“Turkish Mosque in Cologne to be Rededicated to Lutheran Church”

"Turkish mosque in Cologne was rededicated by the federal government to the Evangelical Church"

 Freiburg Islamist Abdel-Hakim Ourghi satirically reacts to the rededication of the status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

 Freiburg (kath.net) “I had a dream tonight.  The Turkish government has rededicated the Turkish mosque in Cologne to the Evangelical Church. ”The reform-oriented Muslim and Freiburg Islamic scholar Abdel-Hakim Ourghi wrote on his Facebook page.  With his satirical contribution, he responded to the change in the status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.  As a result, everyone was outraged, he continues.  “Jews, Christians, Muslims, atheists and Buddhists demonstrated on the streets.  The two speeches by the President of the Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany Bedford-Strohm  and Cardinal Marx were particularly moving.  They want more tolerance for Islam and the Muslims.”

 

 Background: Hagia Sophia in Istanbul will be restored to the status of an active mosque, it may be the Turkish President Erdogan himself who is driving the conversion into a mosque.  Previously, the cathedral in old Constantinople, which was once the “Vatican of the Eastern Church” was once of immense importance to the world Church and also of architectural and historical importance, had been designated as a museum to avoid tensions between religions.  Hagia Sophia was the coronation church of the Byzantine emperor (since 641), the cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the site of important historical events.  After the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, it lost its importance, but the structure remained largely unchanged.  It was a mosque for a long time before it was converted into a museum under Ataturk.  It is still considered a landmark of Istanbul today.