Most Irrational Usage of the Term 'Normalisation'

I spotted this headline:

I think that is a most irrational usage of the term 'normalisation'.

The most normal thing would be for Jews, and, by the way, Christians, to benefit from the normal right of religious freedom of worship, and be able to pray at the Temple Mount. To read from the Bible there.

No Moslem structure need fear demolition or damage. 

No Moslem need fear his/her own freedom of worship will be restricted.

It is normal that persons who have religious sites can worship at them respectfully.

In fact, that is what Moslems want, and campaign for, at Cordoba.

And in Turkey, a church that, in a compromise, had been declared a 'museum', has now been turned into a mosque.

Those actions are not normal.

But, perhaps then, Islam and Islamists are abnormal?

^

Islamic Prayers Said in Hagia Sophia

I have blogged multiple times about a contradiction in Muslim attitude toward Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount.

The Islamic Waqf authority emphatically denies Jews the right of freedom of worship at the location of the Two Temples, Judaism`s most sacred site. Yet at the same time, they act to pray at the Cordoba Cathedral in Spain and the Hagia Sophia in Turkey.

In other words, churches that became mosques due to Muslim conquest, must be at the disposal of Muslims as mosques even though they have been returned to their normal state.

But a Jewish holy site that was turned into a mosque must not be allowed to revert to a Jewish synaggoue even thought the Jews returned that site to Jewish authority.

The news?

Turkey Uses Hagia Sophia as Mosque for Islamic Prayer AgainBy Philip Chrysopoulos
The Islamic call to prayer was heard in what was once the center of Orthodoxy, Hagia Sophia, on Monday, as a video calling the former Byzantine cathedral “Hagia Sophia Mosque” on Youtube shows...This is the third year in a row that similar acts challenging the supposed status of Hagia Sophia as a secular museum have taken place in March.
...Hagia Sophia was built in 537 and served for nearly a thousand years as the cathedral of the Byzantine Empire, later to become the Greek Orthodox Christian Patriarchal Cathedral. It was converted to an Ottoman mosque on May 29, 1453, just after the fall of Constantinople, and it remained a mosque until 1931. Four years later, the iconic Byzantine basilica, once the very symbolof Greek Orthodoxy, began operating as a museum, after a decision by the first Turkish President and founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

...The use of the museum as a place of worship since 1931 has been strictly prohibited. However, in 2006 the Turkish government allowed the allocation of a small room in the museum complex to be used as a prayer room for Christian and Muslim museum staff, and since 2013 the muezzin singsthe call to prayer twice per day, in the afternoon from the minarets of the museum.

...In May of 2017 the Anatolia Youth Association (AGD) organized a gathering in front of Hagia Sophia for morning prayers and called for the re-conversion of the museum into a mosque...On March 31, 2018 Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan recited the first verse of the Quran in Hagia Sophia, dedicating the prayer to the “souls of all who left us this work as inheritance, especiallyIstanbul’s conqueror,” reiterating his position to make Hagia Sophia a mosque once again.

In March 2019 Erdogan said that he will change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque...

^

Was That Really Published?

Was this actually published?

Israel Reacts to New Muslim Prayer, Koran Reading on the Temple Mount

The Israel government reacted to Wednesday’s reading of the Koran and Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in a new mosque constructed at the former Barclay Gate next the current Mugrahbi Gate.

On Wednesday, there was a regular call to prayer, and the call to prayer was attended by the President of Religious Affairs in the Palestinian Authority and was broadcast by Authority's television.

In a statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry stressed that the Temple Mount is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and therefore an attempt to alter the status quo bu creating a new mosque is an insult to the international community. The ministry notified UNESCO of the issue and Deputy Foreign Minister Tzippy Hotobely met with a high UNESCO official today (Thursday).

The statement characterizes the Waqf action as “a manifestly unacceptable challenge to the religious sentiment of all peoples who honor the cultural heritage of mankind.”

“We call upon the Palestinian Authority to show the attitude of a modern and democratic country and to protect the universal character of the Temple Mount, respecting the long-standing tradition of this universal monument,” the Foreign Ministry’s announcement concluded.

No.

This was what was published:

Greece Reacts to New Muslim Prayer, Koran Reading in Hagia SophiaBy Philip Chrysopoulos - Jun 22, 2017

The Greek government reacted to Wednesday’s reading of the Koran and Muslim prayer in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, despite the strictly secular museum character of the monument.

On Wednesday, there was a regular call to prayer, as is the case in all mosques, with the only difference being that the gates did not open for the faithful to enter. However, the call to prayer was attended by the President of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez and broadcast by state television TRT-Diyanet.

In a statement, Greece’s Foreign Ministry stressed that Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and therefore an attempt to turn it into a mosque is an insult to the international community. The ministry notified UNESCO of the issue and Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Amanatidis met with a high UNESCO official today (Thursday).

The statement characterizes the Turkish action as “a manifestly unacceptable challenge to the religious sentiment of all Christians and those who honor the cultural heritage of mankind.”

“We call upon Turkey to show the attitude of a modern and democratic country and to protect the universal character of Hagia Sophia, respecting the long-standing tradition of this universal monument,” the Foreign Ministry’s announcement concluded.

You weren't really fooled, were you? 

__________

Additional perspective.


^

As Goes the Hagia Sophia Church...

In trying to explain the inanity of the situation as regards the Temple Mount whereby Muslims deny Jews even the right to campaign for Jewish rights within the walled compound when they do that very well for themselves at the Cordoba Cathedral in Spain, I also mention Turkey's Hagia Sophia Church.

I have now seen this report from which I quote:

The church of Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") in Istanbul for centuries, was ground zero for Orthodox Christians. Here the Roman emperors were crowned, after Constantine moved his capital here in 324 AD.

Mohammed recognized the significance of the city, and the hadith report him saying, "Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be.” 

Indeed it was day of rejoicing for Muslims when Constantinople fell to them in 1453 and was renamed Istanbul. Hagia Sophia was converted into the most important mosque of the Islamic caliphate...Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern, secular Turkey, turned Hagia Sophia into a museum. The ancient Christian frescoes were uncovered, and visitors today can see Mary, the "mother of God" right alongside the more recently added calligraphy reading "Allah" and "Mohammed."



This week come new reports of rising public pressure in Turkey to turn Hagia Sophia back into a functioning mosque:

Onder Soy, the new imam of the Hunkar Kasri, part of the Hagia Sophia complex, recently led the first friday Muslim prayers there in 80 years, sparking enormous joy and excitement among many Muslims...

"We see that Erdogan is after an imperial presidency. And what better place to finalize this than a prayer session at the Hagia Sophia and converting it back to a mosque? This will be just like how the sultans' inaugurations were done — and all Turkish soap opera audiences know that."

In addition, 

...several believers who were interviewed on television Oct. 21 after the first Friday prayers at the complex said this access was not enough. One commented, “We are calling upon the president: Please open the Hagia Sophia as a mosque again so we can pray freely.” Below are a few examples from hundreds of jubilant comments on social media.

Political commentator Savci Sayan, who is known for his adoration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tweeted, “I am dreaming of the president leading the Friday prayer at Hagia Sophia. And I am praying for this dream to come true. #LetUsPray.”

Another citizen tweeted, "Now there is an imam for the Hunkar Kasri of Hagia Sophia. The next order of business should be to open Hagia Sophia for believers."