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Opinion

Life

The cost of staying silent on Hagia Sophia

The date 24 July 2020 will go down in modern Turkish history as the day Turkey buried its founder Kemal Ataturk’s secular legacy. For Christians, the day will hitherto represent …

Dialogue

Hagia Sophia reactions on mosaics, whores and prostitutes

I freely admit to deriving much enjoyment from listening to Sakarya University History Professor Ebubekir (P)sofuoğlu’s (the P may or may not be silent) enlightened ruminations. The depth of learning …

Dialogue

Why Hagia Sophia remains a potent symbol of spiritual and political authority

Since its origins in the sixth century A.D, the Hagia Sophia has served as a church, a mosque, and, since 1934, a museum. But on July 10, the Turkish government …

Dialogue

Hagia Sophia’s conversion to a mosque is as much an affront to Kemal as it is to Christianity

To the world, the Hagia Sophia museum is a hologram monument that belongs to all and means different things to different people depending on their perspective. For nationalist Turks, Hagia …

Dialogue

Islamic view of the conversion of Hagia Sophia

We need to work together to convince President Erdogan not to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque in Istanbul. Hagia Sophia was built as a Church and a pride of …

Dialogue

Two weeks into Melbourne’s lockdown, why aren’t COVID-19 case numbers going down?

Fourteen days after Melbourne was put back into lockdown, the latest daily tally of 484 new cases in Victoria makes for dispiriting reading. Why have the numbers stubbornly refused to go down, …

Dialogue

Energy isn’t just electricity – the common mistake obscuring the mammoth task of decarbonisation

One of the first things I teach students is the difference between energy and electricity. Electricity is a particular form of energy, but often the two words are used interchangeably. …

Dialogue

Art for trying times: Titian’s The Death of Actaeon, the capriciousness of fate and COVID-19

Why do bad things happen to good people? It is a question that seems particularly pertinent during times of pandemic. Disease is no respecter of virtue. It is just as …

Dialogue

Has the coronavirus proved a crisis too far for Europe’s far-right outsiders?

In recent years, far-right political parties in Europe have capitalised on crises to build their support bases. Many have made it to positions of power as a result of these …

Dialogue

Hagia Sophia, community reacts to the Islamization of a great symbol of Orthodoxy

An insult The Turkish government’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage Site, into a mosque is unacceptable and confrontational. This action is not only a direct insult to …

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