Religion in Turkey

　　土耳其的宗教

　　ON JULY 5th the mufti of Trabzon gathered with other citizens for the first Friday prayers ofthe holy fasting month of Ramadan, not at a mosque but at an ancient Byzantine church. Thegathering was a symbolic re-enactment of the conquest in 1462 of this ancient Greek BlackSea port by Mehmet II, the Ottoman sultan who had wrested Constantinople from theByzantines in 1453. He marked his victory by converting the Haghia Sophia cathedral oftodays Istanbul into a mosque.

　　7月5日特拉布宗的穆夫提和其他居民一道參加齋月的一個星期五禮拜，他們聚會的地方不是清真寺而是一座古老的拜占庭教堂。這次集會象征性地重演了1462年奧斯曼蘇丹穆罕默德二世攻占這個古老的希臘黑海港口。穆罕默德二世于1453年奪取了拜占庭的君士坦丁堡。為了紀念勝利，他把今天伊斯坦布爾的圣索菲亞大教堂變成一座清真寺。

　　Haghia Sophias sister of the same name in Trabzon is less grand. Yet with its dazzlingfrescoes and magnificent setting overlooking the sea, the 13th-century building is regardedas one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture. As with other Christian monuments,the Haghia Sophia in Trabzon has become a symbol in the battle between secularists andIslamists. It was converted into a mosque around the 16th century and, after otherincarnations, became a museum in 1964. But the Islamists won the last round in 2023 when alocal court accepted the claim by the General Directorate of the Pious Foundations, thegovernment body responsible for Turkeys historic mosques, that the Haghia Sophia belongedto the foundation of Mehmet II and was being illegally occupied by the culture ministry.

　　特拉布宗也有圣索菲亞大教堂，其規模不如伊斯坦布爾的那座恢宏。它有精美的壁畫，從這座教堂可以俯瞰大海。這座建于13世紀的教堂堪稱拜占庭建筑的典范。特拉布宗的圣索菲亞大教堂還有其他的基督教遺跡成了世俗主義者和伊斯蘭教徒沖突的象征。16世紀左右，這座教堂成了清真寺，1964年又變成了博物館。最后還是伊斯蘭教徒贏了，2023年當地法庭接受了虔信基金會總局提出的訴求：圣索菲亞大教堂是穆罕默德二世創建的，正遭受文化部的非法侵占。

　　The decision provoked surprising anger in a city notorious for its ultra-nationalist views. Itsabout erasing the Christian past, reviving Ottomanism, says a local historian. There areenough mosques in Trabzon, half of them empty, what was the need? chimes in Zeki Bakar,a neighborhood councillor. A lawsuit has been brought to undo the conversion.

　　這座城市因為極端民族主義觀點而聲名狼藉，這個決定叫人光火。當地的一位歷史學家說：這是抹煞基督教的歷史，復辟奧斯曼主義。Zeki Bakar的社區委員附和說：特拉布宗的清真寺夠用了，半數清真寺是空著的，還差這一個嗎?已經有人提出訴訟，要法庭改變這個決定。

　　Even so, the mildly Islamist Justice and Development government carried out theconversion in time for Ramadan. A red carpet now obscures exquisite floor mosaics.Shutters and tents beneath the central dome shield Muslim worshippers from sinfulpaintings of the Holy Trinity. Shiny steel taps with plastic stools for ablutions clutter aonce-verdant garden filled with ancient sculptures.

　　即便如此，為了過齋月，溫和的伊斯蘭教正義和發展黨掌權的政府還是把教堂變成了清真寺。現在紅地毯蓋上了地板上精致的圖案。中央穹頂下面的百葉窗和帷幕把做禮拜的穆斯林和 罪惡的三位一體水彩畫隔離開來。從前翠綠的花園里有古老的雕塑，現在為了齋戒沐浴，裝了帶著閃亮水龍頭的塑料凳。

　　Mazhar Yildirimhan of the Pious Foundations Directorates office in Trabzon shrugs offcomplaints as propaganda. But for experts the conversion is tragic, and will inevitablylead to damaging the building. It seems to follow closely that of Haghia Sophia in Iznik,warns Antony Eastmond of the Courtauld Institute of Art, referring to another conversion.

　　虔信基金會總局駐特拉布宗辦公室的Mazhar Yildirimhan對抗議不屑一顧，認為這種抗議在蠱惑人心。在專家看來，教堂變清真寺是個悲劇，必然會給這座建筑造成破壞。考特奧德藝術學院的AntonyEastmond警告說：伊茲尼克的圣索菲亞教堂成為清真寺的日子可能不遠了。

　　All this is prompting anxiety that the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul will be next. These fearsare overdone. Restoration work on the famous basilica has continued under a decade of AKrule and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, has dismissed worries about its fate. YetMr Yildirimhan makes no secret of his desire for a conversion, which he says is shared byfellow Muslims. It was ordained by the sultan, he says. We have all the records.

　　這些都讓人們越發擔憂伊斯坦布爾的圣索菲亞教堂將成為下一個。這些擔心有點過頭了。在伊斯蘭教正義和發展黨和總理雷杰普?塔伊普?埃爾多安十年執政期間，對著名大教堂的修復工作一直在持續。然而Yildirimhan先生沒有掩飾把教堂變成清真寺的愿望，他說這也是穆斯林教胞的心愿：這是蘇丹下令建造的建筑，所有的記錄我們都有。

　　Religion in Turkey

　　土耳其的宗教

　　ON JULY 5th the mufti of Trabzon gathered with other citizens for the first Friday prayers ofthe holy fasting month of Ramadan, not at a mosque but at an ancient Byzantine church. Thegathering was a symbolic re-enactment of the conquest in 1462 of this ancient Greek BlackSea port by Mehmet II, the Ottoman sultan who had wrested Constantinople from theByzantines in 1453. He marked his victory by converting the Haghia Sophia cathedral oftodays Istanbul into a mosque.

　　7月5日特拉布宗的穆夫提和其他居民一道參加齋月的一個星期五禮拜，他們聚會的地方不是清真寺而是一座古老的拜占庭教堂。這次集會象征性地重演了1462年奧斯曼蘇丹穆罕默德二世攻占這個古老的希臘黑海港口。穆罕默德二世于1453年奪取了拜占庭的君士坦丁堡。為了紀念勝利，他把今天伊斯坦布爾的圣索菲亞大教堂變成一座清真寺。

　　Haghia Sophias sister of the same name in Trabzon is less grand. Yet with its dazzlingfrescoes and magnificent setting overlooking the sea, the 13th-century building is regardedas one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture. As with other Christian monuments,the Haghia Sophia in Trabzon has become a symbol in the battle between secularists andIslamists. It was converted into a mosque around the 16th century and, after otherincarnations, became a museum in 1964. But the Islamists won the last round in 2023 when alocal court accepted the claim by the General Directorate of the Pious Foundations, thegovernment body responsible for Turkeys historic mosques, that the Haghia Sophia belongedto the foundation of Mehmet II and was being illegally occupied by the culture ministry.

　　特拉布宗也有圣索菲亞大教堂，其規模不如伊斯坦布爾的那座恢宏。它有精美的壁畫，從這座教堂可以俯瞰大海。這座建于13世紀的教堂堪稱拜占庭建筑的典范。特拉布宗的圣索菲亞大教堂還有其他的基督教遺跡成了世俗主義者和伊斯蘭教徒沖突的象征。16世紀左右，這座教堂成了清真寺，1964年又變成了博物館。最后還是伊斯蘭教徒贏了，2023年當地法庭接受了虔信基金會總局提出的訴求：圣索菲亞大教堂是穆罕默德二世創建的，正遭受文化部的非法侵占。

　　The decision provoked surprising anger in a city notorious for its ultra-nationalist views. Itsabout erasing the Christian past, reviving Ottomanism, says a local historian. There areenough mosques in Trabzon, half of them empty, what was the need? chimes in Zeki Bakar,a neighborhood councillor. A lawsuit has been brought to undo the conversion.

　　這座城市因為極端民族主義觀點而聲名狼藉，這個決定叫人光火。當地的一位歷史學家說：這是抹煞基督教的歷史，復辟奧斯曼主義。Zeki Bakar的社區委員附和說：特拉布宗的清真寺夠用了，半數清真寺是空著的，還差這一個嗎?已經有人提出訴訟，要法庭改變這個決定。

　　Even so, the mildly Islamist Justice and Development government carried out theconversion in time for Ramadan. A red carpet now obscures exquisite floor mosaics.Shutters and tents beneath the central dome shield Muslim worshippers from sinfulpaintings of the Holy Trinity. Shiny steel taps with plastic stools for ablutions clutter aonce-verdant garden filled with ancient sculptures.

　　即便如此，為了過齋月，溫和的伊斯蘭教正義和發展黨掌權的政府還是把教堂變成了清真寺。現在紅地毯蓋上了地板上精致的圖案。中央穹頂下面的百葉窗和帷幕把做禮拜的穆斯林和 罪惡的三位一體水彩畫隔離開來。從前翠綠的花園里有古老的雕塑，現在為了齋戒沐浴，裝了帶著閃亮水龍頭的塑料凳。

　　Mazhar Yildirimhan of the Pious Foundations Directorates office in Trabzon shrugs offcomplaints as propaganda. But for experts the conversion is tragic, and will inevitablylead to damaging the building. It seems to follow closely that of Haghia Sophia in Iznik,warns Antony Eastmond of the Courtauld Institute of Art, referring to another conversion.

　　虔信基金會總局駐特拉布宗辦公室的Mazhar Yildirimhan對抗議不屑一顧，認為這種抗議在蠱惑人心。在專家看來，教堂變清真寺是個悲劇，必然會給這座建筑造成破壞。考特奧德藝術學院的AntonyEastmond警告說：伊茲尼克的圣索菲亞教堂成為清真寺的日子可能不遠了。

　　All this is prompting anxiety that the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul will be next. These fearsare overdone. Restoration work on the famous basilica has continued under a decade of AKrule and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, has dismissed worries about its fate. YetMr Yildirimhan makes no secret of his desire for a conversion, which he says is shared byfellow Muslims. It was ordained by the sultan, he says. We have all the records.

　　這些都讓人們越發擔憂伊斯坦布爾的圣索菲亞教堂將成為下一個。這些擔心有點過頭了。在伊斯蘭教正義和發展黨和總理雷杰普?塔伊普?埃爾多安十年執政期間，對著名大教堂的修復工作一直在持續。然而Yildirimhan先生沒有掩飾把教堂變成清真寺的愿望，他說這也是穆斯林教胞的心愿：這是蘇丹下令建造的建筑，所有的記錄我們都有。