Professor Proposes Hagia Sophia as Place of Worship for Christians, Muslims

The head of the İstanbul-based Islamic Research Center (İSAM), Professor Mehmet Akif Aydın, has suggested that Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) be opened to Muslim worshippers on weekdays and to Christians on Sunday. A former Byzantine church and then Ottoman mosque in İstanbul, Aya Sofya is currently open as a museum.

Aydın said that as a Muslim he is disturbed to see that Aya Sofya is still closed to worshippers. “I believe the continuation of the culture of coexistence at Aya Sofya, which I hope will improve in Turkey, is more important and acceptable than its remaining as a museum. I’d like it, as a Muslim, to become a mosque. But if Aya Sofya is supposed to be opened to Muslim worshippers on weekdays, then it should be opened to Christians on Sunday. Aya Sofya was built as a place of worship. It served people in this way for more than a thousand years, both as a church and mosque. It is neither a church nor a mosque now. It disturbs me to see that Aya Sofya has become a museum and a tourist destination,” he added in an exclusive interview with the Zaman daily.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has been under growing criticism both in Turkey and abroad for not allowing worshippers inside Aya Sofya. Aydın also said Aya Sofya would stand as the first example of religions coexisting in one space if his proposal is realized.