Beautiful Hagia Sophia: Between the Sacred and the Profane; Turkey is Condemned, While Israel Gets a Pass

Authors

Raouf J. Halaby Professor Emeritus, Ouachita Baptist University, Department of Visual Arts and EnglishFollow

Department

Art

Document Type

Editorial

Publication Date

7-17-2020

Abstract

On 10 July, 2020, one of Turkey’s highest courts ruled in favor of reconverting the Hagia Sophia Museum to a mosque. Within an hour of the ruling, Turkish President Erdogan decreed that the 1,583 year old iconic UNESCO World Heritage cultural monument would revert to a mosque and be “open to Muslim worship.”

Wide-ranging international condemnatory responses were quick to follow. And, while Turkey has been taken behind the woodshed to be condemned, scolded, and thrashed, Israel’s recent supreme court’s ruling in favor of Jewish settlers’ stealing of Greek Orthodox church properties (in violation of international laws) in occupied Jerusalem, Palestine, as well as the vandalizing, bulldozing, and destruction of Palestinian Christian and Muslim cemeteries – is condoned and ignored.

Publication Title

CounterPunch

Recommended Citation

Halaby, Raouf J. Professor Emeritus, "Beautiful Hagia Sophia: Between the Sacred and the Profane; Turkey is Condemned, While Israel Gets a Pass" (2020). Articles. 289.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/articles/289