Turkey: Erdogan links conversion of Hagia Sophia into mosque to ‚liberation of Al-Aqsa‘ – In a speech marking the conversion of the Hagia Sophia site into a mosque | i24NEWS

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday linked Ankara’s much-criticized decision to convert a Byzantine-era monument into a mosque with a pledge to „liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque“ in Jerusalem as part of an Islamic awakening.
Erdogan, who has steadily chipped away at the Muslim-majority country’s secularism, announced Muslim prayers on July 24 at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a magnet for tourists.