Tbw, HagiaSophia isn't an issue that affects IndianMuslims directly. At max,it's a development on which we just had to register our agreement/disagreement.
This insignificant stance,however,speaks significantly about what we've learnt from our history,experiences & value system.+

2-Hence, it’s disappointing that we chose to make it yet another topic to pull each other down, call names, assign motives. Disappointing yes, surprising? no! We have so successfully circumvented any possibility to reason, engage, learn, unlearn,that it’s a almost a policy now.+

3-My views: HS has no religious significance per se for Muslims. At best, it is a stunning reminder of a glorious victory of Ottomon Emperor Mehmet II. When Turks took down the impregnable walls of Constantinople to end the Byzantine Empire. A symbol of religious confluences.+

4-Every historical instance is understood in reference to those times and norms. In those times, State and Religion weren’t decoupled. A victory of an empire was automatically a victory of the religion of the emperor. Current times don't conform to that worldview.+

5-Hence those back and forth conversions of people/places of worship/practices weren’t judged by the current yardsticks. “Where were you when Cordoba mosque was turned into a Church” argument is as substandard as much it’s funny. I'm not from those times, I live in current times+

6-Using an event of 13th century to make a counter for something that’s happening RIGHT NOW?
Muslims have always expressed their pain to see Cordoba’s conversion to a cathedral. Doing the same to HS is justice? Or an imitation of a gross wrong.+

7-Ataturk's decision to convert the mosque into a museum can be debated as right or wrong, but it’s now a part of Turkish history. He did what he did. Waters of current politics can’t be used to wash off instances of history you don’t agree with. +

8-“to correct a historical wrong” you say? Is there acount of historical wrongs? Is there a rule of precedence?How is a conversion of a lifeless monument a bigger wrong than the ones that soaked the earth wet with blood of innocents?Are we ready to correct all historical wrongs?+

9-History, used as a weapon for present will only stab the future. We learn through our history, we try to create new chapters to beautify our book of history, we don’t cut-copy-paste old chapters in new context. We can see around us what such a policy means.+

10-One of the most repulsive part of this whole debate has been the invisibilization of Christian minorities of Turkey.Failure to even factor in their emotions is in stark contrast with our expectations from majority to be more aware/vocal about the plight of Indian minorities.+

11-It’s not just naïve but also hypocritical to not even consider that Erdogan might be using it as a political card.We’ve seen it from close quarters how public sentiments and religious symbols are slushed in a nice majoritarian cocktail. Why can’t we extend our wisdom to this?+

12-Most atrocious argument thrown at me was that im such a shameless Muslim that I’ll also favour the conversion of Kaaba to butkhana.This is topnotch guilt-trapping to shut someone. You hit where it hurt the most but you only expose your own shallow beliefs. Allah is my judge.+

13-Disagreement over a view can’t be a given ground to cast aspersions on someone’s integrity. You are trying to please the libbus, you are trying to appear secular,are you even a Muslim – all make for nice retort in your echochamber, but in reality it exposes your shallowness. +

14-I didn’t make any comparison with Babri. I tried to avoid any equivalences at all. I just appealed to the basic moral thumbrule : Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even then my basic faith was attacked which no one had a right to do.+

15- Not that it matters, it has served as a reality check for me. It made be to ask - what stops us from doing the exact wrongs and crimes we are victim of? that we are powerless to replicate it? or that it's not what we stand for?
There are no clear answers.

/ends.

there are many typos in the whole thread.
please ignore them.

Here’s what Erdogan tweeted on Jul 10 from his Arabic handle.
“Reviving the Hagia Sophia is an omen for the return of freedom of the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
I won’t be surprised if some of you will actually believe this.

Of course, it is not using religion for propaganda, or is it?