U.S. State Dept. calls on Turkey to maintain museum status of Hagia Sophia
Sam Brownback Photo: wikiwand.com
On June 25, 2020, U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, called on the Turkish government to maintain the status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as a museum. The American politician wrote about this on his Twitter.
According to him, “The Hagia Sophia holds enormous spiritual & cultural significance to billions of believers of different faiths around the world”.
In this regard, Brownback on behalf of the US government called on Turkey “to maintain it as a UNESCO World Heritage site & to maintain accessibility to all in its current status as a museum”.
Earlier media reported that Hagia Sophia is already being prepared for conversion into a mosque, later one of the leaders of the Turkish political party “Saadet Partisi” Abdullah Sevim suggested painting the face of Seraphim on the dome of this cathedral as soon as possible.
On June 15, 2020, the Turkish Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul announced the need to open Hagia Sophia for Muslim prayer.
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