Hagia Sophia handed over to Presidency of Religious Affairs

* Photo: Martin Holland / flickr.com

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The 10th Chamber of the Council of State has announced that it has annulled the Council of Ministers Decree which was dated November 24, 1934 and turned Hagia Sophia from a mosque into a museum.

Shortly after this verdict was announced, the Presidential Decree handing Hagia Sophia over to the Presidency of Religious Affairs and opening it to worship as a mosque has been published on the Official Gazette.

In the decree of the President published on the Official Gazette today (July 10), a reference has been made to the annulment of the Council of State.

Accordingly, as per the Article 35 of the Law no. 633 on the Establishment and Duties of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, Hagia Sophia has been handed over to the Presidency of Religious Affairs and opened to worship.

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has shared his decree on Twitter, attaching the note "Hayırlı olsun," which can be roughly translated as "May this have a good outcome."

Hayırlı olsun. pic.twitter.com/MzP6nzn9Jc

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) July 10, 2020

The Permanent Foundations' Association for Serving Historical Artifacts and Surroundings previously appealed to the Council of State and challenged the decree in a lawsuit, demanding its annulment.

The Chamber heard the statements of two parties in the hearing on July 2. The Council of State was expected to announce its verdict in 15 days.

Accordingly, the 10th Chamber announced today (July 10) that the decree of the Council of Ministers which converted Hagia Sophia from a mosque into a museum shall be annulled. That being the case, this verdict can now pave the way for its conversion back into a mosque.

Reference to settlement deed in the ruling

In the ruling of the Council of State, it has been indicated that "Hagia Sophia was in the possession of Sultan Mehmed II's Foundation" and "it was offered for the use of society as a mosque." The ruling has noted that Hagia Sophia was "registered as a mosque in the title deed."

The ruling has also indicated the following:

"As it has been concluded that it is not legally possible for Hagia Sophia to be used for a qualification other than being a mosque, as it was allocated as per the settlement deed, or to be allocated for another purpose, the Council of Ministers Decree, which is the matter in dispute in this case, ended its use as a mosque and converted it into a museum, has not been found lawful."

Hagia Sophia was used as a church for 916 years. In 1453, it was converted into a mosque by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II when the empire took over İstanbul. Under the Republic of Turkey, it became a museum.

Judicial process about Hagia Sophia

The Permanent Foundations' Association for Serving Historical Artifacts and Surroundings appealed to the Council of State in 2005, challenging the status of Hagia Sophia in a lawsuit. The association demanded the stay of execution and the annulment of the Council of Ministers decree dated 1934 that paved the way for the Hagia Sophia's conversion into a museum.

The 10th Chamber of the Council of State rejected the request for stay of execution on June 24, 2005. In 2008, it rejected the lawsuit on the grounds that the use of Hagia Sophia as a museum was not against the law.

The Council of State's Plenary Session of Administrative Law Chambers upheld this verdict. The Association filed another lawsuit in 2016.

The Constitutional Court concluded the individual application of the Association in 2018. While the Association claimed that freedom of though and faith was violated, the court found the application "inadmissible" on the ground of "ratione personae non-jurisdiction without being examined." (HA/SD)