Hi everyone,
I’m from Greece and, and I’m not sure where this forum stands on the issue, but in any case I’d like to bring it to your attention: Erdogan, Turkey’s president, has announced that the Hagia Sofia will be turned into a mosque.
Symbolically, this is a clear power move, and a gigantic middle finger to Greece. To put it into perspective, it would be like Biden announcing that the Statue of Liberty would be turned into a mosque. Obviously there is a lot of nuance and historical context regarding the situation, but the political motivation is clear. This is a monument with huge historical significance to Greece, and personally I’m saddened and, most of all, scared about the whole situation and what will unfold in the future.
I trust the Greek military should the need arise for defensive action given Erdogan’s intentions, but I’m very pessimistic regarding international support. There are many strategic factors that favor Turkey, and an anti-Greece narrative is set in motion by the UN and European media.
For what it’s worth, I believe you Americans are lucky to have President Trump. I’m not sure he’ll be on our side regarding the situation, but I’m hoping he will be. Based on what I’ve seen, he’s morally on the right side of things.
Take care, pedes.
It's not only an insult to Greece but to all of what used to be called Christendom. It was a church under the Byzantines, a mosque under the Ottoman Empire, and more recently a museum. Returning it to its Ottoman status screams imperial Turkish ambition and is, indeed, deeply troubling.
Edited for punctuation