Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially signed a decree to convert Istanbul's Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque, following a court ruling on the ancient building earlier Friday.
A Turkish court unanimously ruled that a past cabinet decision that made the Byzantine-era building a museum is null and void, opening the way for the government to convert it into a mosque once again.
The verdict came after the representatives of an association sued the government earlier this year for converting the Hagia Sophia into a museum in the 1930s through a cabinet decision that was signed by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Erdogan will address the nation on the issue through a television broadcast on Friday evening.
The move comes amid widespread international condemnation and trepidation. Built in the 6th century as a Christian Catherdal, the Hagia Sofia - which is Greek for "Holy Wisdom" - is particularly revered by Orthodox Christians.
