A dawn prayer on the occasion of Muslim holiday “Eid al-Adha”, or Eid Qurban, was held today for the first time in 86 years at the iconic Hagia Sophia basilica – coming on the last day of a month that witnessed the shocking decision by Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reconvert the landmark back into a mosque.
The prayer was headed by the head of Turkey’s directorate of religious affairs, Ali Erbas, who again performed his religious duties while holding an ornate sword, which according scholars and analysts aims to showcase the aspect of a re-conquest of the 6th century cathedral by Erdogan and his now unabashedly reactionary and chauvinist administration.
Taking up a sword to poke critics in the eyes in #EidAlAdha:#Turkey‘s top gov’t Imam delivered 2nd sermon in #HagiaSophia today, AGAIN holding the sword ⚔️of conquest in his hand in defiance of criticisms.
President #Erdogan‘s campaign to sow seeds of divisions is relentless. pic.twitter.com/aeTtLqkkBU
— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) July 31, 2020