The historic Aya Sofia Mosque was reopened yesterday in a pompous atmosphere through Friday prayers. It was a special day for Muslims all over the world. After almost 6 years, the conversion from the museum to the Mosque has again brought a message of victory among the Muslims. I think it is necessary to discuss or calculate why it was important for Muslims before discussing what it was like for Turkish politicians.
 |
| Aya Sophia - The Historic Aya Sofia Mosque was reopened yesterday in a pompous atmosphere through Friday Prayers |
1) In 1453, Sultan Fatih Mahmud conquered Istanbul. From then on the name of the city was changed from Constantinople to Istanbul. The arrival of Fatih Mahmud was a blessing to the common people of the city, which was largely oppressed by the Byzantine rulers. After the conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Fatih granted the locals complete freedom to practice their religion and law in accordance with the provisions of Islamic law. According to sources, he bought Aya Sophia Church from the locals and Waqfed it as a Mosque. He covered the statues of the Church with a covering and made it suitable for the Mosque. From then until its transformation into the Museum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1934, it was used as a mosque. After Turkey's transition from an Ottoman caliphate to a republic, Ataturk, in the light of Western advice, brought archaeologists from Europe to unveil the statues on the walls one by one, and at some point there was no place for prayers. In the wake of the Western agenda, Aya Sophia was transformed into a Museum in 1934. It is questionable how reasonable it is to convert a Mosque, which bears historical and Islamic symbols, into a Museum in a predominantly Muslim region. The head of state does not have the power to hand over the waqf assets. Istanbul is a city centered around Hadith. Regarding the conquest of Istanbul, the Prophet said:
"Surely one day Istanbul will be victorious. No matter how great the person who wins, no matter how honorable his troops are."
In the light of this Hadith of the conquest of Istanbul, Abu Ayyub Al Ansari, the Companion of our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAAW, set out for Istanbul at the age of 90 and died on the way. Istanbul is therefore not only a city of the Ottoman Caliphate or the Republic of Turkey, but also an important political city for Muslims around the world. Aya Sophia is also a symbol of the victory of Islam. Therefore, after the abolition of the Turkish caliphate, the Western powers were desperate to convert it from a Mosque to something else. Despite their objections to the purchased waqf Mosques, Mosques established in various European cities during the Ottoman period have always played a silent role in the subsequent conversion to churches. Because they have been thinking of it as a sign of strength. What's more, the conversion of such a meaningful Mosque into a museum in a Muslim-majority country is largely a reflection of the West's symbolic domination of Muslims. That is why the Mosque status of Aya Sophia is more important as a symbol of the power of Muslims than any other Mosque.
The famous Turkish poet Nazip Fazil said-
"Aya Sophia will be free today or tomorrow, of course."
Nazmuddin Erbakan, the lifeblood of Turkey's Islamic movement Milli Garush, has long campaigned for the conversion of Aya Sophia into a mosque. His famous slogan, "I want to enter Isophia by aju, not by buying a ticket" is a well-known slogan among the Touhidi people in Turkey.
At the same time, the Anatolian Youth Organization (AGD), a youth organization focused on the social activities of Milli Garush, has been conducting Fajr prayers in Aya Sophia every year, with the main slogan as-
"Break the chains, Aya Sophia is released"
So Aya Sophia is not just a Mosque, it is a symbol of honor for Muslims. Its release is highly desirable for any Muslim.
2) Friend Asad (far left in the picture, former name Leon), Kenya. METU, one of the most famous and world-ranked universities in Turkey, is studying civil engineering. He converted to Islam 1 month ago. He was originally invited to convert to Islam by his friend Hussein (pictured right), a Kenyan citizen. Aya Sophia had never thought of going to Friday prayers before, she had never thought of going to the crowd, including personal studies. Assad came to Islam in the shadow of peace of mind, but his knowledge of Islam is still in its infancy. She once said that Aya Sophia was interested in witnessing this historic moment. At the same time, due to the responsibility of IYFO, AGD informed me by phone one day before the program whether anyone from IYFO is interested to go, if any, let me know quickly. There is a lot of excitement going on inside the people of AGD which could be understood by listening to them, even if it is a thousand, they are talking about their demands and dreams for so long! Without delay at such a moment, I gave them a yes answer. Suddenly I decided to go to Ankara again after 1 day of prayers. Along the way, I learned about Assad's Islam-centric questions and interests. As far as I know, I gave him some answers, in this case Abid Ihsan Bhai and Hussain were collaborators.
His questions were funny! At one stage of the question about Islam, when the call to prayer started, I was surprised to hear one of his questions. Because the answer itself was not known.
Azan has been called from four minarets before the Jumu'ah prayer in Aya Sophia. After saying Allahu Akbar four times in one minaret, Allahu Akbar has been given from the second, third and fourth minarets respectively. In this way, after reciting the Haiyal Assalah once from each of the minarets, the second Haiyal Assalah is completed from the first minaret to the second. Azanta was so strange.
When I asked why the calls and announcements in the middle of the call were given eight times instead of twice, I was stunned to answer. Because there is no real answer. I just said that it is a kind of formality. I found out later that this is not really Turkish culture.
3) One of Assad's questions was: "Why did the mosque open with only 500 seats for politicians and VIPs inside and for the public to stand outside in the sun?" I do not know that our Prophet (peace be upon him) used to do such a thing! ”
In fact, there was nothing to answer this question. Because for us, it is an important asset of Islam, but for those in power in Turkey, it is nothing more than a political game.
President Erdogan said last year: "Why look at Aya Sophia when there is a Chamlija Mosque in Istanbul? 4-5 mosques like Aya Sophia contain only one Chamliza Mosque. Fill the Chamliza Mosque, then we will see about Aya Sophia. In fact, those who talk about Aya Sophia." (Opening) They have a political motive. Well, I left out Aya Sophia, not to mention, (if there is so much desire) Sultan Ahmed Mosque is next to Aya Sophia, at first it is not being filled, again it is being demanded that Aya Sophia open. ! "
However, in the context of the people's demand for an early election, now the president himself has decided to turn Aya Sofia into a mosque.
Whatever the reason, Aya Sophia has been exposed, it is a matter of peace now.
Another thing to note is that if you look at the list of the first 500 people invited inside Aya Sophia, almost all of them are close to their own electoral alliance except 2-1. Even the head of the MHP, who is playing the biggest role in the ruling coalition, has found a place here, the party of Alparslan Turkesh, the spokesman of the military government, who has been quacking and fascist against the hardline nationalist Atatrk and Adnan Menderes!
On the other hand, the mayor of Istanbul municipality, whose program will be held in Istanbul and whose staff will be employed to clean the program, was not invited. Later, when the matter came up in the media, he was invited at the last moment. The government did not initially invite Temel Karamollaulu, head of the Milli Garush-Sadet party, who has been fighting for Aya Sophia for so long. Asked by reporters at Wednesday's weekly routine news conference, he said he had not yet received the invitation. The government said 500 people had been invited by then. He was later invited to the media on the phone at night, then informed of his inability to think about his pre-arranged program and physical issues.
Moreover, the central president of AGD, the largest student organization in Turkey, which has been struggling for so long and offers symbolic prayers every year, was not invited. Ali Babajan, the former finance minister of the AKP and later the leader of the new party Deva Party, and Ahmed Davutoulu, the former prime minister who left the AKP over the recent corruption of President Erdogan and later formed a new party, did not receive any invitation. The lifeblood of the government party.
It was also common for the government to offer indirect prayers in sermons, and for the president to recite his own Quran. However, the conversion of Aya Sophia into a mosque is certainly a matter of history and pride for Muslims. This is our greatest achievement. Hopefully it won't stop for someone else's entertainment or interest. Long live Aunt Sophia, long live her soul in all of us, in this hope.
Post a Comment