Victor Davis Hanson notes the difference between the manner in which Muslim conquerers have treated Christian holy places, and the manner in which Muslim holy places have been treated when conquered:
Built in Constantinople in the 6th century, Hagia Sophia ? Greek for ?Holy Wisdom? ? was Christendom?s greatest and most celebrated church. After parrying centuries of jihadi thrusts from Arabs, Constantinople was finally sacked by Turks in the jihad of 1453. Its crosses desecrated and icons defaced, this millennium-old church ? as well as thousands of other churches in the then Byzantine Empire ? was immediately converted into a mosque, the tall minarets of Islam surrounding it in triumph. (Ironically, when Benedict quoted a Byzantine emperor saying that Islam was spread by the sword, Muslims worldwide were outraged, more churches were desecrated and a nun was shot in the back.) As part of reformer Ataturk?s drive to modernize Turkey, Hagia Sophia was secularized and transformed into a museum in 1935.
Alongside St. Peter’s Basilica, Hagia Sophia was the most important Church in early Christianity and, after the split with Rome, the center of the Orthodox Church. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire, it was no more.
Contrast that with what happened in Jerusalem:
Contrast such Islamic intolerance with the tolerance granted Muslims in regards to their Aqsa mosque. Just as with emperor Justinian?s Hagia Sophia annexed by Islam, the Aqsa Mosque is a Muslim site annexed by Judaism. But unlike the permanent Muslim desecration of Hagia Sophia, one of Christendom?s holiest sites, after Israel?s victory in the 1967 war, the Jews did not deface or convert the Muslim mosque into a Jewish synagogue or temple ? even though the Aqsa mosque is deliberately built atop the remains of the Temple Mount, the most important site in Judaeo-Christian eschatology.
Moreover, since reclaiming the Temple Mount, Israel has granted Muslims control over the Aqsa mosque (except during times of crises). And under Muslim control, Christians and Jews are barred from freely worshipping anywhere near the mosque. Despite such concessions, jihad has been declared on Israel, while Muslims worldwide are simultaneously demanding ?justice? from the world body
Quite honestly, given the historical record, if anyone should be demanding justice, it is the Orthodox Church which saw it’s greatest church desecrated. As Hanson points out, herein lies the conflict. Christians have recognized, some would say conceded, the Muslim acquisition of Hagia Sophia, but the Muslim world refuses to concede that any inch of their territory has been conqured:
When Islamists wage jihad ? past, present, and future ? conquering and consolidating non-Muslim territories and centers in the name of Islam, never once considering to cede them back to their rightful owners, they ultimately demonstrate that they live by the age-old adage that ?might makes right.? That?s fine; many peoples agree with this Hobbesian view. But there must be consistency. In other words, if we live in a world where the strong rule and the weak submit, why is it that whenever Muslim regions are conquered, such as in the case of Palestine, the same Islamists who would never concede one inch of Islam?s conquests resort to the United Nations demanding ?justice,? ?restitutions,? ?rights,? and so forth?
Hanson goes on to criticize the Pope in his visit to Hagia Sophia for refraining from exhibiting any example of Christian worship, but I think that’s a bit unfair. The Byzantine Empire fell more than 500 years ago, and Christian dominance in what was once known as Constantinople went with it. It’s not coming back. To pretend that Hagia Sophia was still a Holy place would have been a farce.
