ISTANBUL, Turkey – Istanbul’s skyline has changed rapidly over the years as towering new skyscrapers emerge and expansive bridges connect the metropolis spanning two continents.
Since 2019, the Grand Çamlıca Mosque, which spans 57,500 square meters (620,000 square feet) and has six minarets and a towering central dome, has been the most prominent structure on the Anatolian side of Turkey’s cultural capital.
Turkey’s largest mosque, built on the hill it is named after, opened to the public on March 7, 2019 as a place of worship and a symbol of national pride and Turkish national identity.
Aerial view of Camluca Mosque in Istanbul, the largest in Asia Minor, Turkey [File: Yasin Akgul/AFP]Since the founding of the modern republic by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923, Turkish nationalism has been defined primarily by religion and secular symbols that have distanced it from its Ottoman past.
As president of the early republic, Atatürk banned the Ottoman male headdress, the fez and turban, and later also banned the wearing of headscarves in state institutions. He also changed the Turkish language from Arabic to Latin, moved the capital from the Ottoman center of Constantinople (later known as Istanbul) to the newly founded Ankara, and replaced the Inquisition with a European-style legal system. Ta.
It is worth noting that the “headscarf ban” was overturned by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) when it came to power two decades ago, but religious symbols remain distinct from the secular Turkish state.
But the Çamlıca Mosque has come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to challenge the secular narrative of Turkish nationalism by linking national pride to its Ottoman past and Islamic heritage. It reflects the background.
Turkish sociologist Ferhat Kenter said, “The main purpose of the Turkish Revolution of 1923 was to fight the old state and create a new state and national identity.” “To do this, the Kemalists broke ties with the Ottoman era.”
Muslims praying at the Grand Chamlijah Mosque in Laylat al-Qadr, April 17, 2023 [Oguz Yeter/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images]”The same goes for the AK Party. The AK Party used religious and Ottoman symbols such as the Çamluca Mosque and especially the Hagia Sophia Mosque to sever ties with the Kemalist regime,” he added.
strong symbolism
Hayrie Gul, one of the two female architects responsible for the complex’s design, told Al Jazeera that the structure reflects traditional Turkish-Islamic architecture, while also being modern and practical. He said it aims to contribute to the silhouette of Istanbul in a way.
“This is a modern version of a traditional mosque, including a madrasa [school] And the hammam [public bath]. We also have conference halls, parking and a library to meet today’s needs,” said Gall.
For Gül and co-architect Bahar Mizraq, the building also evokes a sense of national pride.
“As Turkish citizens and architects, we are proud to have participated in the construction of such a monumental mosque during the republican period,” Mizraq said.
Designed as a successor to an Ottoman-era mosque, the complex was inspired by the work of Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman Empire’s chief architect of 300 structures, including Istanbul’s famous Suleymaniye Mosque. There is.
The Çamlıca Mosque houses a prayer hall that can accommodate approximately 60,000 people, a museum, a gallery, an art workshop, a library, a conference room, and many symbolic features that link Turkish and Ottoman history to the national identity.
The mosque’s four minarets are 107.1 meters high and mark the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. [Arwa Ibrahim/Al Jazeera]The main dome of the mosque, visible from anywhere in the city center, is 72 meters (236 feet) high, representing Turkey’s 72 ethnic groups, and 34 meters (111 feet) long to represent the Istanbul city license plate.
The four minarets are 107.1 meters (351 feet) high and represent the Manzikert victory in 1071, when King Alp Arslan’s Seljuk Turkish army crushed a Byzantine army said to be twice its size.
Over the past five years, Türkiye’s economic crisis has caused the Turkish lira to fall to historic lows. [Arwa Ibrahim/Al Jazeera]On the inside of the dome, 16 names attributed to the Islamic God have been artistically painted to represent the 16 great Turkish empires before the establishment of the modern Republic. The number 16 is also used in the coat of arms of the Turkish President, which features a large 16-pointed sun surrounded by 16 pentagrams, symbolizing the Turkish Republic and the 16 great empires.
In conjunction with more religious symbols, the complex includes five small domes representing the five pillars of Islam and eight monumental doors representing the eight gates to heaven according to Islamic beliefs. there is.
nationalistic projects, messaging
Some observers link the decision to build the Camlja Mosque to the government’s 2020 renovation of Hagia Sophia and the 2017 construction of a mosque in Taksim, a square associated with secularism and republicanism, but the former is more likely to be due to government politics. Some say it’s part of a game.
Some observers have linked the decision to build the Camlca Mosque to the government’s 2020 renovation of Hagia Sophia and the 2017 construction of a mosque in Taksim Square. [Arwa Ibrahim/Al Jazeera]“Taksim didn’t have a mosque, so it had to be built. The rebuilding of Hagia Sophia was a historic promise of conservatives, not Mr. Erdoğan’s. But we didn’t need the Çamluca Mosque. ” Osman Sert, research director at Panorama TR, told Al Jazeera.
“The Çamluca Mosque is a political decision, part of a series of nationalist projects launched by President Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party to boost national pride at a time when it contributes little to economic development.” he added.
Over the past five years, Turkey’s economic crisis has caused the Turkish lira to fall to an all-time low, raising public concerns about the cost of living. Meanwhile, Turkey has taken various political and economic measures to enhance its national pride and independence.
Some of those projects include TOGG, the first Turkish electric vehicle to be launched in 2022, TCG Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship, and the construction of Turkey’s first landing platform dock in 2023. It will be done. And Çamılça Tower was completed in 2021 as Istanbul’s tallest giant communication tower.
President Erdoğan also used nationalist messages during his campaign ahead of the May 14 vote, including incorporating celebrations of the country’s 100th anniversary into his slogan and promising that the next 100 years would be “Turkish century.” evoked.
Camluca is touted as “the largest mosque in the history of the Republic of Turkey” [File: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Photo]Serto said Erdogan’s nationalistic rhetoric has been particularly strong since the failed coup attempt in 2016 that could have toppled his government.
“The coup attempt marked a turning point in the country’s history and created public concerns about the security and continuity of the republic. Nationalist sentiments were aroused by concerns that the country’s fate was under threat. ” Serto told Al Jazeera.
He added that this was also demonstrated by the emergence of Debret Bahçeli, leader of the ultranationalist right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), as Erdoğan’s main political supporter at the time.
“To make this momentum more sustainable, President Erdogan needed the consent of the people, so religion and nationalism came together,” he said.
national prestige
However, according to Kentel, “President Erdoğan’s ideology is not religious, but nationalist with religious elements.”
President Erdoğan and the AK Party “succeeded in integrating traditional and conservative sectors of society into a nationalist identity. With this new form of nationalism, sectors not previously associated with the nation-state are now also It is strongly connected to the nation-state,” he said.
Worshippers take part in early morning prayers at the newly opened Camlica Mosque in Istanbul on March 7, 2019. [File: Yasin Akgul/AFP]Kentel and Selto said that while this form of nationalism attracts conservative segments of society, it polarizes and alienates many others.
Still, Camluca Mosque has become an important stop for tourists and locals visiting Ottoman palaces and mosques, and many see it as a success for President Erdoğan and his party.
“The Chamluca Mosque is a source of national and political pride. It represents the presence of Islam in the modern world and symbolizes the political power of the AK Party,” said Mustafa, a 39-year-old accountant who visited the mosque. said.
“The republic’s values are secular and largely rejected by the country’s conservative sector, but the AK Party has managed to preserve these concepts while appealing to larger segments of society,” he added.
Another mosque-goer, Suhaib, 37, agreed: “The AK Party brought the state closer to the people. The Chamluca Mosque is seen as a symbol of this transformation.”
Like the mosque-goers, Ifet Porat, a former AK Party MP, told Al Jazeera that the Çamlıca Mosque is “a connection to the Turkish Republic, Ottoman tradition and to our Muslim ancestors all rolled into one.” Greetings,” he said. This is a masterpiece of the Republic of Türkiye under the Erdoğan regime. ”
The height of the main dome, visible from anywhere in the city center, represents Turkey’s 72 ethnic groups. [Arwa Ibrahim/Al Jazeera]
