New Delhi: Drawing a comparison with Supreme Court’s verdict on the Babri Masjid, Turkish Ambassador to India Sakir Ozkan Torunlar has said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to turn the iconic Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul into a mosque is “not a major setback” to Turkey’s secular values.
Turkey’s highest administrative court made a ruling in the case of Hagia Sophia “unanimously”, said Torunlar, adding that this is “not much different” from the SC verdict in 2019 on the “Babri Masjid/Ayodhya Temple case” .
In November last year, India’s apex court had paved the way for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya at the Babri Masjid site.
Last week, Turkey’s top court ruled that the conversion of Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, also called Ayasofya, to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding statesman Mustafa Kemal Atatruk was illegal.
“Neither of the decisions has anything to do with the secular character of our democracies. The verdict of the Council of State is based on proof and laws of the country. Ayasofya has been and will be protected duly as meticulously regardless of its status,” the ambassador said in a letter to the editor of The Hindu newspaper Thursday.
The letter came in response to an editorial that appeared in The Hindu and called the decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque a setback to Turkey’s secular values that are “already under attack from the Islamists”.
Torunlar also said the Council of the State took the decision to annul a previous move taken by then Turkish government in 1934 under Atatruk, based on an application submitted by an association.
“This is a legal ruling and everybody is expected to respect the decision since we are all committed to the rule of law. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not rewrite the Constitution,” he added.
Turkish voters said ‘yes’ in a referenda to the proposed Constitutional amendments, he said.
Decision not due to economy
Sakir Ozkan Torunlar also refuted the fact that The Hindu editorial likened the move to that of the civil wars in Syria and Libya. “Turkey is siding with the UN-recognised government of Libya instead of a terrorist called ‘General’ Haftar for the peace and stability of this friendly country,” he said.
He also said the decision on Hagia Sophia has “nothing to do” with the condition of Turkish economy. The editorial had said that the Turkish economy “is in free fall”.
“Economies in all countries, including almost all G-20 members, are suffering due to (the Covid-19) pandemic,” he highlighted.
Erdogan announced the move to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque on 10 July, despite severe criticism from many quarters as the site is iconic for both Muslims as well as Christians, serving as an epitome of a secular culture.
Also read: Erdogan’s Turkey is on Pakistan-Indonesia track. Mixing military greed and radical Islam
Dr Israr Ahmad Khan has written an analysis in the Anadolu Post that Hagia Sophia was legally purchased by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire after conquering Constantinople from the Byzantine Emperor and then converted into a Waqf. The analysis is not logical because a place of worship can neither be sold nor purchased It was an act of highhandedness and the wrong was rightly undone by the great Kamal Attaturk, the secular and large hearted leader modern Turkey. He also adopted for Turkey the Roman script. The next step Erdogan may take as per his track record to remove the Roman script and to introduce Arabic or Persian script in Turkey. Still as sovereign country, Turkey is free to take any decisions about the lands, structures and the monuments in Turkish territory and to take decisions as per the will of majority of its people.
Today also the churches are sold in US and many countries
Justified and bold action by Turkey.Good Slap on hypocrites and SO called secular force wordwide.
Babri mosque only destroy because RSS BJP only focus Hinduism win election & BJP all world know it terrorist party this party taget muslims day by day in india . In recently in national capital Delhi he destroy property of muslims houses,mosques,shops & about 80 to 90 muslims kill. Illegal occupation of kashmir India remove article 370 Kashmir is illegally occupied nearly 73 years no internet , Indian army kills about 3.5 lac Kashmiri innocent peoples, rape 25 thousand womens , 35 thousand houses destroy & during this pandemic Indian hindusium politics change demography of kashmir with DOMICILE certificate no any difference between palestein & Kashmir . Kashmir population 2.2 & india deploy 12 lac army in kashmir…why un silent Kashmir wat independence from India
Go get some proper education and improve your English grammer you Maddrasa chap
That’s called double standard of religion what ever religion if they do secularism and others do anti national what a Hippocrates
Difference is Jagia Sofia is a church, forcibly converted into a mosque. While Babri mosque was built after demolishing SriRam temple. In Ayodhya temple was reclaimed while in Instabul a church was again converted into a mosque.
Exactly right both ate totally different things
No it was purchased by sultan
we also must take all our temple back even Pakistan is Hindu land why Hindu must be denied justice
Correct
It was originally a church, latter converted to mosque and then a museum.
Today Turkish Envoy claims comparison with Babri case.
Babri was originally a temple and has been reverted back to temple.
Why in case of Hagia they want to stop at intermediate stage of mosque, they should make it into Church.
Then comparison valid and no complaints.
Babri masjid is masjid demolished by anti nationals.
But shofia was church and demolished bu own people.sofia was
sold compansation taken by and that was museum
Not the church there are thousand church all over world and converted to masjid and sold by own people with compansation .take the exmple of spain masjid converted in church but no world of cry by so called ….
Hey you Islamist, it was built after destroying the temple ( an act done by medieval Islamist barbarians) and it was rightfully reclaimed. Anti national? You Arabic followers have nothing do with this country. Do not forget this, most of you are anti national. And Hagia Sophia was a Church or Non-muslim structure captured by islamists in 1453 AD. And for Spain ? Firstly why you were building mosque there, Spain is not Arabia. It is Spain. Keep your Arabic filth with you, don’t spread it like virus
Don’t bother answering to these Retard Madrassachap Al Hind Arzal Muslameen,just reading their poorly written,grammatically incorrect piece we can understand these are most probably ISPR Porkis,just a short get lost ?? will do