greek-mythologies:alatismeni-theitsa:speciesbarocus:Director of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erba

greek-mythologies:alatismeni-theitsa:speciesbarocus:Director of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş climbed to the minbar (mosque pulpit) of Hagia Sophia holding a sword. In the Ottoman tradition, the sword was used as a symbol of declaration of Islamic conquest and the replacement of the previous administration with a new one.Also visible are two banners with three white crescents on a green background. The three crescents represent the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. In the Ottoman tradition, two green banners were hung on the minbar of a mosque representing the domination of Islam.Erbaş led the first prayer, reading a special khutbah, or sermon, titled “Hagia Sophia: Sign of conquest, our trust in Fati̇h (Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror).” The tradition of the “sword sermon” was apparently started by Mehmet the Conqueror, the transmitted message being peace [the security that the sword provides] and fear [islamic conquest].Imagine rejoicing for suppressing a religion and defiling and destroying landmarks of said religion. I am sure Greeks felt so SECURE under Ottoman conquest. Correct me but I don’t think most of Muslims today would support this change. They wouldn’t like it if Mosques in Greece were destroyed and then turned to Christian churches. Similarly, I don’t think they want this for Christians, especially for such a big symbol of our faith. Didn’t Muhammad say to respect other religions and the people of the Book?What the Turkish nationalists also fail to understand is that what they celebrate as “triumphant conquest” is in fact… a win for our side. The international community condemned it. The Greeks on social media largely stood their ground claiming with non-nationalist rhetoric that they respected mosques better than that (and frankly kudos to them). And finally…. Hagia Sofia didn’t change its name, nor can its history be erased. Nor will it have less significance for us Greeks as a landmark of Byzantine history, as Erdogan may have hoped (proof: they covered the Byzantine murals with ugly curtains because removing them would turn UNESCO against them). Turning Hagia Sofia into a mosque was stupid, start to finish. All Erdogan achieved was to embarrass Turkey worldwide, to win the nationalists on his side (all because he wants to win the elections) and to further alienate the West by proving that Turkey sinks all the further back into the Middle Ages. Besides, Turkey is known as a crusader, an invader, and a mass murderer anyway so nothing that they do surprises me anymore. For the record, I also refuse to acknowledge that all Turks supported it. There’s authors and scholars (whom Erdogan surely wants to imprison) who condemned this decision. Plus, Hagia Sofia remains a Byzantine church - the murals and the name (Holy Wisdom) are still there. Also, are we going to forget about that Turkish “scholar” who called the Byzantine Empresses “whores” and went on a nationalist rant because the murals depicting them won’t be removed? -- source link

More pics about