Hagia Sophia Controversy

Turkey’s nationalist president had an important symbolic win for conservative Islam in 2020. In July, President Erdogan–backed by a Turkish court ruling–converted Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a working mosque. When the switch was about to happen, many European countries and scholars objected. University of Pittsburgh anthropologist Tugba Tanyeri Erdemir was among them. (Originally aired Jul 9, 2020).