Egyptian Muslims condemn Turkey’s attempts to turn Hagia Sophia into mosque
Egypt’s highest Islamic authority called the Ottoman capture of Constantinople an “occupation”.
Egypt’s top Islamic body, the Dar al-Ifta condemned Turkey’s intentions to turn Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque, reports Persecution.org.
According to the publication, the Dar al-Ifta, made a statement this week condemning the Ottoman seizure of Istanbul as an “occupation” and accusing Erdoğan of using the Hagia Sophia conversion proposal as a political tactic.
At the same time, the publication notes that the tenure of the President of Egypt Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi " corresponded with the rise of ISIS and has seen some of the bloodiest examples of Christian persecution".
The Egyptian president “has taken away free speech, which keeps Christians from speaking about these problems,” and the construction of Christian churches “ can still be prevented simply by complaints from neighboring Muslims,” Persecution.org notes.
As reported earlier, on July 2, a Turkish court will decide on the status of Hagia Sophia.
