Hagia Sophia

Italian and Israeli groups protested on Monday the decision by Turkey to turn the Hagia Sophia museum to a mosque. Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Turkish consulate in Milan to express their dismay at the Turkish decision. Led by...

The European Union's foreign affairs leader Josep Borrell stated that the EU flatly "condemned the Turkish decision to convert such an emblematic monument as the Hagia Sophia," after Monday's meeting of all 27 foreign ministers of the nations belonging...

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. In a very brief, improvised remark, Francis, speaking from his studio window...

Greece will launch an international campaign at the European Union, UNESCO, the United Nations and world religious institutions to highlight the conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque, the country's foreign minister said on Saturday. Speaking on Skai television, Nikos...

Turkey’s top imam, Ali Erbas, said on Saturday that he now hopes to build an Islamic school at Hagia Sophia which was converted to a mosque on Friday. Erbas hailed the decision by President Erdogan to "break the chains" on...

Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s Nobel prize-winning author, has criticized the Turkish government’s decision to convert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia into a mosque. “There are millions of secular Turks like me who are crying against this but their voices are not heard,”...

Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden expressed his "deep regret" over the decision by Turkey to turn Hagia Sophia to a mosque on Friday. Antony Blinken, Foreign policy adviser to Biden tweeted the statement: "The Hagia Sophia is an architectural marvel...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that after completing all preparations, Hagia Sophia will open for worship on July 24. In an address to the nation, Erdogan stressed that Hagia Sophia's doors will be open for Turks, foreigners,...

Congressman Gus Bilirakis, the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on International Religious Freedom, on Friday condemned the decision by Turkey's President Erdogan to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque. "In a clear demonstration of arrogance and inhumanity, Erdogan has turned...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decree to convert the Hagia Sophia museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into a mosque has received sharp criticism from Greece and many political and world leaders. Greece strongly condemns Turkey's decision to turn the World...