Gone : The symbol of secularism in Turkey: The Hagia Sofia

Sunday, May 6, 2007

The symbol of secularism in Turkey: The Hagia Sofia

Even More Hagia Sofia, originally uploaded by oberazzi.

The Hagia Sofia in Istanbul was a Christian church that was converted into a mosque by the Turks in 1453 after they sacked Constantinople, the seat of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1935, the founder of modern Turkey, the secularist Ataturk, who abolished the Caliphate in 1924, converted the mosque into a museum.

About me

In fall 2007, I started working for the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank founded by Afghans based in Kabul, Afghanistan, to build Afghan policy research expertise.

In 2006 Palgrave published a book I cowrote, "Jihad and International Security," with Jalil Roshandel.

Now I'm watching what I see to be the last gasp of a nonviable movement: militant, insurgent jihadism. This movement has killed many more Muslims than polytheists, infidels, or non-Muslims. It has also done more to damage the image of Islam than any other force in 1400 years of Islamic history.

"Prior to 9/11, who in the modern West ever worried about Islam? The jihadists have succeeded in casting suspicion on an entire religion, a substantial percentage of the world’s population, and centuries of Islamic history, in addition to all the widows and orphans they have created.

"It is unfortunate that Muslims who don’t terrorize people can’t command headlines. But that’s the way the media operates, if it bleeds it leads."

Me, Sharon Chadha, in an interview by Pooja at Instablogs.