Erdogan opens a famous mosque in Taksim Square in Istanbul | Political News

topglobe May 28, 2021

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Istanbul, Turkey – Thousands of worshipers gathered in the center of Taksim Square in Istanbul on Friday in anticipation of the inauguration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the new mosque.

The inauguration fulfilled a long-standing desire from various governments since the 1950s to build a mosque, often regarded as a symbol of the Turkish patriarch Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The opening coincided with a day to commemorate major anti-government protests, which began in nearby Gezi Park on May 28, 2013, as a result of government plans.

Pictures of the site show the first prayers at the mosque, which looks at a bronze statue and marble statue depicting the Ataturk, while worshipers sit on couches.

While urban workers provided masks and sanitiser, they were less crowded – although Turkey recently came out on COVID-19.

Erdogan’s arrival was met with applause as he lifted the crowd before entering.

People are watching President Erdogan from the big stage during the opening of the mosque [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

“We have been waiting for the mosque for a long time,” 68-year-old Mehmet Ali Karahacioglu told Al Jazeera.

“No one has been able to do that – only Erdogan. He is a special person to me. Taksim Square has a beautiful look right now – and I wish he could have built a mosque 50 years ago,” he said.

Speaking, Erdogan said he hoped it would “illuminate our city as an oil lamp for many years”.

Taksim is the most important part of Europe in Istanbul – connected to the main street, Istiklal, as well as buzz with vendors, tourists, workers and partygoers.

The area was home to religious minorities in Istanbul during the Ottoman period and there are several churches nearby, including the largest Greek Orthodox church, but only a large mosque.

“We didn’t have enough mosques around here, so that’s a good thing,” said Canan Kurtoglu, 53, who participated in the prayers and worked for the contractor who built the mosque’s doors.

For the opposition, however, a 28-foot-high[2 m]tower with two tall pillars runs through the site as an attempt by Erdogan, whose Justice and Development (AK) party has been in power since 2002, forcing religious and reckless rule in the area.

Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said on Twitter that “in view of the huge, symbolic mosques in his hometown … Erdogan seems determined to leave his memorable mark in Turkey”.

Looking at the huge, symbolic mosques in his hometown – with three “Erdogan” mosques, including the new Taksim Mosque overlooking and relocating to the center of Taksim Square in Istanbul – Erdogan seems determined to leave his memorable mark in Turkey #SultaninAutumn https://t.co/ThppVh9yH7

– Soner Cagaptay (@SonerCagaptay) May 28, 2021

Gezi Park Shows

Erdogan advocated the establishment of a mosque in the area since he was mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, however, the plans were frustrated by the military intervention in 1997 that overthrew the country’s Islamic state, as well as several legal and civil strife.

In a speech following the first prayers, Erdogan criticized Gezi’s protests that the mosque’s work had not been completed, saying it was “a moment when the terrorists attacked us”.

The Georgian protests were sparked by Erdogan’s idea of building a mansion designed as an Ottoman dormitory in a rare green area in the region, but a strong response from the police saw the spread of the country in riots that lasted for months.

Construction on the mosque began in 2017. The new 2,250 mosque is said to also have a display hall, library, soup kitchen and parking space.

It is the third religious institution to be established in the city recently by Erdogan.

The Camlica main mosque overlooking the city was opened in March 2019.

1,400-year-old Hagia Sophia, a former churchgoer before becoming a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and then a museum under Ataturk, was transformed into a mosque last year.

On the other side of the courtyard from the mosque was the Ataturk Cultural Center, a 1960s house where Gezi fighters hung with placards in 2013 but were demolished in 2019.

The building has now been replaced by the new Ataturk Cultural Center which will house an opera house, as well as exhibition halls, bars and restaurants.

“Erdogan has just built the mosque for political reasons,” said Can Aksoy, 40, a player who grew up living in the area.

“He built the house, just to show his strength because he can.”