Mass media: Erdogan vows to “liberate” Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Photo: venividi.ru

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “liberate the al-Aqsa mosque” in Jerusalem from Israeli control after “resurrecting Hagia Sophia”, the Jerusalem Post reported citing the website of the Turkish President.

According to the publication, the presidential website says that "the resurrection of Hagia Sophia is the footsteps of the will of Muslims across the world to come… the resurrection of Hagia Sophia is the reignition of the fire of hope of Muslims and all oppressed, wrong, downtrodden and exploited."

The publication notes that "the speech, which was in Turkish, was translated slightly differently to Arabic and English, apparently as a way to hide part of Ankara’s full views on how it has linked Hagia Sophia to a wider agenda."

In addition, the Jerusalem Post emphasizes that “in Arabic the speech says that turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque is part of the ‘return of al-Aqsa freedom’.” According to the publication, this means that “Israel should be ejected from controlling Jerusalem’s Old City where al-Aqsa is located."

Moreover, the Jerusalem Post writes that "the Turkish president linked the decision to reviving Islam from Bukhara in Uzbekistan to Andalusia in Spain."

“This terminology, linking al-Aqsa in Jerusalem to Hagia Sophia and Spain, is a kind of coded terminology for a wider religious agenda. In the Turkish translation the same reference to Spain does not appear to be included as in the Arabic.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that there were clashes between Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem.

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