Floating Sophia, Polarizing to Abeyance, Waqf-izing the State

Murat Akan, "Floating Sophia, Polarizing to Abeyance, Waqf-izing the State" in Journal of Muslims in Europe, 2021, pp. 1-23

Presentation

The 2020 ‘mosque-ing’ of Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) shook a cornerstone of the Turkish Republican tradition. I lay out the immediate political context, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the content of five court decisions that built up to the mosque-ing, and what these show about the current state of secularism, democracy and institutions in Turkey.

The Journal of Muslims in Europe is devoted to publishing articles dealing with contemporary issues on Islam and Muslims in Europe from all disciplines and across the whole region, as well as historical studies of relevance to the present.

More information (see editor's website)