Turkiye’s Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque to hold 1st tarawih prayer in 88 years
Turkiye’s Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul will hold its first tarawih prayer in 88 years, a special evening prayer during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
A number of events for Ramadan will also be held at the mosque, which was converted into a museum in 1934 and regained its status as a mosque in 2020, when it was opened for worship on July 24 of that year.
They begin from the first Moon-sighted evening (start) to the second Moon-sighted evening (last day of Ramadan). A number of events for Ramadan will also be held at Hagia Sophia.
The massive temple held a total of 23,000 worshipers, and 525 priests, deacons, and chanters served its liturgies.
World blasts Turkey’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque
In early July 2020, the Turkish Council of State annulled the Cabinet’s 1934 decision to establish the museum, revoking the monument’s status, and a subsequent decree by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the reclassification of Hagia Sophia as a mosque.
The 1934 decree was ruled to be unlawful under both Ottoman and Turkish law as Hagia Sophia’s waqf, endowed by Sultan Mehmed, had designated the site a mosque; proponents of the decision argued the Hagia Sophia was the personal property of the sultan.
Joe Biden, who was the Democratic Presidential candidate at the time, expressed his “deep regret” over the decision by Turkey to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Antony Blinken, foreign policy adviser to Biden, tweeted the statement: “The Hagia Sophia is an architectural marvel and a treasured holy site for people of many faiths.”
Blinken goes on to say that he “deeply regret[s] the Turkish government’s decision to convert it into a mosque and urge[s] President Erdogan to reverse his decision.”
In a very brief, improvised remark, Francis spoke from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square as the Catholic Church marked the International Day of the Sea. “And the sea brings me a little far away with my thought: to Istanbul,” the pontiff said, and “I am thinking of Hagia Sophia and I am deeply pained.”