Erdogan inaugurates landmark mosque on main Istanbul square

Turkey's president has inaugurated a landmark mosque on Istanbul’s Taksim Square, fulfilling a long-time ambition to build a Muslim house of worship in the city’s main public space that has become an emblem of the modern Turkish Republic

ISTANBUL -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a landmark new mosque on Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Friday, fulfilling a long-time ambition to build a Muslim house of worship in the city’s main public space that has become a symbol of the modern Turkish Republic. Erdogan joined dozens of mask-wearing worshippers for the first prayers at the towering 3,000-capacity mosque on Taksim — which was also the site of the mass anti-government protests in 2013 sparked by the government’s construction plans at the adjacent Gezi Park. Hundreds of others performed their prayers outside the mosque. The Turkish leader, who has steadily consolidated power in his 18 years in office, had long promised supporters of his Islam-oriented ruling party a mosque on Taksim, saying it is inconceivable for Istanbul’s main square not to have one. Critics, however, see the mosque’s construction as being part of Erdogan’s plans to undermine the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who established the secular-oriented republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. A cultural center at Taksim, which was named after Ataturk and seen as a symbol of his heritage, has been demolished and is being replaced by a new structure that will hold an opera house.