(horn blaring)
- [Chris] Moments afterPresident Erdogan's
controversial decision, theMuslim call to prayer sounded
from Ayasofya.
(crowd cheering and clapping)
Erdogan made his decisiondespite objections
from the US, Russia, UN, and the Russian
and Greek Orthodox Churches.
Ayasofya was once the seat
of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- [Interpreter] The reaction
of the Orthodox community was ignored.
For the Orthodox Church,Ayasofya is as important
as St. Peter's Basilicain Rome for Catholics.
The church was built in the 6th century
and was devoted to Christ the Savior.
For us, it has been and will always remain
a church devoted to Christ.
- [Chris] Once the largestchurch in Christendom,
the Ayasofya is a coveted symbol.
It was first converted into a mosque
well over 500 years ago duringthe Islamic Ottoman Empire,
then turned into amuseum by Kemal Ataturk,
the founder of modern day Turkey.
- The 1934 decision to turnHagia Sofia into a museum
was a way of signalingthat Turkey was moving
from the Ottoman era ofsectarianism and hierarchies
to a secular republic of equal citizens.
And now, with this move,add on it once again,
asserting Islamistsupremacism and domination
on Turkey's ethnic andreligious minorities.
- But Erdogan's vision hasalways been more ambitious
than controlling his country.
In a Facebook post, he said,"The revival of the Ayasofya
is a sign towards the return of freedom
to the Al-Aqsa Mosque here in Jerusalem.
In the Arabic Facebook post, he also said,
"The resurrection of Ayasofyais a greeting from our heart
to all cities, from Bukhara to Andalusia."
Andalusia is modern day Spain
and Bukhara is in modern day Uzbekistan.
Both are references to the Islamic dream
of reclaiming lands onceunder the rule of Islam,
and it all begins with Turkey.
- This is just one amongmany steps he has taken
and will continue to taketo socially engineer Turkey
into a majoritarian, authoritarian,and sectarian regime.
And this will have consequences,
repercussions beyond Turkey.
In the Middle East, thereare many other supremacists,
other sectarian stateand non-state actors,
who would like to impose their will
on ethnic and religious minorities.
So I would expect other forced conversions
of religious minority heritage sites
in the Middle East and beyond.
- [Chris] It's also a redflag to Turkey's Christians.
- This of course is going to be disastrous
for Turkey's dwindlingChristian population.
Overall, there seems to bean in condition campaign
to either scare away Turkey'sChristians on the one hand
and to reimpose a sectarian,
Sunni Muslim dominantideology on the other.
- [Chris] Chris Mitchell,CBN News, Jerusalem.
(crowd shouting)
