One such measure was converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Though democratically elected, Erdogan has behaved in an increasingly autocratic fashion and has little patience for European-styled secularism as envisaged by Ataturk. Under the Erdogan regime, there has been a crackdown on dissent and critics of the government have been sent behind bars, reported Al Arabiya.

Frontier Alliance International (FAI) mission President Dalton Thomas criticized the Turkish leader for converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque again and tweeted earlier: "The President of Turkey is openly calling for the re-establishment of the Islamic State, the restoration of its ancient borders, & the conquest of Jerusalem. When the world wakes up from the Corona hangover, we will face the resurrected Caliphate."

Hagia Sophia Shock:

Hagia Sophia, Turkey's iconic monument, a UNESCO World Heritage and one of the central attractions of its capital Istanbul, is no longer a museum. It has been turned back as a mosque though some 1500 years ago it was built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral.

Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman time in 1453 while under Ataturk it was turned into a museum in 1935.

The recent decision comes amid a growing rise of the Islamists in Turkey who had been demanding that it be restored as a mosque though Opposition leaders with secular credentials had been against the move.