The high court’s decision followed an intense campaign by the office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convert the nearly 1,500-year-old Istanbul landmark back into a mosque.
A 2010 constitutional amendment allowed Erdogan to appoint a majority of the court’s current judges, so the decision was not a surprise.
Among other reasons, Erdogan apparently wants to move forward with the conversion in order to reverse the ongoing erosion of his popular base.
Yet, the decision on the Hagia Sophia is unlikely to give Erdogan more than a temporary boost in popularity. What it will surely do is undermine Turkey’s international brand as an open, Muslim-majority society at peace with its Christian heritage.
Read more at:
Erdogan’s Big Gamble on the Hagia Sophia - The Globalist: Turkey’s president, desperate to boost his popularity at home?
A 2010 constitutional amendment allowed Erdogan to appoint a majority of the court’s current judges, so the decision was not a surprise.
Among other reasons, Erdogan apparently wants to move forward with the conversion in order to reverse the ongoing erosion of his popular base.
Yet, the decision on the Hagia Sophia is unlikely to give Erdogan more than a temporary boost in popularity. What it will surely do is undermine Turkey’s international brand as an open, Muslim-majority society at peace with its Christian heritage.
Read more at:
Erdogan’s Big Gamble on the Hagia Sophia - The Globalist: Turkey’s president, desperate to boost his popularity at home?
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