Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  opens Taksim Square mosque

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a large mosque in Istanbul. It was built after many years of court battles and public debate over building a large Mosque in the heart of the city.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a large mosque in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Friday. He fulfilled his decades-old goal to build a Mosque in the heart of Turkey’s largest city.

Pakistani FM Qureshi reaffirms Pakistan’s ties with Iraq

The mosque has a 30-meter (98-feet) high dome depicting the Ottoman and contemporary arch. Almost 4,000 people can pray together and it is visible from almost any point in the city.

Taksim Mosque now occupies a prominent place among the symbols of Istanbul,” President Erdogan said after performing Friday prayers.

“God willing, it will stay until the end of time.”

Thousands of Muslims turned up to pray at the mosque. Many were seen performing prayers in the square of the mosque as the mosque filled up quickly.

Story Behind Why was the mosque built?

In 1994 Erdogan became the mayor of Istanbul. A devout Muslim criticized the absence of a mosque in Taksim Square at that time. He emphasized that the Orthodox church is the only visible religious site in the area.

“There wasn’t even a prayer room and the Muslims had to offer a prayer on newspapers on the ground,” Erdogan said at the inauguration. A video was played at the event where Erdogan in 1994 promised to build a mosque on the exact spot where it now stands.

However, the project was delayed for decades in court battles and public debate. The Opponents argued it was an attempt to impose a religious tone on the square. It also undermined the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the secular-oriented Turkish republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Critics also blamed Erdogan for trying to “Islamicize” Turkey and displace Ataturk’s legacy. There was a cultural center in Taksim Square which was dedicated to Ataturk but has been demolished and is being replaced by a new structure that will feature an opera house.

Last year in 2020, President Erdogan reconverted Hagia Sophia, for centuries the world’s largest church into a mosque.