Diyanet head’s sermon at Hagia Sophia stirs debate
Published 26 Jul,2020 via Hürriyet Daily News - The khutbah (sermon) Ali Erbaş, the head of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), delivered at the first Friday prayers performed at Hagia Sophia on July 24 after the historical structure was turned into a mosque from a church has stirred a fierce debate as critics claimed that the country’s top imam targeted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the republic.
“Any property that is endowed is inviolable in our belief and burns whoever touches it; the charter of the endower is indispensable and whoever infringes upon it is cursed,” Erbaş said in the sermon.
Politicians from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and İYİ (Good) Party claimed that Erbaş’s remarks were targeting Atatürk, some calling on him to resign.
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