The current cultural and religious situation presupposes, as in all times, specific conflicts on the basis of not only social and spiritual relationships themselves. Due to the fact that world religions have long existed and developed in certain regions, conflicts arise with places and traditions associated with them. An example of this is the conflict between Greek Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims over an artifact of humanities: Hagia Sophia.
It arose from the recent conversion of the city’s historic Hagia Sophia into a mosque after a court annulled a 1934 presidential decree that made it a museum. Thus, the political and religious situation between the Greek and Turkish cultures became tense because of the historical monument. Hagia Sophia was one of the first Christian cathedrals of the Roman Empire and is of tremendous importance both for Christianity in general and for its orthodox branch in particular. After the capture of Byzantium by the Turks and the renaming of Constantinople to Istanbul, the temple became both a church for local Christians and later a monument museum. However, in July 2020, Turkish President Erdogan ordered to turn of the cathedral into a mosque (Sariyuce & Reynolds, 2020). For the Orthodox of Greece, the temple is the center of their faith, and for UNESCO, it is a unique testament to the interaction between Europe and Asia. The consensus was that this was done to demonstrate strength, which is typical of modern Turkey. Thus, the political and religious situation between the Greek and Turkish cultures became tense because of the historical monument.
The position of UNESCO on this issue reflects the importance of the humanities in such matters, or rather the consequence of their study. Societies allow us to look at the situation from the point of view of politics or religion and the historical and cultural heritage of many cultures. That is why the problem with the transformation of the cathedral into a mosque reflects so many contrasting and exciting from a social point of view, positions, and opinions.
Reference List
Sariyuce, I. & Reynolds, E. (2020). Hagia Sophia: Turkey’s Erdogan orders the conversion of museum back into a mosque. CNN. Web.