10 July 2020 was a day that made our nation and all the Muslims of the world very happy. On that day, the chains of Hagia Sophia, which had been in misery for 86 years, were broken. The Council of State had decided to return Hagia Sophia to its original state, and you had signed this decision and restored its status as a mosque. You honoured the souls of Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan and those who fought for this for 86 years. You were hold in high esteem by our nation.
On the evening of the same day, you made a historic speech as a manifesto to our nation and even to the world. In summary, you said:
“Dear nation! Today, the Council of State cancelled the Council of Ministers’ regulation dated 1934, which enabled the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum. With a presidential regulation we issued based on this decision, we have ensured that Hagia Sophia will be reopened as a mosque. Thus, Hagia Sophia will be able to serve as a mosque again after 86 years, as stated in the foundation of Mehmed the Conqueror. I hope that this decision will be beneficial for our nation, the ummah and all humanity.,
With the removal of the museum status, we are abolishing the paid entrance to the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be open to all, local and foreign, Muslim and non-Muslim.
We plan to open Hagia Sophia for worship on Friday, 24 July 2020, with Friday prayers, by rapidly completing the preparations. This decision is likely to lead to various debates both inside and outside the country. I invite everyone to respect the Hagia Sophia decision taken by the judicial and executive bodies of our country.
The issue of the purpose for which Hagia Sophia will be used is related to Turkey’s sovereignty rights. The opening of Hagia Sophia for worship with a new arrangement is just an utilisation of our country’s sovereignty rights.
Whatever the flag of the Republic of Turkey is, whatever its capital, whatever its call to prayer, whatever its language, whatever its borders, whatever its 81 provinces are, the right to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque in accordance with its foundation is the same. We accept any attitude and expression beyond expressing an opinion on this issue as a violation of our independence.
Just as we, as Turkey, do not interfere with other countries’ decisions regarding their places of worship, we expect the same understanding when it comes to protecting our historical and legal rights. Moreover, this is not a right of 50-100 years, but a right of 567 years.
Turkey’s decision is only related to its domestic law and historical rights. I would like to express my gratitude to all political parties and their leaders, non-governmental organisations and every single member of our nation for standing behind this decision…”
A unique judgement of the law!
Mr President! In your speech, you emphasised the importance of the conversion of Hagia Sophia in accordance with its foundation.
Because there were many people who wanted to make it a material for interfaith dialogue. Some CHP deputies, especially Karamollaoğlu, were fervently defending the use of a part of Hagia Sophia as a church.
However, the law did not say so. The 10th Chamber of the Council of State had written a tremendous justification while converting Hagia Sophia to its original form. In this decision, which should be written in gold letters and hung in Hagia Sophia, the following points were especially emphasised:
“The old foundation status of the Hagia Sophia Mosque and other foundations established before 4 October 1926, when the Turkish Civil Code entered into force, which was explicitly protected by Articles 1 and 8 of Law No. 864, continued to be protected within the framework of the same principles in the (abrogated) Law on Foundations dated 05/06/1935 and numbered 2762, the Law on the Enforcement and Implementation of the Turkish Civil Code dated 03/12/2001 and numbered 4722, and the Law on Foundations dated 20/02/2008 and numbered 5737, which entered into force after the date of entry into force of the Council of Ministers Decision subject to the lawsuit.
Accordingly, the Decree of the Council of Ministers converting Hagia Sophia into a museum is clearly contrary to Article 1 of Law No. 864, which stipulates that the legislation of the date of the foundation deed shall apply.
Hagia Sophia is the property of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan Foundation, which is a private foundation with private law legal personality.
In accordance with the will of the endower, Hagia Sophia has been offered to the service of the public for its permanent use as a mosque.
It is a charitable immovable in the sense that it was left to the public use free of charge. It is also registered as a mosque in the title deed.
The foundation deed has the effect, value and power of a rule of law.
It is clear that the nature and purpose of use of the endowed immovable property in the foundation deed can never be changed.
This matter is binding for all real and legal persons as well as the respondent administration.
There is no doubt that the state has a positive obligation to ensure that the foundation assets are used in accordance with the will of the founder, and a negative obligation not to interfere with the foundation property and rights in a way that would eliminate the will of the founder.
In this case;
The immovables and rights belonging to the foundation, which have been preserved and kept alive since ancient times in the Turkish legal system, are left to the benefit of the foundation in line with its foundation;
cannot be prevented from being used by the society;
Since it is concluded that it is not legally possible to use the Hagia Sophia as a mosque other than the mosque to which it is permanently allocated in the foundation deed and to allocate it to another purpose, the decision of the Council of Ministers, which was established to terminate the use of Hagia Sophia as a mosque and to turn it into a museum without taking these issues into consideration, did not comply with the law.
For the reasons explained; It was unanimously decided on 02/07/2020 to ANNUL the decision of the Council of Ministers subject to the lawsuit.”
Scandalous practice of the Ministry of Culture!
Dear Mr President! Despite the masterpiece decision of the 10th Chamber of the Council of State and your tremendous speech in which you explained the meaning of this decision, unfortunately, the Ministry of Culture has recently signed a scandalous practice. In Hagia Sophia, Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan initiated an application that partially violated the foundation of Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan. As it is written in the waqf, to prejudice the conditions of the foundation even at one point is to be subjected to the curse of Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan. Despite this:
On 15 January 2024, according to the decision that came into force, the Ministry of Culture removed a part of the museum (the upper floors) from the mosque and turned it into an area exclusively for foreigners and started to charge them 25 euros as an entrance fee. In the first week, Muslims were not allowed in these sections.
After reactions, Muslims were allowed to enter the same sections for a fee of 25 euros. However, Hagia Sophia is a mosque in its entirety. Muslims cannot be charged for any part of it in any way. This is contrary to the waqf.
Thus, this section reserved for Christians has become a museum. It is not possible for Muslims, who have free entrance to the mosque, to pay 25 euros for that section. Therefore, in a sense, these floors are completely allocated to non-Muslims.
Yes, non-Muslims can be charged a fee. However, they can visit the main part of Hagia Sophia like Selimiye, Süleymaniye and Sultanahmet mosques. Allocating a special section is contrary to the waqf and may cause other sections to be allocated for other purposes in the future.
The Ministry of Culture has given the management of this museum section to a company which is said to be a relative of the minister. This practice is a matter that will bring about very dangerous developments for the Hagia Sophia Mosque in the future.
There is no guide system in the galleries currently operating as the museum section. No point of Hagia Sophia related to the Ottoman Empire is explained there. It is completely Christian propaganda.
As a result, the arrangement of the 2nd floor of Hagia Sophia as a gallery and making it chargeable cancels the decisions of the Council of State, the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court, which opened the Hagia Sophia-i Kebir Mosque for worship again.
Because in these decisions and in the Islamic Foundation law, it has been decided and registered that the Hagia Sophia Mosque is a charitable foundation, that it cannot be subject to ownership, that its qualification cannot be changed, that its rights are protected against third parties and the state, that it was offered to the public for free use as a mosque by the endower Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan, that it cannot be named in any other way other than as a mosque, and that it cannot be used by anyone to generate income.
In this decision, it is stated that “the State is only the entity to whom the property of the foundation is entrusted in order to ensure that it is used in line with its purpose”.
The Council of State’s decision cancelling Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum and returning it to a mosque also states that “its use by the public as a mosque cannot be prevented”.
Not only the land or a part of the Hagia Sophia-i Kebir Mosque, but its entire floors and complex are registered as a mosque. However, carpets are still not laid in the galleries and they have not been made suitable for prayer.
Dear Mr President!
We firmly believe that you will overturn the fait accompli decision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism regarding the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which ignores the foundation of Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan.
I sincerely believe that you, our esteemed statesman, who did not bow down when the world was in revolt, and who restored the Hagia Sophia to the use of our nation in accordance with the foundation of Sultan Fatih in the manner determined by the law, will ignore this ominous step taken from within.
With my most heartfelt affection.
REFLECTION
Do not turn your hope into despair, O Nâbî,
God will remove the obstacles one day with His grace
Nâbî
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şimşirgil
2th February 2024
Türkiye Gazetesi