Neo-Ottomanism

File:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (Thicker Crescent).svg design is sometimes used to represent Neo-Ottomanism]]

Neo-Ottomanism (Turkish: Yeni Osmanlıcılık, Neo-Osmanlıcılık) is an irredentist and imperialist Turkish political ideology that, in its broadest sense, advocates to honor the Ottoman past of Turkey and promotes greater political engagement of the Republic of Turkey within regions formerly under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor state that covered the territory of modern Turkey among others.{{Cite journal|last=Wastnidge|first=Edward|date=2019-01-02|title=Imperial Grandeur and Selective Memory: Re-assessing Neo-Ottomanism in Turkish Foreign and Domestic Politics |journal=Middle East Critique|volume=28|issue=1|pages=7–28|doi=10.1080/19436149.2018.1549232 |s2cid=149534930|issn=1943-6149|url=http://oro.open.ac.uk/58908/2/58908.pdf }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1740841|title=Erdogan's neo-Ottomanism a risky approach for Turkey|publisher=Arab News|author=Talmiz Ahmad|date=27 September 2020|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{Cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/12/25/turkeys-year-of-living-dangerously/|title=Turkey's Year of Living Dangerously|publisher=Foreign Policy|author=Allison Meakem|date=25 December 2020|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{Cite news|url=https://taz.de/Imperialistische-Bestrebungen-der-Tuerkei/!5766139/|title=Imperialist aspirations of Turkey - Ankara on course for expansion (Original: Imperialistische Bestrebungen der Türkei - Ankara auf Expansionskurs)|author=Joseph Croitoru|newspaper=Die Tageszeitung: Taz|publisher=Die Tageszeitung (Taz)|date=9 May 2021|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{Cite web |type=Briefing |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/652048/EPRS_BRI(2020)652048_EN.pdf |title=Turkey: Remodelling the eastern Mediterranean|author=Branislav Stanicek|publisher=European Parliamentary Research Service |date=September 2020|access-date=18 May 2021}}

Neo-Ottomanism emerged at the end of the Cold War with the dissolution of the Soviet Union,{{Cite book |last=Raso Della Volta |first=Lea |title=Les paradoxes du nationalisme turc: La construction de l'identité de 1869 au néo-ottomanisme de Recep Erdogan |publisher=L'Harmattan |year=2021 |pages=393 |oclc=1268921056}} forming two distinct waves of the ideology: the first, in the early 1990s, developed by the Turkish journalist and foreign policy advisor to President Turgut Özal, Cengiz Çandar; the second, associated with Ahmet Davutoğlu and his foreign policy goals of establishing Turkey as an influential power within the Balkans, Caucasia and the Middle East.{{Cite web |date=2009-07-08 |title=Neo-Ottoman minister |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/neo-ottoman-minister/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=POLITICO |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The Davutoğlu Doctrine and Turkish Foreign Policy |url=https://docslib.org/doc/3946294/the-davuto%C4%9Flu-doctrine-and-turkish-foreign-policy |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Docslib}}

The term has been associated with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's irredentist, interventionist, Pan-Islamist and expansionist foreign policy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the neighboring Cyprus, Greece, Iraq, Syria, as well as in Africa, including Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh.{{Cite journal|last=Taşpınar|first=Ömer|date=2012-08-01 |title=Turkey's Strategic Vision and Syria |journal=The Washington Quarterly|volume=35|issue=3 |pages=127–140|doi=10.1080/0163660X.2012.706519|s2cid=154875841|issn=0163-660X}}{{Cite journal|last=Antonopoulos|first=Paul|date=2017-10-20|title=Turkey's interests in the Syrian war: from neo-Ottomanism to counterinsurgency|journal=Global Affairs|volume=3|issue=4–5|pages=405–419 |doi=10.1080/23340460.2018.1455061|s2cid=158613563|issn=2334-0460}}{{Cite web|last=Danforth |first=Nick |title=Turkey's New Maps Are Reclaiming the Ottoman Empire |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/23/turkeys-religious-nationalists-want-ottoman-borders-iraq-erdogan/|access-date=2020-10-08 |website=Foreign Policy |date=23 October 2016 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Sahar|first=Sojla|date=2020-09-02|title=Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism is knocking on the door |url=https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/09/02/turkeys-neo-ottomanism-is-knocking-on-the-door/ |access-date=2020-10-08|website=Modern Diplomacy|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/turkeys-dangerous-new-exports-pan-islamist-neo-ottoman-visions-and-regional |publisher=Middle East Institute|title=Turkey's Dangerous New Exports: Pan-Islamist, Neo-Ottoman Visions and Regional Instability|date=21 April 2020|access-date=4 May 2021}}{{Cite web |title=Turkey's militarized foreign policy provokes Iraq|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1855341 |publisher=Arab News|author=Sinem Cengiz|date=7 May 2021|access-date=9 May 2021}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.csis.org/neo-ottomanism-turkeys-foreign-policy-approach-africa|title=Neo-Ottomanism: Turkey's foreign policy approach to Africa|publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |author=Asya Akca|date= 8 April 2019|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{Cite web|title=Europe must wake up to Erdogan's neo-Ottoman ambition|publisher=CAPX|author=Michael Arizanti |date=10 October 2020 |url=https://capx.co/europe-must-wake-up-to-erdogans-neo-ottoman-ambition/|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{Cite journal |publisher=ReadCube|author=Srdja Trifkovic|title=Turkey as a regional power: Neo-Ottomanism in action|journal=Politea|year=2011|volume=1|issue=2|pages=83–95 |doi=10.5937/pol1102083t|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web|url=https://wgi.world/the-revival-of-neo-ottomanism-in-turkey/|title=The revival of neo-Ottomanism in Turkey|publisher=World Geostrategic Sights |author=Slaviša Milačić|date=23 October 2020|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://jiss.org.il/en/yanarocak-turkish-irredentism-and-the-greater-middle-east/|title=Turkish Irredentism and the Greater Middle East|publisher=Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security|author=Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak |date=8 November 2021|access-date=12 November 2021}} However, the term has been rejected by members of the Erdoğan government, such as the former Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu{{cite news |last1=Raxhimi |first1=Altin |title=Davutoglu: 'I'm Not a Neo-Ottoman' |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2011/04/26/davutoglu-i-m-not-a-neo-ottoman/ |access-date=7 January 2021 |work=Balkan Insight |date=26 April 2011}} and the former Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop.{{cite news |last1=Rakipoglu |first1=Zeynep |title='Turkey determined to protect its rights': Official |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/-turkey-determined-to-protect-its-rights-official/2127220 |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=www.aa.com.tr |date=29 January 2021}}

Overview

One of the first uses of the term was in a Chatham House paper by David Barchard in 1985,{{cite book|author=David Barchard|title=Turkey and the West|publisher=Royal Institute of International Moin Ali Khan Affairs|year=1985|isbn=0710206186}} in which Barchard suggested that a "Neo-Ottoman option" might be a possible avenue for Turkey's future development. It seems also to have been used by the Greeks sometime after Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974.Kemal H. Karpat, Studies on Ottoman Social and Political History: Selected Articles and Essays, BRILL, 2002, {{ISBN|978-90-04-12101-0}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=082osLxyBDgC&pg=PA524 p. 524.]

In the 21st century, the term has come to signify a domestic trend in Turkish politics, where the revival of Ottoman traditions and culture has been accompanied by the rise of the Justice and Development Party (Turkish: Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, abbreviated AKP founded in 2001) which came to power in 2002. The use of the ideology by Justice and Development Party has mainly supported a greater influence of Ottoman culture in domestic social policy which has caused issues with the secular and republican credentials of modern Turkey.{{Cite web|title=İstanbul Barosu'ndan AKP'li vekile çok sert tepki |url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/istanbul-barosundan-akpli-vekile-cok-sert-tepki-187001|access-date=2020-10-08|website=www.cumhuriyet.com.tr|date=16 January 2015 |language=tr}}{{Cite web|title=AKP'li vekil: Osmanlı'nın 90 yıllık reklam arası sona erdi|url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/akpli-vekil-osmanlinin-90-yillik-reklam-arasi-sona-erdi-185737|access-date=2020-10-08|website=www.cumhuriyet.com.tr|date=15 January 2015 |language=tr}} The AKP have used slogans such as {{lang|tr|Osmanlı torunu}} ("descendant of the Ottomans") to refer to their supporters and also their leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (who was elected President in 2014) during their election campaigns.{{Cite web|title=İslami Analiz|url=http://www.islamianaliz.com/index.php|access-date=2020-10-08|website=www.islamianaliz.com|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028031605/https://www.islamianaliz.com/index.php|url-status=dead}} These domestic ideals have also seen a revival of neo-Ottomanism in the AKP's foreign policy. Besides acting as a clear distinction between them and ardent supporters of secularism, the social Ottomanism advocated by the AKP has served as a basis for their efforts to transform Turkey's existing parliamentary system into a presidential system, favouring a strong centralised leadership similar to that of the Ottoman era. Critics have thus accused Erdoğan of acting like an "Ottoman sultan".{{cite web|url= http://www.gercekgundem.com/yazarlar/baris-yarkadas/2406/akpnin-osmanli-sevdasi-ve|title= AKP'nin Osmanlı sevdası ve... - Barış Yarkadaş |access-date= 8 February 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150208105310/http://www.gercekgundem.com/yazarlar/baris-yarkadas/2406/akpnin-osmanli-sevdasi-ve|archive-date= 8 February 2015|url-status= dead}}{{Cite web|title=Yeniden Osmanlı hayalinin peşinden koşan AKP, felaketi yakaladı!..|url=https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2013/yazarlar/ugur-dundar/yeniden-osmanli-hayalinin-pesinden-kosan-akp-felaketi-yakaladi-291359/|access-date=2020-10-08|website=www.sozcu.com.tr|date=15 May 2013 |language=tr}}{{Cite web|title=Kılıçdaroğlu: AKP çökmüş Osmanlıcılığı ambalajlıyor|url=https://t24.com.tr/haber/kilicdaroglu-akp-cokmus-osmanliciligi-ambalajliyor,284360|access-date=2020-10-08|website=T24|language=tr}}

History

{{further|Ottomanism|State organisation of the Ottoman Empire|Foreign relations of the Ottoman Empire}}

Neo-Ottomanism has been used to describe Turkish foreign policy under the Justice and Development Party which took power in 2002 under Erdoğan, who subsequently became Prime Minister. Neo-Ottomanism is a dramatic shift from the traditional Turkish foreign policy of the Kemalist ideology, which emphasized looking westward towards Europe. The shift away from this concept in Turkish foreign policy under Turgut Özal's government has been described as the first step towards neo-Ottomanism.{{Cite book|last= Murinson |first= Alexander | title= Turkey's Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan: State Identity and Security in the Middle East and Caucasus (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics) |publisher= Routledge |date=December 2009 |page=119 |isbn=978-0-415-77892-3}} Özal's neo-Ottomanism is characterized by a rediscovery of Turkey's multiple identities, in contrast to the unitary conception of the Kemalist republic, and by a tendency to prioritize economic aspects rather than politico-state and security logics.{{Cite journal |last=Kaya |first=Ugur |date=2017 |title=Frontière et territorialité dans la perception du monde selon l'État turc |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/come.101.0013 |journal=Confluences Méditerranée |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=13–25 |doi=10.3917/come.101.0013 |issn=1148-2664|url-access=subscription }}

File:Munich_Security_Conference_2010_-_KM027_Da_Za.jpg Ahmet Davutoğlu and Hossam Zaki, Senior Advisor to the Foreign Minister of Egypt, at the Munich Security Conference in 2010]]

Neo-Ottomanism had a basis in religious circles. Fethullah Gülen, an influential Islamic leader, looks both to personal transformation and social and political activism, and fully embraces Turkish nationalism—the defining characteristic of which is Islam, not nationality—and economic neoliberalism while stressing continuity with Turkey's Ottoman past.{{cite web |url=https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/fethullah-g%C3%BClen |title=Fethullah Gülen |website=rlp.hds.harvard.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090655/https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/fethullah-g%C3%BClen |archive-date=27 March 2019 |url-status=dead}} His emphasis on the role of the state and neoliberalism are legacies of the changing nature of the late Ottoman state from the vantage point of the east, including conflicts between Muslims and Christians in Yugoslavia and, later, the expansion of the Soviet Union and the threat it posed.

The Ottoman Empire was an influential global power which, at its peak, controlled the Balkans and most of the modern-day Middle East. Neo-Ottomanist foreign policy encourages increased engagement in these regions as part of Turkey's growing regional influence.{{Cite web| url= http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=22209| title= Turkey's Middle East Policies: Between Neo-Ottomanism and Kemalism| last= Taspinar| first= Omer| access-date= 5 June 2010| date= September 2008| publisher= Carnegie Endowment for International Peace| archive-date= 15 September 2004| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040915011611/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=22209| url-status= dead}} This foreign policy contributed to an improvement in Turkey's relations with its neighbors, particularly with Iraq, Iran and Syria. However Turkey's relations with Israel, once Turkey's ally, suffered, especially after the 2008–09 Gaza War{{Cite news |title=Turkey rallies to Gaza's plight |author=Sarah Rainsford |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7831496.stm |newspaper=BBC News |date=16 January 2009 |access-date=9 January 2012}} and the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/7789077/Turkey-condemns-Israel-over-deadly-attack-on-Gaza-aid-flotilla.html |title=Turkey condemns Israel over deadly attack on Gaza aid flotilla |work=The Telegraph|date=31 May 2010 |access-date=5 June 2010 |location=United Kingdom}}

Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish foreign minister from 2009 to 2014 and "head architect" of the new foreign policy, has, however, rejected the term "neo-Ottomanism" to describe his country's new foreign policy.{{Cite news |title=I am not a neo-Ottoman, Davutoğlu says |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-193944-i-am-not-a-neo-ottoman-davutoglu-says.html |newspaper=Today's Zaman |location=Turkey |date=25 November 2009 |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025025036/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-193944-i-am-not-a-neo-ottoman-davutoglu-says.html |archive-date=25 October 2013 }}

Turkey's new foreign policy started a debate, principally in the Western media, as to whether Turkey is undergoing an "axis shift"; in other words whether it is drifting away from the West and heading towards the Middle East and Asia.{{Cite news |author=Adem Palabıyık |title=Interpreting foreign policy correctly in the East-West perspective |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-214522-comments-on-discussions-regarding-a-shift-of-axisinterpreting-foreign-policy-correctly-in-the-east-west-perspective-by-adem-palabiyik.html |newspaper=Today's Zaman |date=29 June 2010 |access-date=8 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703003210/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-214522-comments-on-discussions-regarding-a-shift-of-axisinterpreting-foreign-policy-correctly-in-the-east-west-perspective-by-adem-palabiyik.html |archive-date=3 July 2010 }} Such fears appear more frequently in Western media when Turkish tensions with Israel rise. Then-President Abdullah Gül dismissed claims that Turkey has shifted its foreign policy axis.{{Cite news |title=Claims of axis shift stem from ignorance, bad intentions, says Gül |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-213148-claims-of-axis-shift-stem-from-ignorance-bad-intentions-says-gul.html |newspaper=Today's Zaman |date=15 June 2010 |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006054307/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-213148-claims-of-axis-shift-stem-from-ignorance-bad-intentions-says-gul.html |archive-date=6 October 2012 }}

Davutoğlu worked to define Turkey's new foreign policy on the principle of "zero problems with neighbours", as opposed to Neo-Ottomanism. "Soft power" is regarded as particularly useful.

Focused on the rhetoric of the encounter between civilizations, Davutoğlu takes up the approach of former President Turgut Özal, who was the first Turkish president to begin discussions on Turkey's accession to the West. The latter put an end to the crisis that arose following the 1974 coup in Cyprus in order to move closer to the Western bloc, and thus to look towards Asia and extend its area of influence towards the countries of the Caucasus.{{Cite book |last=Lea |first=Raso Della Volta |title=Les paradoxes du nationalisme turc : La construction de l'identité de 1869 au néo-ottomanisme de Recep Erdogan |date=2021 |publisher=L'Harmattan |pages=401 |oclc=1268921056}} Aiming at a policy of national harmony, Özal refuses any denial of specificity among Turkish citizens. He sought in particular to relaunch dialogue with the Kurds, wishing to put an end to the permanent state of war between the PKK and the Turkish state, a conflict which tarnished Turkey's image in the world.{{Cite book |last=Lea |first=Raso Della Volta |title=Les paradoxes du nationalisme turc : La construction de l'identité de 1869 au néo-ottomanisme de Recep Erdogan |date=2021 |publisher=L'Harmattan |pages=396 |oclc=1268921056}}

As President, Erdoğan has overseen a revival of Ottoman tradition.{{Cite web|last=Calian|first=Florin George|date=2021-03-25|title=The Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=The Armenian Weekly|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-10|title=Europe must wake up to Erdogan's neo-Ottoman ambition|url=https://capx.co/europe-must-wake-up-to-erdogans-neo-ottoman-ambition/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=CapX|language=en-GB}}{{cite journal |last1=Todorović |first1=Miloš |title=TİKA's Heritage Restoration Projects: Examples of Foreign Aid or Proof of Neo-Ottomanism? |journal=Insight Turkey |date=2021 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=141–156 |doi=10.25253/99.2021233.8 |s2cid=244203965 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354721571 |access-date=8 December 2022}} While serving as the Prime Minister of Turkey, Erdoğan's AKP made references to the Ottoman era during election campaigns, such as calling their supporters 'grandchildren of Ottomans' (Osmanlı torunu).{{cite web|url=http://www.taraf.com.tr/politika/akpnin-sarkisinda-uzun-adam-gitti-osmanli-torunu-geldi/|title=AKP'nin şarkısında 'Uzun adam' gitti 'Osmanlı torunu' geldi ! – Taraf Gazetesi|author=Oktay Özilhan|work=Taraf Gazetesi|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208184432/http://www.taraf.com.tr/politika/akpnin-sarkisinda-uzun-adam-gitti-osmanli-torunu-geldi/|archive-date=8 February 2015}} This proved controversial, since it was perceived to be an open attack against the republican nature of modern Turkey founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In 2015, Erdoğan made a statement in which he endorsed the old Ottoman term külliye to refer to university campuses rather than the standard Turkish word kampüs.{{cite web|url=http://www.ilk-kursun.com/haber/212703/erdogan-kampus-degil-kulliye/|title=Erdoğan: Kampus değil, külliye|work=ilk-kursun.com|access-date=17 September 2021|archive-date=3 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603024620/http://www.ilk-kursun.com/haber/212703/erdogan-kampus-degil-kulliye/|url-status=dead}} Many critics have thus accused Erdoğan of wanting to become an Ottoman sultan and abandon the secular and democratic credentials of the Republic.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/recep-tayyip-erdogan-the-new-sultan-now-has-a-new-palace--and-it-has-cost-turkish-taxpayers-400m-9841319.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/recep-tayyip-erdogan-the-new-sultan-now-has-a-new-palace--and-it-has-cost-turkish-taxpayers-400m-9841319.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The 'new sultan' now has a new palace – and it has cost Turkish taxpayers £400m|work=The Independent}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/erdogan-is-turkeys-new-sultan-1407865770|title=Erdogan Is Turkey's New Sultan – WSJ|date=13 August 2014|work=WSJ}}{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21612237-recep-tayyip-erdogans-plans-presidency-next-sultan|title=The next sultan?|date=16 August 2014|newspaper=The Economist}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11380281/Turkeys-president-is-not-acting-like-the-Queen-he-is-acting-like-a-sultan.html|title='Turkey's president is not acting like the Queen – he is acting like a sultan'|date=2 February 2015|work=Telegraph.co.uk|last1=Akkoc|first1=Raziye}} The American philosopher, Noam Chomsky, said that "Erdoğan in Turkey is basically trying to create something like the Ottoman Caliphate, with him as caliph, supreme leader, throwing his weight around all over the place, and destroying the remnants of democracy in Turkey at the same time".{{cite news |last=Barsamian |first=David |author-link=David Barsamian |url=https://chomsky.info/20201010-2/ |title=Noam Chomsky Discusses Azeri Aggression on Artsakh |work=Chomsky.info |date=2020-10-10 |access-date=2021-01-10 |quote= Erdogan in Turkey is basically trying to create something like the Ottoman Caliphate, with him as caliph, supreme leader, throwing his weight around all over the place, and destroying the remnants of democracy in Turkey at the same time, Chomsky said }}

When pressed on this issue in January 2015, Erdoğan rejected these claims and told TRT that he would aim to fill a role more similar to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11380355/Turkish-president-Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-I-want-to-be-like-Queen-of-UK.html|title=Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan: I want to be like Queen of UK|date=30 January 2015|work=Telegraph.co.uk|last1=Akkoc|first1=Raziye}} explaining, "In my opinion, even the UK is a semi-presidency. And the dominant element is the Queen".{{Cite web|last=AFP|title=Erdogan wants to be like Queen Elizabeth|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/erdogan-wants-to-be-like-queen-of-england/|access-date=2021-11-04 |website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US}}

In July 2020, after the Council of State annulled the Cabinet's 1934 decision to establish the Hagia Sophia as museum and revoking the monument's status, Erdoğan ordered its reclassification as a mosque.{{cite web |author1=Bethan McKernan |title=Erdoğan leads first prayers at Hagia Sophia museum reverted to mosque |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/24/erdogan-prayers-hagia-sophia-museum-turned-mosque |website=The Guardian |access-date=2 February 2021 |language=English |date=July 25, 2020}}{{Cite web|date=2020-07-10|title=Presidential Decree on the opening of Hagia Sophia to worship promulgated on the Official Gazette|url=http://wt.iletisim.gov.tr/english/haberler/detay/presidential-decree-on-the-opening-of-hagia-sophia-to-worship-promulgated-on-the-official-gazette-of-the-republic-of-turkey/|access-date=2020-07-17|work=Presidency of the Republic of Turkey: Directorate of Communications|language=en|archive-date=5 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405032850/https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/english/haberler/detay/presidential-decree-on-the-opening-of-hagia-sophia-to-worship-promulgated-on-the-official-gazette-of-the-republic-of-turkey|url-status=dead}} The 1934 decree was ruled to be unlawful under both Ottoman and Turkish law as Hagia Sophia's waqf, endowed by Sultan Mehmed II, had designated the site a mosque; proponents of the decision argued the Hagia Sophia was the personal property of the sultan.{{cite news|date=2020-07-10|title=Turkey's Erdogan says Hagia Sophia becomes mosque after court ruling|work=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/10/turkeys-erdogan-says-hagia-sophia-becomes-mosque-after-court-ruling.html|access-date=2020-07-24}} This redesignation is controversial, invoking condemnation from the Turkish opposition, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches, the Holy See, and many other international leaders.{{cite news|date=11 July 2020|title=Church body wants Hagia Sophia decision reversed|language=en|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53375739|access-date=13 July 2020}}{{cite news|date=12 July 2020|title=Pope 'pained' by Hagia Sophia mosque decision|language=en|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53371341|access-date=13 July 2020}}{{cite news|date=10 July 2020|title=World reacts to Turkey reconverting Hagia Sophia into a mosque|language=en|work=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/world-reacts-turkey-reconverting-hagia-sophia-mosque-200710135637861.html|access-date=10 July 2020}} In August 2020, he also signed the order that transferred the administration of The Chora to the Directorate of Religious Affairs to open it for worship as a mosque.{{cite web | url = https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2020/gundem/son-dakika-istanbuldaki-kariye-camii-ibadete-aciliyor-5998871/ | title = Kariye Camii ibadete açılıyor | newspaper = Sözcü | date = 21 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200821084710/https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2020/gundem/son-dakika-istanbuldaki-kariye-camii-ibadete-aciliyor-5998871/ | archive-date = 21 August 2020}} Initially converted to a mosque by the Ottomans, the building had then been designated as a museum by the government since 1934.{{cite web |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/court-ruling-converting-turkish-museum-to-mosque-could-set-precedent-for-hagia-sophia |title=Court Ruling Converting Turkish Museum to Mosque Could Set Precedent for Hagia Sophia |last=Yackley |first=Ayla |date=3 December 2019 |publisher=The Art Newspaper |access-date=9 December 2019}}

On August 26, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave a speech, saying that "in our civilization, conquest is not occupation or looting. It is establishing the dominance of the justice that Allah commanded in the region. First of all, our nation removed the oppression from the areas that it conquered. It established justice. This is why our civilization is one of conquest. Turkey will take what is its right in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Aegean Sea, and in the Black Sea.{{cite web |url=https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-turkish-conquest-is-spreading-the-justice-of-allah-erdogan-says/#disqus_thread|title=WATCH: Turkish conquest is spreading the justice of Allah, Erdogan says |date=6 September 2020 |publisher=World Israel News|access-date=18 November 2022}}

Neo-Ottomanism

Overview

History

See also

References

Further reading