State Dept. Religious Freedom Envoy Offers to Meet on Turkey’s Religious Freedom Record
No. 29
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) welcomes a letter it received from U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain on the matter of Turkey’s revived plans to convert the historic Chora Church, located in Istanbul, into a mosque. Ambassador Hussain also offered to meet with AHI President Nick Larigakis to discuss Chora Church and other matters pertaining to Turkey’s religious freedom issues.
“The United States views a change in the status of Chora Museum as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building,” Ambassador Hussain wrote. “It is essential the site remains accessible to all and that the art and architecture are preserved. We understand the conversion has been delayed until at least May and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
Ambassador Hussain also cited the U.S.’ continued calls on the Government of Türkiye to ensure Hagia Sophia remains accessible to all people and to re-open Halki Seminary.
Ambassador Hussain responded on behalf of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to whom Larigakis wrote on February 12, 2024.
“We thank Ambassador Hussain for addressing our concerns pertaining to Chora Church as well as Hagia Sophia and Halki Seminary,” Larigakis said. “I appreciate the opportunity to meet with him and look forward to discussing these issues in further detail.”
Read Ambassador Hussain’s letter
Background
The Chora Church has operated as a UNESCO-designated museum for all faiths for approximately eighty years.
The revived plans to convert Chora Church follows the Turkish government’s actions to convert the Hagia Sophia from a UNESCO-designated museum to a mosque in 2020.
The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center and think tank that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.
For additional information, please contact us at (202) 785-8430 or pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at http://www.ahiworld.org.
