The Times describes Erdogan’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque as a symbolic moment that unsettles the West and overturns a previous symbolic move by which Kemal Ataturk demonstrated his commitment to the secularism.
In a leading article titled “Secular Retreat,” the British newspaper commented that the decision “is a sign of the extent to which Turkey under Mr Erdogan has embraced religious nationalism and of its disdain for the sensitivities of its allies.”
The newspaper also reports that Erdogan’s support for Hagia Sophia’s conversion into a mosque is recent, and “coincided with the fall of his political fortune,” with polls showing his popularity declining and his party losing the former safe seat of Constantinople in municipal elections.
It is also noted that the Turkish economy is in its second recession in two years.
“In this context, last week’s decision was a good domestic policy, allowing Erdogan to present his opponents as non-patriots,” as reported in The Times‘ leading article.
It is added, however, that the decision would cause new conflicts in Turkey’s foreign relations, having already stepped up tensions with Greece, and having been condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church and criticized by the United States.
“More broadly, Turkey’s Western allies will be nervous about where Erdogan’s latest shift to religious nationalism could lead to,” The Times reported.
It is added that Turkey is constantly moving away from the ideals of the Ataturk’s secular state and cases of political persecution of opponents of the government and repression of the free press are pointed out.
“Turkey remains a member of NATO and it is in the interest of the West to keep it as an ally in a strategically unstable region. But Erdogan has sent a strong signal that this will be done on his own terms,” the British newspaper concluded.