Future Party leader and former prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) over “using” Hagia Sophia as “political leverage.”
“Stop treating our sacred and common symbols as cards that you can use when you’re stuck,” Davutoğlu said in a weekly meeting on June 8, as he commented on the government’s move to open Hagia Sophia to Muslims for worship.
“Hagia Sophia is not your tool or negotiation card,” he added.
Davutoğlu resigned from the AKP, of which he was among the founders, last year and founded his opposition Future Party in December.
“The government and its ally never cease to fail us taking steps against the people and democracy. We think that they won’t [take the steps], but they do. We think, ‘This can’t get any worse,’ but it does,” he said.