# Does Istanbul need the Hagia Sophia as a mosque?

*No need for a new mosque: the Blue Mosque four minutes away, and the drama over hearing the adhan*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/bgsfy-umsa4/s/6/
- Date: 2020-07-16 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Why converting the Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a mistake | Mufti Abu Layth (15:48–18:26)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgsfy-UmSA4&t=948s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/bgsfy-umsa4/

**Topics:** Middle East and the wider world; Public law and governance

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** No: the Blue Mosque, with room for at least ten thousand, is a four-minute walk away and hundreds of Istanbul mosques already call the adhan, so the emotional reaction to hearing the adhan there is misplaced.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says there is no need for the Hagia Sophia as a mosque, since the Blue Mosque, with room for at least ten thousand, is a four-minute walk away and hundreds of Istanbul mosques already call the adhan.

**Evidence, his words at 16:27:** “there is no need for a new masjid we don't have a need first of all i'm just trying to eliminate that aspect there is no need” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgsfy-UmSA4&t=987s)

## Longer summary

Showing a map, Mufti Abu Layth says the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Blue Mosque, is a four-minute walk from the Hagia Sophia and holds at least ten thousand people, so there is no need for a new mosque; he wants to eliminate the argument of need first. He then takes the argument that, since it used to be a mosque and Turkey is democratically a country of Muslims, Turks have the right to convert it back. He mocks those who were moved to tears at hearing the adhan from the Hagia Sophia, saying every mosque in Istanbul, including the large one opposite, announces the adhan five times a day, and tells them to stop acting as if they had never heard it.

## Sources and names cited

- the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque
- adhan

## Transcript (machine tier, 15:48–18:26)

[15:09] they weren't even in the middle east so much later on when they established they were more so in eastern europe but they had nothing you know the way we pitched today it's presented like this dream image oh they were like sure i mean they were muslim and i'm not saying that they didn't respect islam i'm sure in their own way they respected islam just as muslims today respect islam but they weren't symbols of islam yeah if if that makes sense to you you're not going to see today countries like you know is i don't know do you but even they don't so yes so

[15:48] the problem with this with this converting uh uh the aya sofia first of all this has if you see right just one moment if i bring here you can see people will say that look i'd like to uh you can see here that uh this is a the quality didn't come up well here but you've got here the blue masjid here the sultan ahmed masjid by walking on foot is a four minute walk from the isofia

[16:27] a four minute walk [Laughter] four minutes that's how it is literally just in front of it right now there is no need for a new masjid we don't have a need first of all i'm just trying to eliminate that aspect there is no need okay the sultan ahmed masjid the blue mosque famous blue mask has the capacity of at least 10 000 people inside it it's a huge masjid um so first of all just to clarify it's not a need basis i just want to get that out

[17:06] the way the second thing is that people might say okay there isn't a need but this used to be a mosque so we have the huck as turks in the country turkey it is a muslim it is a country of muslims by population democratically speaking we can convert it back can we not but then i will say to you and this i'm saying to all muslims who are supporting this yeah you know and they're acting all emotional oh my god the ayah sophia had the adhan [Laughter] are

[17:46] stupid i'm not going to let you get that that is so stupid because every masjid in in istanbul has got the adhaan you know it's like oh my god we've heard the adhan from the eyes of fear oh my god i'm so emotional you know that large blue masjid over there what is that announcing what are all these other hundreds of masjids in istanbul announcing every day five times a day the adhan stop acting like you've never heard the adhan stop being such a drama queen you know this whole thing people saying

[18:22] oh my god oh my god oh my god look i want to say to all these people who are having this cathartic moment of joy and they're saying well we have the legal right because democratically there are more muslims i mean there's atheists and christians there as well but there are more muslims in turkey clearly and therefore it's under our jurisdiction we can turn it into a mosque this thing which which i will call the thracemaking rule that's so you know thrasymachus who was a contemporary of socrates he believed that might was right that if

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment Bgsfy-UmSA4/s/6. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/bgsfy-umsa4/s/6/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.