Turkey’s cultural wars at full gallop with reconversion of historic church

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Turkish police officers stand guard atop the Kariye (Chora) museum, the 11th century church of St. Savior, during a visit by Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Istanbul, Nov. 28, 2007. (Reuters)
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Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visit the Kariye (Chora) museum, the 11th century church of St. Savior, in Istanbul, Turkey, November 28, 2007. (Reuters)
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Updated 21 August 2020
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Turkey’s cultural wars at full gallop with reconversion of historic church

  • Istanbul’s Church of St Savior, preserved as the Chora (Kariye) Museum, a touristic hotspot, is to be opened for Muslim prayers
  • The Edirnekapi neighborhood of Istanbul, where the building is located, has 16 other mosques, sparking criticisms about the necessity of the move

ANKARA: Just weeks after the first mass prayers were held in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul’s Church of St Savior in Chora (Kariye) Museum, another touristic hotspot, is to be opened for Muslim prayers, following a presidential decree that was published in the Official Gazette on Aug. 21.

Built as a monastery in the 6th century and turned into a church in Byzantine times in the 11th century, it became a mosque in the 16th century and was then converted into a museum in 1945.

However, this status was annulled last year when ownership of the building was transferred from the Education Ministry to the Directorate of Religious Affairs.

The country’s top administrative court, the Council of State, ruled that a mosque can only be used for its essential function and claimed that the earlier decision making the building a museum was unlawful.

So far, no date has been set for the first prayers, but the conversion has stirred widespread debate among Turkish nationals and international experts on heritage protection, drawing attention to the status of invaluable mosaics and frescoes that risk being covered up in the ancient building.

The Edirnekapi neighborhood of Istanbul, where the building is located, has 16 other mosques around Kariye Museum, sparking criticisms about the necessity of a move that further polarizes society.

Samim Akgonul, head of the Department of Turkish Studies at Strasbourg University, thinks that the transformation of former churches into mosques does not answer a need of Muslim prayer spaces in Turkey.

“These are symbolic and political actions and have nothing to do with religion. That is why the opening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque is somehow understandable,” he told Arab News.

Both Hagia Sophia and Chora Church are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list as architectural masterpieces. Despite the restoration works in the building, Kariye Museum attracted about 100,000 tourists last year.

According to Akgonul, Hagia Sophia has always served as a demonstration of power.

“It demonstrated Byzantine Emperor Justinian’s power after the Nika revolt, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II’s power after the conquest of Constantinople, the founder of Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s power after the foundation of the Republic and now Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power after the transformation of the regime,” he said.

The status of Hagia Sophia has long been a matter of debate in the country to reach out to the conservative segments especially during election times.

However, Akgonul says that Kariye Museum is different, as it is a largely unknown church compared to Hagia Sophia.

“Its retransformation into a mosque was probably decided in December 2019 when the decision to change its museum status was taken but they waited until today so as not to provoke a reaction that could prevent Hagia Sophia’s transformation. If that is the case, we can say that it’s a deliberate action and not a coincidence,” he said.

He added: “It is a part of a strategic action to give pledges to the Islamic and nationalist electorate, saying: ‘We reconquer the city and the country after a pause.’ And, the sad thing is it works. Millions of people who never heard the name of Chora, and who will probably never go there, consider this as a reconquest. After Chora, there are very few places where one can see the Byzantine heritage in Turkey.”

UNESCO did not immediately react to the move.

Dr. Mine Yildirim, head of Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s Freedom of Belief Initiative in Turkey, thinks that a serious commitment to upholding freedom of religion or belief for all would require the authorities to take measures to reinstate places of worship such as synagogues, churches or dervish houses, that have lost their original function.

“We know that this is not happening, and there are many places under the guardianship of the General Directorate of Foundations that remain as museums, or are being used as libraries or other public buildings,” she told Arab News.

Yildirim also noted that although some churches and synagogues have been restored recently, their use by affiliated communities are subject to the permission of public authorities, and these buildings are not reinstated to their original function.


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 8 sec ago
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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 56 min 41 sec ago
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.