Turkey’s Islamist President Reopens Ancient Church as a Mosque

Turkey’s authoritarian Islamist president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this week converted the historic Chora Church in Istanbul into a mosque, outraging Christian leaders and drawing a mild rebuke from the Biden State Department.

“We encourage the Turkish government to preserve and ensure access to sites and buildings that have hosted different religious communities in a way that respects their diverse histories,” an unnamed State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday when the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) asked about the resumption of Islamic religious services at the venerable Christian church.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was much more forceful, criticizing Erdogan for the “unnecessary conversion of a historic Byzantine temple, the Monastery of Chora, into a mosque.”

“It is an action which insults Istanbul’s rich history as a crossroads of civilizations and is an issue which, of course, I will put to President Erdogan when I meet him,” Mitsotakis said. The Greek prime minister is scheduled to meet with Erdogan in Ankara on Monday.

The Greek Foreign Ministry said that reopening the Chora church as a mosque “constitutes a challenge to the international community, as it alters and insults its character as a UNESCO world cultural heritage monument belonging to humanity.”

“The preservation of the universal character of monuments and the observance of international standards for the protection of religious and cultural heritage is a clear international obligation that binds all states,” the foreign ministry argued.

Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Dimitris Kairidis said converting the Chora church into a mosque was “unacceptable” and “absolutely deplorable.”

“It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and today along comes Erdogan, following what happened with Hagia Sophia, dog-whistling at his extreme Islamist electoral faction,” Kairidis said in a television interview on Tuesday.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America greeted the news with a “heavy heart” and called on Erdogan’s government to “reconsider” its decision.

“This decision, following upon the seizure and re-conversion to a mosque of Hagia Sophia, strikes a discordant note in the symphony of mutual respect and understanding among people of all faiths,” the archdiocese said.

The Church of the Holy Savior in Chora was constructed approximately 700 years ago. After the Ottoman Empire conquered Istanbul (then known as Constantinople) in 1453, the church was converted into a mosque, and its beautiful frescoes and mosaics were painted over with dye and lime.

In 1945, the secular Turkish Republic decreed that the structure would be converted into the Kariye Museum. After years of extensive restoration work, the museum was opened in 1958.

In 2020, Erdogan converted the fabled Hagia Sophia cathedral into a mosque and attended the first Islamic prayer session there, describing it as “a dream of my youth” coming true. Erdogan falsely claimed the building was originally a mosque before it became a church.

Erdogan decreed that the Chora church would also become a mosque in the same year, but the mosque did not open for business until Friday. The outer halls of the old church have been preserved as a museum, but curtains were erected over the ancient Christian mosaics in the prayer section to complete its conquest as a Muslim mosque.

“This mosque, which was converted into a museum, underwent renovation and restoration efforts, supported by our institutions. Today, by the grace of Allah, it is once again being dedicated to prayer and will welcome the faithful in Constantinople,” Erdogan said on Monday. 

Reuters on Friday quoted a British tourist who called the conversion “a political gambit” and “a bit of a shame,” since under Islamic law women can no longer enter the main prayer section of the building.

On the other hand, a Turkish Muslim told Reuters the “people” had a right to use the building as a mosque, and only a “small section” of the site was altered to make it suitable for Islamic services.

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) began muttering about rescinding the status of the Hagia Sophia and Chora Church as World Heritage Sites in 2021. The Turkish government responded by saying its efforts to preserve historic art and artifacts at both locations meant they should still meet the qualifications for World Heritage Sites.