Lindsey Graham’s GOP Primary Challenger Blames Him for Hagia Sophia Becoming a Mosque

LEFT: Hagia Sophia (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) RIGHT: (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Mark Lynch, the Republican running to replace incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as the GOP’s nominee in the Palmetto State’s 2026 Senate race, has found the man to blame for the Hagia Sophia’s transition from museum to mosque: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

No, really; Lynch laid out his case in a tweet fired off over the weekend. It read:

Under Lindsey Graham’s watch, the famous Christian cathedral Hagia Sophia, was turned over to the Muslims in the year 2020 on behalf of the United Nations. Instead of fighting against the handover of the Hagia Sophia to the Muslims, Lindsey Graham was silent. He didn’t even threaten the United Nations or use any of his political power against Turkey to stop the theft!

Turning the Hagia Sophia into a mosque has been one of the greatest injustices in Christian history. The cathedral belongs to Christians and will be returned, under my watch, to the Christians under the ownership of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The United States imported $17.52 billion worth of goods from Turkey in 2025. As soon as I become South Carolina’s new U.S. Senator, I will introduce legislation that will ban all imports from Turkey until the Hagia Sophia is returned to Christians.

The bill I will introduce will be titled The Return the Hagia Sophia to the Church Act. I will invite all Christian clergy (Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant) to the U.S. Capitol the day of the bill’s introduction to pressure Congress to pass the bill so that all imports from Turkey (over $17 billion annually) will be banned until ownership of the Hagia Sophia is given to the Greek Orthodox Church.

When I am in the U.S. Senate I will fight to stop the takeover of Christian churches by Islam, especially in the United States.

https://x.com/MarkLynchSC/status/2048216763754520792?s=20

A proposed Community Note for Lynch’s post would point out that the famed building “was first converted into a mosque in 1453” and used “as a museum from 1935-2020,” as well as that “the decision to revert it to a mosque was made by the Turkish government, without UNESCO approval.” The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization actually opposed the transition, issuing the following statement in July 2020:

The Director-General of UNESCO deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, to change the status of Hagia Sophia. This evening, she shared her serious concerns with the Ambassador of Turkey to UNESCO.

Hagia Sophia is part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul, a property inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. “Hagia Sophia is an architectural masterpiece and a unique testimony to interactions between Europe and Asia over the centuries. Its status as a museum reflects the universal nature of its heritage, and makes it a powerful symbol for dialogue,” said Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

This decision announced today raises the issue of the impact of this change of status on the property’s universal value. States have an obligation to ensure that modifications do not affect the Outstanding Universal Value of inscribed sites on their territories. UNESCO must be given prior notice of any such modifications, which, if necessary, are then examined by the World Heritage Committee.

UNESCO also recalls that the effective, inclusive and equitable participation of communities and other stakeholders concerned by the property is necessary to preserve this heritage and highlight its uniqueness and significance. The purpose of this requirement is to protect and transmit the Outstanding Universal Value of heritage, and it is inherent to the spirit of the World Heritage Convention.

These concerns were shared with the Republic of Turkey in several letters, and again yesterday evening with the representative of the Turkish Delegation to UNESCO. It is regrettable that the Turkish decision was made without any form of dialogue or prior notice. UNESCO calls upon the Turkish authorities to initiate dialogue without delay, in order to prevent any detrimental effect on the universal value of this exceptional heritage, the state of conservation of which will be examined by the World Heritage Committee at its next session.

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