ROME: After Pope Francis spoke of being “very saddened” by the conversion of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from a museum into a mosque, European Catholic bishops expressed dismay at the Turkish decision.
“Converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque distances Turkey from Europe, and it is a blow to the Orthodox Church and to interreligious dialogue,” Manuel Barrios Prieto, general secretary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), told Arab News.
The World Council of Churches, which counts 350 churches as members, wrote a letter to Turkey’s president calling for the decision to be reversed.
In a press statement, COMECE said the decision regarding Hagia Sophia “is a blow to interreligious dialogue,” a field where, according to a 2019 European Commission report, Turkey has “a serious problem,” particularly in relation to hate speech and threats directed against national, ethnic and religious minorities.
The EU Commission report said such hate speech in the media and by public officials had continued despite “discussions between the Government and representatives of minorities.”
It added that continued “attacks or acts of vandalism” against minority places of worship “need to be investigated,” and that “full respect for and protection of language, religion, culture and fundamental rights in accordance with European standards have yet to be fully achieved.”
The Conference of the Catholic Bishops of Turkey (CET) also denounced the decision regarding the 1,500-year-old Byzantine building.
“Although we would wish Hagia Sophia to retain its character as a museum, we are a church deprived of juridical status, so we cannot give any advice on this country’s internal questions,” the CET said in a statement sent to the Catholic News Service.
The UNESCO-listed Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 AD by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and for centuries served as one of the world’s most important centers of Christianity.
The cathedral was converted into an imperial mosque about 550 years ago after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), and in 1934 became a museum on the orders of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.
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European bishops slam Hagia Sophia conversion
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European bishops slam Hagia Sophia conversion
- The World Council of Churches wrote a letter to Turkey’s president calling for the decision to be reversed
- The UNESCO-listed Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 AD by Byzantine Emperor Justinian
Bangladesh PM names cabinet after election win
- Tarique Rahman was sworn into office on Tuesday after a landslide election victory
- The 50-member cabinet was announced in a gazette notification issued late Tuesday
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has named a former commerce minister to steer the country’s troubled economy and kept the defense portfolio for himself as he formed his first cabinet.
Rahman was sworn into office on Tuesday after a landslide election victory, taking over from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since a deadly 2024 uprising that toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina.
The 50-member cabinet announced in a gazette notification issued late Tuesday includes Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, 76, a businessman and veteran lawmaker who has now returned to the finance ministry.
Chowdhury is tasked with reviving growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
He had previously served in the cabinet of Rahman’s late mother, three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, but was forced to resign in 2004.
According to media reports, his resignation came after he had granted permission for Taiwan to open a commercial office in Dhaka. Chowdhury has not spoken publicly about the issue.
He was also arrested several times during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, as her government regularly targeted opposition leaders in cases often decried as politically motivated.
Rahman, 60, has appointed himself defense minister, as his government faces a daunting list of challenges including improving security and healing rifts in a country polarized by years of bitter rivalry.
Bangladesh is squeezed between India — where border tensions are high — and Myanmar, where clashes have spilled over into frontier areas.
Bangladesh is home to more than a million Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar.
Khalilur Rahman is the foreign minister, an experienced diplomat and former UN official who holds degrees from universities in Dhaka and the United States.
Khalilur Rahman held the security portfolio in the caretaker government and helped mediate trade talks with the United States.
He faces the tricky task of balancing regional relations after ties with neighbor India soured during the interim government, and Dhaka deepened engagement with New Delhi’s arch-enemy Pakistan.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar congratulated his counterpart on Wednesday, saying in a statement that they would work together to “advance our cooperation.”
Prime Minister Rahman is expected to chair his first cabinet meeting later on Wednesday.
Other members of the cabinet include veteran politicians, former ministers and lawmakers, as well as academics and several party workers.
Rahman was sworn into office on Tuesday after a landslide election victory, taking over from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since a deadly 2024 uprising that toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina.
The 50-member cabinet announced in a gazette notification issued late Tuesday includes Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, 76, a businessman and veteran lawmaker who has now returned to the finance ministry.
Chowdhury is tasked with reviving growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
He had previously served in the cabinet of Rahman’s late mother, three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, but was forced to resign in 2004.
According to media reports, his resignation came after he had granted permission for Taiwan to open a commercial office in Dhaka. Chowdhury has not spoken publicly about the issue.
He was also arrested several times during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, as her government regularly targeted opposition leaders in cases often decried as politically motivated.
Rahman, 60, has appointed himself defense minister, as his government faces a daunting list of challenges including improving security and healing rifts in a country polarized by years of bitter rivalry.
Bangladesh is squeezed between India — where border tensions are high — and Myanmar, where clashes have spilled over into frontier areas.
Bangladesh is home to more than a million Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar.
Khalilur Rahman is the foreign minister, an experienced diplomat and former UN official who holds degrees from universities in Dhaka and the United States.
Khalilur Rahman held the security portfolio in the caretaker government and helped mediate trade talks with the United States.
He faces the tricky task of balancing regional relations after ties with neighbor India soured during the interim government, and Dhaka deepened engagement with New Delhi’s arch-enemy Pakistan.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar congratulated his counterpart on Wednesday, saying in a statement that they would work together to “advance our cooperation.”
Prime Minister Rahman is expected to chair his first cabinet meeting later on Wednesday.
Other members of the cabinet include veteran politicians, former ministers and lawmakers, as well as academics and several party workers.
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