Milliyet daily of Turkey publicized the announcement by Mefail Hizli, the Mufti (official learned in Islamic law who is in charge of Islamic affairs) of Ankara, the Turkish capital city.
The announcement was addressed to Pope Francis, and in connection with his recent statement recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
Accordingly, Hizli said the Pontiff’s aforementioned statement will accelerate the activities toward reopening the Hagia Sophia—a former Greek Orthodox church, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey—as a mosque.
