In 2007 , Greek American politician Chris Spirou launched an international organization " Free Agia Sophia Council " championing the cause of restoring the building to its original function as a Christian church . Since the early 2010s , several campaigns and government high officials , notably Turkey 's deputy prime minister Bülent Arınç in November 2013 , have been demanding that Hagia Sophia be converted into a mosque again . In 2015 , in retaliation for the acknowledgment by Pope Francis of the Armenian Genocide , the Mufti of Ankara , Mefail Hızlı , stated that he believes the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque will be accelerated
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Hagia Sophia