whose current structure was built by the Eastern Roman
Emperor Justinian the Great and completed in the year 537. For
Christians, especially the Orthodox, it is an important church,
whereas for the Turks and Muslims it is the symbol of the Muslim
conquest and a sign of a historic victory that is still on the minds
of many people, probably because of today's misery.
During these days, the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople --
the date that was set by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque -- coincides with a call
to the leaders of Islamic countries to pray there.
The Hagia Sophia -- this great building -- was a church for more than
1,000 years, and was the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate during
that period, except under the Latin occupation of Constantinople
(1204-1261) when the seat was moved to Nicaea. This was before the
Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II (known as Mehmet the Conqueror) turned it
into a mosque in 1453 after he took control and occupied the city. The
Hagia Sophia remained a mosque until 1935, when the founder of modern
Turkey decided to offer it as "a gift to mankind" by converting it
into a museum.
In this context, it is necessary to recall some of the features of
the final stage of the fragmentation of the Ottoman Empire, which can
be dated from its defeat against Russia in the First Balkan War in
1878 to the Second Balkan War in 1913. This significantly redrew the
demographic map of the empire, where the Turks and Sunni non-Turks
receded toward Asia Minor.
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the World War I, and the
partition of Anatolia under the Treaty of Sevres in 1920, a reaction
came from the remnants of the Turkish forces under the leadership of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. One of the outcomes of the conflict, which
can be called a civil war, was the change in the balance of powers
on the ground. This was reflected in the defeat of the Greeks, the
withdrawal of European forces from Anatolia, the amendment of the
Treaty of Sevres, the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923,
the establishment of the modern state of Turkey and the population
exchange between Greece and Turkey based upon religious identity. The
Orthodox of Constantinople and Muslims of Eastern Thrace were exempt
from this exchange, and the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
remained in Constantinople.
Thus, Ataturk inherited a geopolitical situation whereby Anatolia, the
core of the former empire, remained under the sovereignty of Turkey,
as well as a demographic situation that was more than comfortable,
with Anatolia clean of non-Turks or non-Muslims after the Armenian
genocide, the massacres against the Syrians and Assyrians, the defeat
of the Greeks, the cleansing in their areas and the population exchange
that practically ended 3,000 years of Hellenic presence in the Eyalet
of Anatolia.
The period from 1915 to 1933 was tantamount to a "religious purge"
that affected all the Christians of Anatolia. In addition, the
period witnessed one of the largest property-seizing operations,
resulting in a huge transfer of property from the hands of the
Christian population who had been killed or displaced to the Muslim
population who were refugees from the areas subject to the authority
of the sultanate. The latter group formed a socioeconomic class that
supported the new regime.
The establishment of the new republican system -- which was desired by
Ataturk and based on secularism -- came as an imported functional tool
in the hands of the state to repress conservative political, social,
institutional and cultural Islamic forces, which were preventing the
achievement of Ataturk and the political elite's goal. This new system
was not a practical value that resulted from historical experience
to put an end to the religious conflict -- as was the case in Europe
-- and constitute a new social contract on a nonreligious basis to
neutralize the public sphere to religious influence.
The decision by Ataturk to convert the building from a mosque to
a museum came to block any future Greek demand to return the Hagia
Sophia to its original function as an Orthodox church, and this
established the dispute between the two countries.
The decision sparked widespread objections in Turkish society and among
the ruling class, and the Hagia Sophia remained a symbolic fixture
for political investment or to express a particular orientation.
For example, in 1953, on the 500th anniversary of the fall of
Constantinople and during the era of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes
(one of the founders of the Democratic Party, which opposed Ataturk's
Republican People's Party), four large medallions were returned to the
building. These medallions, which carry the names of the first four
caliphs of Islam, had been hanging in the Hagia Sophia when it served
as a mosque and had been removed during its conversion to a museum.
Talk about reconverting it into a mosque remained a demand for a
number of Islamic and nationalist parities and movements.
With the arrival of the Islamists to power via the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) in 2002, an infringement on Kemalist symbols
and foundations began. This included curbing the role of the army in
politics, interfering in the work of the judiciary and introducing
a set of reforms to school curricula, in addition to other issues
that are more symbolic -- albeit with practical value -- such as the
debate about the headscarf in universities and public institutions.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Erdogan proposed reconverting the Hagia
Sophia into a mosque, and specified May 30, 2014 -- the anniversary of
the fall of Constantinople -- as the date for executing his order. He
also called on leaders of Islamic countries to pray at the place.
Transforming the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque remains more
complicated than other cases that have occurred and are currently
occurring in secular Turkey without facing many hurdles. Complications
include the reaction of the Turkish [public] itself to such a decision,
as well as the available legal means, especially since the building
is a very symbolic and sensitive issue. This is in addition to
international reaction, in particular from Greece. The Greek foreign
minister warned that such a move would provoke the feelings of millions
of Orthodox Christians around the world.
The French philosopher and poet Paul Valery said, "History is the most
dangerous product which the chemistry of the mind has concocted. Its
properties are well-known. It produces dreams and drunkenness. It fills
people with false memories ... exacerbates old grievances, torments
them in their repose. ... It makes whole nations bitter, arrogant,
insufferable and vainglorious. History justifies what it wants."
The decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque would send a
very negative message, after less than a century has passed since
Christian residents -- including Armenians, Greeks, Syriacs and
Assyrians -- were uprooted. These residents constituted one-third
of the population less than 100 years ago. It would be a message
of stubbornness and a refusal to reconcile with the descendants of
these people in Turkey, who are arrogantly referred to by Turks as
"residue of the sword." It would also send a negative message to
Christians throughout the world, replacing the current situation based
on reconciliation with provocative boasting in an imperial style for
which there remains no empire, aside from fatal comedy at times.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/culture/2014/06/turkey-hagia-sophia-convert-mosque-negative-message.html#
From: Baghdasarian
AL-MONITOR
June 8 2014
Author: As-Safir (Lebanon)
Posted June 8, 2014
It seems that history, or at least parts of it, has left in its
wake countless problems -- hatred and feuds, among other things --
which take shape as symbols that express them. The symbol turns
into a warhorse of consecutive or separated rounds, depending on
the circumstances.
One of these symbols is the Hagia Sophia (Church of the Divine Wisdom)
in Istanbul, whose current structure was built by the Eastern Roman
Emperor Justinian the Great and completed in the year 537. For
Christians, especially the Orthodox, it is an important church,
whereas for the Turks and Muslims it is the symbol of the Muslim
conquest and a sign of a historic victory that is still on the minds
of many people, probably because of today's misery.
During these days, the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople --
the date that was set by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque -- coincides with a call
to the leaders of Islamic countries to pray there.
The Hagia Sophia -- this great building -- was a church for more than
1,000 years, and was the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate during
that period, except under the Latin occupation of Constantinople
(1204-1261) when the seat was moved to Nicaea. This was before the
Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II (known as Mehmet the Conqueror) turned it
into a mosque in 1453 after he took control and occupied the city. The
Hagia Sophia remained a mosque until 1935, when the founder of modern
Turkey decided to offer it as "a gift to mankind" by converting it
into a museum.
In this context, it is necessary to recall some of the features of
the final stage of the fragmentation of the Ottoman Empire, which can
be dated from its defeat against Russia in the First Balkan War in
1878 to the Second Balkan War in 1913. This significantly redrew the
demographic map of the empire, where the Turks and Sunni non-Turks
receded toward Asia Minor.
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the World War I, and the
partition of Anatolia under the Treaty of Sevres in 1920, a reaction
came from the remnants of the Turkish forces under the leadership of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. One of the outcomes of the conflict, which
can be called a civil war, was the change in the balance of powers
on the ground. This was reflected in the defeat of the Greeks, the
withdrawal of European forces from Anatolia, the amendment of the
Treaty of Sevres, the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923,
the establishment of the modern state of Turkey and the population
exchange between Greece and Turkey based upon religious identity. The
Orthodox of Constantinople and Muslims of Eastern Thrace were exempt
from this exchange, and the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
remained in Constantinople.
Thus, Ataturk inherited a geopolitical situation whereby Anatolia, the
core of the former empire, remained under the sovereignty of Turkey,
as well as a demographic situation that was more than comfortable,
with Anatolia clean of non-Turks or non-Muslims after the Armenian
genocide, the massacres against the Syrians and Assyrians, the defeat
of the Greeks, the cleansing in their areas and the population exchange
that practically ended 3,000 years of Hellenic presence in the Eyalet
of Anatolia.
The period from 1915 to 1933 was tantamount to a "religious purge"
that affected all the Christians of Anatolia. In addition, the
period witnessed one of the largest property-seizing operations,
resulting in a huge transfer of property from the hands of the
Christian population who had been killed or displaced to the Muslim
population who were refugees from the areas subject to the authority
of the sultanate. The latter group formed a socioeconomic class that
supported the new regime.
The establishment of the new republican system -- which was desired by
Ataturk and based on secularism -- came as an imported functional tool
in the hands of the state to repress conservative political, social,
institutional and cultural Islamic forces, which were preventing the
achievement of Ataturk and the political elite's goal. This new system
was not a practical value that resulted from historical experience
to put an end to the religious conflict -- as was the case in Europe
-- and constitute a new social contract on a nonreligious basis to
neutralize the public sphere to religious influence.
The decision by Ataturk to convert the building from a mosque to
a museum came to block any future Greek demand to return the Hagia
Sophia to its original function as an Orthodox church, and this
established the dispute between the two countries.
The decision sparked widespread objections in Turkish society and among
the ruling class, and the Hagia Sophia remained a symbolic fixture
for political investment or to express a particular orientation.
For example, in 1953, on the 500th anniversary of the fall of
Constantinople and during the era of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes
(one of the founders of the Democratic Party, which opposed Ataturk's
Republican People's Party), four large medallions were returned to the
building. These medallions, which carry the names of the first four
caliphs of Islam, had been hanging in the Hagia Sophia when it served
as a mosque and had been removed during its conversion to a museum.
Talk about reconverting it into a mosque remained a demand for a
number of Islamic and nationalist parities and movements.
With the arrival of the Islamists to power via the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) in 2002, an infringement on Kemalist symbols
and foundations began. This included curbing the role of the army in
politics, interfering in the work of the judiciary and introducing
a set of reforms to school curricula, in addition to other issues
that are more symbolic -- albeit with practical value -- such as the
debate about the headscarf in universities and public institutions.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Erdogan proposed reconverting the Hagia
Sophia into a mosque, and specified May 30, 2014 -- the anniversary of
the fall of Constantinople -- as the date for executing his order. He
also called on leaders of Islamic countries to pray at the place.
Transforming the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque remains more
complicated than other cases that have occurred and are currently
occurring in secular Turkey without facing many hurdles. Complications
include the reaction of the Turkish [public] itself to such a decision,
as well as the available legal means, especially since the building
is a very symbolic and sensitive issue. This is in addition to
international reaction, in particular from Greece. The Greek foreign
minister warned that such a move would provoke the feelings of millions
of Orthodox Christians around the world.
The French philosopher and poet Paul Valery said, "History is the most
dangerous product which the chemistry of the mind has concocted. Its
properties are well-known. It produces dreams and drunkenness. It fills
people with false memories ... exacerbates old grievances, torments
them in their repose. ... It makes whole nations bitter, arrogant,
insufferable and vainglorious. History justifies what it wants."
The decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque would send a
very negative message, after less than a century has passed since
Christian residents -- including Armenians, Greeks, Syriacs and
Assyrians -- were uprooted. These residents constituted one-third
of the population less than 100 years ago. It would be a message
of stubbornness and a refusal to reconcile with the descendants of
these people in Turkey, who are arrogantly referred to by Turks as
"residue of the sword." It would also send a negative message to
Christians throughout the world, replacing the current situation based
on reconciliation with provocative boasting in an imperial style for
which there remains no empire, aside from fatal comedy at times.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/culture/2014/06/turkey-hagia-sophia-convert-mosque-negative-message.html#
From: Baghdasarian