A new provocative move was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, essentially saying that he is not intimidated by the verbal reactions to his actions.
Shortly before the EU summit and a few days after the decision of the European Council, which condemned Turkey’s move to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Erdoğan decided to respond with an ostentatious move to seal the conversion of the monument into a mosque.
Turkish media report that “the Turkish president gifted to the Hagia Sophia Mosque” a plaque with verses from the Quran and specifically from Al-i İmran, praising Allah.
The plaque was placed on the wall of Hagia Sophia, near the pulpit.
At the bottom of the plaque is included the calligrapher’s name and the date. As reported by Turkish media: “It was dedicated to the Hagia Sophia-i Kebir-i Şerifi Mosque by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”
