Is Turkish President Erdogan Soliciting Historical Injustices to Obscure Policy Failures?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a significant political move with the revocation of the stature of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. This event once again throws light on how less escapes the lens of political power dynamics, especially public spaces and monuments. For centuries monuments have been appropriated as fragments of a physical structure's historical and religious identity that can potentially be politicized. This move was ratified right after Erdogan lost Istanbul to the Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in local elections held a year ago. Rhetoric with his own maxim "Who rules Istanbul, rules Turkey," Erdogan has managed to inseminate irredentism by replacing territory with an artifact.

The construction of this iconic monument in Istanbul and a UNESCO-world heritage site commenced in 532 AD under Justinian I, the monarch of the Byzantine Empire when the city was known as Constantinople. The edifice was originally built to become the headquarters of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church and persisted as so for approximately 900 years. However, in the year 1453 Mehmet II, the Ottoman Sultan conquered Constantinople from the Byzantine emperor. He converted the most formidable symbol of Orthodox Christendom into a mosque to showcase the new 'Lord of the Golden Horn.' This act was part of standard practice in medieval times. For a long time, the Hagia Sophia was Istanbul's most famous mosque. In 1934, Atartuk pronounced that the Hagia Sophia be converted into a museum and opened to the public in 1935. Hence, in its true essence, Hagia Sophia has sustained various political epochs and maintained the spirit of each in the embodiment of a museum, although a living one.

The provocation by Mr. Erdogan to re-enact the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople comes after his ignorance and implementation of unsustainable policy decisions. Erdogan’s re-election for the second term in 2011 and the Gezi Park protests of 2013 against the Turkish government's decree to change the character of the iconic Taksim Square in Istanbul by building a mosque and establishing Ottoman-style structure brought large numbers of protestors onto the streets. He decided to convert the prevailing parliamentary system into a presidential one and proceed by a narrow majority of 51% to 49% in a referendum in 2017. This was a manifestation of how the wind was blowing. Moreover, the Turkish economy was reeling from the currency and debt crisis of 2018. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic further aggravated the situation. Erdogan's political image has taken a back seat due to the crisis. Turkey's immense involvement in Libya and the US's unabating tariff sanctions haven't helped his image among Turkey's divided electorates. After a controversial referendum, he had already implemented an executive presidency and considerably scaled up his suppression of dissent and executive reach. Mr. Erdogan's authoritarian traits and his negligence for constitutional norms have been displayed clearly since the failed coup of July 2016. Thousands of civil servants and academicians were discarded from their professions, and many of them detained for their alleged ties to the Gulenist movement. The motivation for Erdogan's political measure is his religious-nationalist doctrine, with Hagia Sophia as the latest victim.

The court's resolution erodes the syncretism that Hagia Sophia held in spirit and matter. Physical structures and spaces have served as robust reserves for ideologues throughout antecedents. Sometimes religious groups ordain them, and sometimes secularists pursue to dismember them—and vice versa. The radicalization of the Hagia Sophia gave Erdogan a new opportunity and renewed currency to brandish his authoritarian Ottomanism. His Vision 2023 may be revitalized with modern Islamism. But the consequence may not stop at Turkey's borders. Muslims, the world over rejoiced, and countries with predominantly Muslim populations, such as Pakistan or Indonesia, will only encourage the growing Islamic populism. Meanwhile, it will also offer a rhetorical aid to anti-Muslim politics in Europe and countries like India.

Iconic public spaces with a transnational historical significance representative of secularism and tolerance as the Hagia Sophia was in Turkey, can be easily appropriated for political gains. In that case, it is an indication of what is and can happen elsewhere. Time will be the judge of Turkey's decision, but politics seems to have won yet again for the time being. Ataturk's overbearing secularisation appears to have found a counterpart in Erdogan's Islamist gradualism and rekindled irredentism of sorts that claims anything that power seeks. The amalgamation of severe economic downturn and Mr. Erdogan's authoritarianism adjoined with tyranny has witnessed the negative impact on his popularity. Transforming the character of Hagia Sophia is a part of his electoral scheme to regain his political fortunes by flaunting his commitment to rectifying perceived historical wrongs. This strategy has worked in some countries. One has to hold back and watch if it will work in Turkey as well.

Bibliography-

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/re-conquering-constantinople/article32106182.ece

2. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-turkey-hagia-sophia-mosque-conversion-6488890/

3. https://thewire.in/religion/turkey-erdogan-hagia-sofia-mosque-europe

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Nandana Bhattacharjee is a 3rd-year student pursuing a Bachelor's in History Honours from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (University of Delhi). Her interest areas include Development, Sustainability, Governance, and Public Policy. (bhattacharjeenandana@gmail.com)