july,31st from istanbul to cordoba: the islamism’s … · 2020. 7. 31. · 4 from istanbul to...

FROM ISTANBULTO CORDOBA:THE ISLAMISM’S SYMBOLSCarlos Echeverría JesúsInternational Relations Lecturer in the UNED

www.seguridadycultura.org @InstitutoSyC

REPORT JULY, 31ST 2020

ÍNDICE

INTRODUCTION Pág. 41

NATIONALISM AND, MOSTLY, THE ISLAMISMIN THE CONTEMPORARY TURKEY

Pág. 62

THE WORRYING CONNECTIONOF HAGIA SOPHIA AND CORDOBA

Pág. 103

CONCLUSIONS Pág. 204

FROM ISTANBUL TO CORDOBA: THE ISLAMISM’S SYMBOLS4Carlos Echeverría Jesús

www.seguridadycultura.org@InstitutoSyC

INTRODUCCIÓN1

Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine basilica built inConstantinople by the Emperor Justinian in themiddle of the 6th century after Christ, later amosque (1453-1934) and since 1934 amuseum, isnow again a mosque at the initiative of thepresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan, represents a stepfurther, full of symbolism and introducingimportant dangers, making an unstoppable effortto bury the secular legacy of Mustafa Kemal andhis successors until Islamism came to power in2002.

FROM ISTANBUL TO CORDOBA: THE ISLAMISM’S SYMBOLS 5Carlos Echeverría Jesús




NATIONALISM AND, MOSTLY, THE ISLAMISMIN THE CONTEMPORARY TURKEY2



Without ever ceasing to be a Muslim, MustafaKemal -known as Atatürk, Father of Turks- was acourageous Head of State, as he put an end to theCaliphate and made symbolic steps regarding thecountry’s modernization, as the aforementionedtransformation of Hagia Sophia into a museum in1934. Erdogan, who being consistent with hisIslamist ideas, was considered to be a betterMuslim than his predecessor Atatürk, and hasaccomplished the conversion of Hagia Sophia intoa mosque, another step within the framework ofhis unstoppable and lately accelerated rollingprocess of the republican and secular State thathe inherited in 2002.

Since Atatürk disappeared, Islamists have beentrying to recover positions that the founder of theRepublic had vetoed, and it started to be visible asearly as the late 1950s with the Government ofAdnan Menderes, but it would take more than halfof century to crystallize. In 1985, Hagia Sophiaentered the list of World Heritage of the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO), as the museum it was, a

year after it was established as Mosque-Cathedralof Cordoba. The presence of the Byzantinebuilding in that list could now be threatened bythe decision made by the Turkish authorities. Thebuilding is no longer a museum as it is open forworship, its great frescoes and mosaics have beencovered, and its management has changed frombeing the responsibility of the Directorate forMuseums and Heritage to Diyanet, the Directoratefor Religious Affairs that manages the mosques inTurkey.

Through Danistay, the Council of State, that worksas the higher administrative court in Turkey andthat is controlled by the Islamists, just as all therelevant institutions in Turkey, Erdogan succeededlast 2nd of July in declaring illegal the decisionmade in 1934 to make Hagia Sophia a museum,and several days later, on the 24th of July, thebuilding was converted into a mosque, beingopened again to Muslim worship after decades ofabsence. All that with a first praying dramatizedand starred by Erdogan personally, who showedhimself to the Turkish and the world.

Turkish President, RecepTayyip Erdogan, recitingsome verses of the Quranduring the first pray atHagia Sophia on last June24th. | Yeni Safak.



When he was the mayor of Istanbul, in the secondhalf of the 90’s, Erdogan pronounced that famoussentence that is worth remembering now: “Thefaithful are our soldiers; the mosques our barracks;its dome our helmets; and the minarets, thebayonets in Heaven”1. He said that in 1997, thesame year that his then-Islamist party, the IslamicRefah, led by his teacher Erbakan, was blocked inan apparent unstoppable progress to seize power.The Turkish Armed Forces carried out then theirlast successful coup d’etat, baptized as the“prosperity coup”, and Erdogan lost the Mayoraltyof such an emblematic city, and he did serve timein prison, charged with terrorism. But some yearslater, the Islamists, grouped together in theJustice and Development Party (AKP, Turkishinitials), regained positions and even came topower. Since then, and hastily in the last decade,they have accelerated their thorough control of theState and the whole Turkish society.

Erdogan has never hidden his Islamist beliefs. Hedid not hide them when he visited theMosque-Cathedral of Cordoba in 2010, when hewas the prime minister, nor in 2015, when he wentto Hungary at the place were Suleiman theMagnificent is supposed to have died, nor when heclamored some years ago for Hagia Sophia toreturn to Muslim worship. Back then, he playedwith words and tenses, with expressions thatsoothed the confused and the right-thinkingpeople, but not tricking the most experiencedanalysts. An example of these games is when, in2015, he stated that did not intend to get theMuslim worship back to Hagia Sophia, except ifthe neighbor Blue Mosque or Sultan AhmedMosque -built in the 17th century close to HagiaSophia and that stands out because of its sixminarets compared to the four built for the

Byzantine basilica- was overwhelmed withbelievers. Later, in 2019, in the middle of thecampaign for the municipal elections, in which theAKP could lose control of Istanbul and Ankara,Erdogan brought back to the coalition that matters,stating that the decision to convert Hagia Sophiainto a museum was a “very serious mistake”.

The Turkish leader has always been at anadvantage provided by the combination ofdistraction and abandonment to the occidentalsecularized world, on the one hand, and thecondescending attitude of several players that actirresponsibly, some of them very high positionedpolitically, and even academically, and that havetraditionally preferred not to see the possiblenegative consequences of the announcementsand decisions made by the Islamic leaders, as theones made by the current Turkish president.

In fact, there are people today that prefer to seepure nationalism regarding the attitude, and, aboveall, in the decisions of Erdogan, but it is importantthat the interpreting of that nationalism does noteclipse the clear Islamism that drives the Turkishleader. On this matter, some people haveinterpreted, in a nationalist way, the decision madeon the 24th of July to de facto get back the Muslimworship in Hagia Sophia: it was the 97thanniversary of the signing of the Treaty ofLausanne, that established the borders of thecurrent Turkey and that, in political terms, Erdoganwould be challenging with the execution of theHagia Sophia transformation in mosque2.

It is worth mentioning in this process theadvanced presentation made by the Turkishpresident himself on the 10th of July, when hepublished a video on Twitter stating the

1.MARTORELL, Manuel: “La mezquita de Santa Sofía”, Diario de Navarra, 24th of July of 2020, p 13.

2. Please see “Turquie: jusqu’ oú Erdogan ira-t-il?” Publishing house Le Monde, 25th of July of 2020.



“resurrection of Hagia Sophia” as a “newconquest” of the whole of Islam, highlighting it forthe whole Islamic world, from Bukhara in CentralAsia to Andalusia in Europe, emphasizing theobligatory liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque inJerusalem / Al Qods.

No one eludes the conquering thirst of the Turkishleader, under his flag and at the head of his state,making himself increasingly visible in scenarios ofwar, such as Syria, Libya and Iraq. But Erdogandoes spread the Turkish influence to other places,from the Horn of Africa to places in the Balkansand Central Asia, though with a Islamic-Islamistdimension that some of their own compatriotshave been condemning for years, nonethelessthese warnings have not awaken the interest, northe needed concern in the West3.

'The resurrection of Hagia Sophia...'

Message published on Twitter by Recep Tayyip Erdogan,Turkish President, on July 10.

3. GÜRSEL, Nedim: “La transformation de Sainte-Sophie en mosquée est dans la logique de l’idéologie de conquête d’Erdogan”, Le Monde, 18thof Julyof 2020.

“The Turkish leader hasalways been at anadvantage provided bythe combination ofdistraction andabandonment to theoccidental secularizedworld, on the one hand,and the condescendingattitude of severalplayers that actirresponsibly”



THE WORRYING CONNECTIONOF HAGIA SOPHIA AND CORDOBA3



The Byzantine Emperor Justinian started thebuilding of Hagia Sophia in 537, where during theConstantino period there was a little temple thathad been destroyed by fire in the 4th century. TheBasilica was a Christian temple for almost amillennium, until on the 29th of May of 1453 it wastaken together with the rest of the city, by theSultan Mehmed II known as The Conqueror. Fromthat year it was a mosque and, from 1934 untilJuly 24, a museum.

The now adopted decision has caused variousreactions, more or less unenthusiastic andunderstandable from a religious standpoint, but ina world that is not only deeply secularized, but alsoanticlerical in various circles have been limited inscope.

This is precisely one of the advantages thatErdogan and other Islamist leaders have over theWest. In this context, Pope Francis showed hisunderstandable sadness, the World Council ofChurches, also declared to be afflicted, and theleaders of countries that were culturally and/orreligiously affected, such as Greece, Russia,France and the United States also expressed theirrejection. But nothing further. A completelyacceptable reaction from Erdogan and his circle'spoint of view, well-armed in religious and politicalterms facing unenthusiastic critics and, as theyexpected, with no significant impact.

If that isn’t enough reason to worry, the connectionestablished by Erdogan with his global aspirationsin Islamic-Islamist terms from Bukhara(Uzbekistan, in the far Central Asia) to Andalusiain Spain, and the automatic connection betweenthis case and of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba,is even more worrying.

The commonly known as Mosque of Cordoba-which in terms of worship, should be known asthe Cathedral of Cordoba or, if desired and tryingto look for a needed balance for some people asMosque-Cathedral- has been for years in the eye ofthe storm of the exploitation in symbolic terms ofIslam.

“The now adopteddecision has causedvarious reactions, moreor less unenthusiasticand understandable froma religious standpoint,but in a world that is notonly deeply secularized,but also anticlerical invarious circles have beenlimited in scope”



It is worth remembering that this building was firstthe Basilica of San Vicente, where the Christianworship survived from the 6th century until theconstruction of the Mosque since August 31st of786 by request of Abdel Rahman I, who for thatpurpose destroyed the preexisting basilica. Itworked as Mosque -being the main Umayyadmonument in Spain, according to the famousarchitect Fernando Chueca Goitia- until it wasconverted into a Cathedral in 1238, two yearsafter the Christian Reconquest of the city byFerdinand III the Saint, once it was where he hadappointed the first bishop and created the Cabildo.

At this point, it would be worth reviewing somehistorical milestones, as it was done beforeregarding Hagia Sophia. The Basilica of Cordobastarted to be built on 313, and the Visigothicliturgies took place in its enclosure until 711, theyear of the Muslim invasion. In its construction ithas Christian Hellenistic architectural traces thatthe Arabian Syrians brought and reproduced justas the walls, battlements and towers that theyknew from the Byzantine churches in their MiddleEastern lands4.

From the administrative point of view, theMosque-Cathedral was declared a NationalMonument in 1882, under the name of Catedral deNuestra Señora de la Asunción (Cathedral of OurLady of the Holy Assumption), cataloged in 1973as the Mosque-Cathedral by the ConseilInternational des Monuments et des Sites (ICOMS,French initials) -one year before, in December1974, the Vice-President of the Republic of Iraq, atthat time, Sadam Hussein, was allowed to praybefore the Mihrab in Cordoba- and in 1984,UNESCO included it as the Mosque of Cordoba inthe list of World Heritage5.

4. Please see the publication made by Manuel NIETO CUMPLIDO, Canon Archivist Emeritus of the Mosque-Cathedral: La Mezquita de Córdoba, JoyaBizantina, Córdoba Edición del Cabildo de la Santa Iglesia Catedral, 2016, p. 173.

5. Ibidem, p. 161.



That is a curious route in which we see as abackground curtain the development of theperception of the Spanish administration andsociety regarding matters, such as the definitionof the Muslim occupation (or presence) in theterritory or the weight of the Catholic religion onpublic life. Precisely throughout these years,practically a century, Spain lived the hardexperience of the Protectorate in Morocco, theCivil War, the Franco Regime and the beginning ofthe Transition, and during these years, perceptionsand ideas would bust through that in one way oranother had originated the current delicatesituation. For example, it is worth emphasizing thedebate and development of the perception aboutthe Reconquest, a long and logic process of whichsome would end up being ashamed of,embellished by the huge debate among EmericoCastro, and Claudio Sanchez Albornoz,academically, and tainted by the “traditionalHispanic-Arab friendship”, regarding politics.

In addition, in parallel, the Arab-Muslim world alsounderwent a process that has to be mentionedgiven the more or less immediate geographicaland cultural proximity to Spain. That process wasmarked by the disappearance of the OttomanEmpire and the emergence of ideologies such asthe Arab nationalism and Islamism. Both,particularly important regarding the consolidationof the myth of Al Andalus, as it was emphasized inthe report “La instrumentalización de Al Andalus:intensidad y extensión de la instrumentalizaciónyihadista hoy”6.

If the president Erdogan makes skillfully theamalgam among documents, and plays happilywith perceptions and symbols, the risk ofassimilating both scenes -Hagia Sophia and theMosque-Cathedral of Cordoba- in confusing times,

6. ECHEVERRÍA JESÚS, C.: (The exploitation of Al Andalus: intensity and spreading of the Jihadist exploitation today) La instrumentalización de AlAndalus: intensidad y extensión de la instrumentalización yihadista hoy, Análisis del Instituto de Seguridad y Cultura (ISC), No. 2, 2017, p. 3.



such as the present one, it is needed to developthe ability to stop this dangerous drift before itgoes any further7. On the one hand, because in theIslamic lands, there are people who play with thesymbology of both monuments with intentionseach time less hidden and more direct. But, onthe other hand, because in Spain there are thosewho, linked to this change process in the countrythat we referred to previously, or driven byinsecurities or ideological interests, theyunconsciously accept to make the game forthese that try to dramatically change the statusof the Mosque-Cathedral.

From outside, we get the repercussion of severalstatements, such as, from Erdogan himself to theone produced in the current context by the Arableader Sultan Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Emir ofSharjah, one of the seven that compose the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), a particularly proactive Statetoday, regarding his foreign security and defensepolice, but also for decades regarding the spreadof their vision of Islam here, there andeverywhere. Al Qasimi highlights his politicalposition and his category as historian specializedin Al Andalus to try to strengthen his impertinentrecognition affirming that “the Mosque of Cordoba[must be] for the Muslims, as it is their propertyand the Christians do not deserve to have it”.

It is of little importance that the UAE, as a State,distanced themselves, and had even criticized thestep made by Erdogan. This disagreement andcritique shall be contextualized in the allocationof the roles granted to some Muslim States, andnon-state actors linked to these countries, whensupporting Islamist causes all over the world anddefending their achievements8.

News published on El Mundo, second largest Spanishnewspaper, on July 23 about Emir Sultan Bin Mohamed AlQasimi's statement: "We deman at least the return to theMuslims of the Mosque of Cordoba".

7. “Turquie: jusqu’oú Erdogan ira-t-il?” op, cit.

8. This confusion is also reflected in the media when spreading news, but deep inside and regarding these types of matters, these things are not deeplyclarified. Please see “Emiratos Árabes reivindica la Mezquita de Córdoba: “Es propiedad de los musulmanes””, Antena 3 Noticias, 24thof July of 2020,22:00 hours.

“In Spain there are thosewho, linked to this changeprocess in the country thatwe referred to previously,or driven by insecurities orideological interests, theyunconsciously accept tomake the game for thesethat try to dramaticallychange the status of theMosque-Cathedral”



In this context, the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordobahas recently been the objective of severalcampaigns that, bridging the gap between thiscase, and as such, of Hagia Sophie, can offerseveral interesting common points.

If in 2006, the Spanish converted to Islam, MansurEscudero organized a highly visible Muslim prayerscene before the Puerta del Perdon (AbsolutionDoor) of the Cordovan Catholic temple, in 2015,the Anatolian Youth Association, an incorrectlycalled Non-Governmental Organization thatactually follows the guidelines of the AKP, in 2015,celebrated a series of morning prayers beforeHagia Sophia to vindicate the Muslim worshipinside the basilica, that was a museum back then.

Escudero interceded for an ecumenical use of theMosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, but he was neverable to explain its viability with convincingarguments, and neither did the assumed inter-religious fellowship that would radiate from theCordovan temple. Regarding the Hagia Sophia,several years later, there took place another highlysymbolic milestone: the emblematic reading, inthe museum in 2018 by Erdogan, of some versesfrom the Koran. All that was perfectly calculated,and with the opportune media coverage to createthe milestone and make this activist effortcontinue9.

Besides, these movements are correctly equippedwith specialists in public opinion manipulation,independent of being Muslims or Christians/Occidentals. An example is the response receivedby Pope Francis’ demonstration of grief at thereopening of the Hagia Sophia Basilica as amosque by the Turkish historian Mehmet Ozdemir.In an interview published by the journal “Sabah”,

the historian replied to the Pope saying that “heshould be sad for the mosques converted intochurches”, making reference to the Reconquestand indicating the decline of Al Andalus. Ozdemiromitted in his words that the Muslims thatpreviously invaded the Christian Iberian Peninsuladid the same with the churches that they found,including the Basilica of San Vicente, of which theyeven destroyed to the foundation to build theMosque of Cordoba10.

9. “Santa Sofía: un tribunal de Turquía da luz verde a la polémica reconversión del icónico museo en Estambul en una mezquita”, BBC News, 10th of Julyof 2020.

10. “Turquía usa la Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba para justificar el cambio de Santa Sofía”, El Diario de Córdoba, 14th of July of 2020.



This should be the moment to regain our sanity, putthings in their right place and abstain fromshowing condescending and even agreeablepositions. The secularist and even anticlericalinertias want to see, from a long time ago, anattempt of the Catholic Church to “give up on thenationality of the monument”, when initiatives suchas the immatriculation of the Mosque-Cathedralwhat was intended is to protect it in its currentstatus, which is the result of history. IdealizingIslam further than recognizing a chapter in theSpanish history and an important cultural legacyis a huge error, and more when the Muslim worldtrends are what they are and that go the oppositedirection to the desired by many “interculturality”.

To an increasing religiousness in the politicalauthorities and the population in the Arab-Muslimworld, the West responds with laicism, when is notwith animosity towards the Christian values and anincomprehensible feeling of blame for historicalprocesses such as the Reconquer that shall beanalyzed rigorously and with no prejudices.

That way, it would surprise us that the decision ofErdogan is supported as fair and respectable amongus, the decision of a leader that in Islamic-Islamistterms fervently encourages to commemorate everyMay 29th the anniversary of the Turkish-Ottomanoccupation of Constantinople in 1453, while Spain,they are ashamed of celebrating the 2nd of Januarythe occupation of Granada by the Catholic Kings in1492, or of having in the Mosque of Cordoba aCatholic Church11. It is also worth mentioning thatthis Catholic temple takes up 3,000 square meters inthe framework of a much larger monument thatreaches 23,700, the rest having survived thanks totheir dedication to worship.

11. Nedim Gurtel: “Santa Sofía pertenece a la humanidad y no solamente a Turquía, a pesar de estar en Estambul”, BBC News, 25thof July of 2020.



In this context, those who defend the intermediatesolutions that they consider respectful and go forthe worship dualism in the Mosque-Cathedral,show a high innocence and a huge ignorance ofIslamic practice, both matters too dangerous intimes of confusion just as the current one.Returning to the case of Hagia Sophia, UNESCOhas warned about the immediate danger for theByzantine works of art, of an incalculable artisticand historic value, that means the use of the placeas a mosque.

The frescoes and mosaics have to be hidden inwalls and on the floor so that the Muslim prayingcan be carried out, with what that may mean interms of preservation of an unequaled heritage inthe hiding process that has to be carried out, bynow through, affixing fabrics, if it is not coveredby plaster as it was done for centuries since the16th century. Returning to the matter of theMosque-Cathedral, it is even more surprising thatthere are people that consider that in Cordoba,similar formulas can be found12, especiallykeeping in mind approaches such as the one ofthe sheik, historian and sponsor who is a modelfor Spanish archeology, Sultan Bin-Mohamed AlQasimi.

Furthermore, converting the Mosque-Cathedral intoa public good, as advocated by some to avoid thealleged legal appropriation of the Mosque by theChurch, and the also alleged “hijack of theirheritage”, is the previous step to converting theCathedral into something else. TheMosque-Cathedral lives in that perfect balancebetween being a splendid monument thataccumulates lots of history stages, and standingout for an Islamic one. However, frommany sectors,many coming from the Arab sphere, a debate isbeing promoted to convert the Mosque-Cathedral

into a space that, far from being the carrier ofcoexistence and integration values, is used bysome people to absorb it and, on the basis of afeigned dominant legitimacy that it does not havebut that the confused and manipulative want togive it, ends up being a new debate andlamentations chapter as it is already happeningwith Hagia Sophia.

Erdogan himself, in his visit to the Mosque-Cathedralof Cordoba, and after condemning the use of thefacility as Catholic Cathedral -something that SadamHussein never did during his visit in December of1974- went for the “museumization” of the building.The case of Hagia Sophia can be a dangerousprecedent and the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba isa possible victim because of its importance as wellas because of the previous work carried out about itregarding mind control and confusion moves.

12. “Cien especialistas de 36 universidades firman un manifiesto por la titularidad pública de la Mezquita”, Diario de Córdoba, 3rd of November of 2015.

Idealizing Islam further than recognizing a chapter in the Spanishhistory and an important cultural legacy is an error, especially in amoment when the Muslim world trends that go the opposite directionto the desired “interculturality”.

The status change of Hagia Sophia, one of the main symbols of thepast splendor of Islam, this time in the figure of the Ottoman Empire,will create a call effect that, as it can already be seen, will revitalizethe speeches that reclaim the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba as aMuslim religious building.

The debates about ownership of the Mosque-Cathedral, as well as ofthe building management and use, even that are legal, they nourishthose who try delightedly to revert the current situation of thebuilding and that, as it has been achieved for the Hagia Sophiabasilica, it accepts again the Muslim worship.



CONCLUSIONS10

The double worship practices in a place, such as theMosque-Cathedral of Cordoba is tremendously complicated, but notcompletely impossible, due to the presence of Christian iconographyin the whole place, and of burials in the facility. As it is the case ofHagia Sophia, it would be an unacceptable risk from the point of viewof the preservation of the World Heritage monument.

The converting of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a direct torpedo tothe waterline of the inter-religious balance, not only regardingCatholicism but, above all, regarding the Orthodox Church, in Greece,with what it means regarding geopolitical terms with respect toTurkey, as well as lees in Russia. A context in which theMosque-Cathedral of Cordoba is again in the middle of an artificialdebate promoted by those who want to recover this space for Islam.

www.seguridadycultura.org

@InstitutoSyC

july,31st from istanbul to cordoba: the islamism’s … · 2020. 7. 31. · 4 from istanbul to...

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