Opening Hagia Sophia for worship: Liberation from Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror’s curse
"......Conquering Istanbul had been one of the biggest goals of Islam since the first century. Many leading figures, such as Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, one of the first Muslims and a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad, passed away in front of the walls of Istanbul. The reason for this is based on the following words of the Prophet Muhammad:
"Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will he be and what a wonderful army will that army be!"
Was the blessed Prophet into predictions about the future? What about the command of the Quran not to indulge in aggression? What about [QXP]:
22:40 Those who have been evicted from their homes unjustly, for no reason other than saying, "Our Lord is God!" (should remember) if God had not enabled some people to repel others; temples, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where the Name of God is oft mentioned, would have been destroyed. And God will certainly help those who help Him. For, God is Mighty, Powerful.
Interestingly the article above does not refer to any document of sale to make a case. It tries to justify it based on Hadith, application [or] misapplication of Quran and a curse by Mehmed II on those who try to alter the conversion:
"....Mehmed II says the following in his foundation voucher: “All of these things that I have explained and commissioned have been issued as determined and written in the foundation; conditions cannot be changed; its laws cannot be altered; the originals cannot be transformed into anything other than their purpose; the rules and grounds determined cannot be reduced.”
And then he reads a long curse for those who will transform the works he left, especially Hagia Sophia, out of these rules. He said that it is not halal (permissible in Islam) for anyone who has been created by Allah, who believes in Allah and his vision, and who believes in the hereafter and his glory, to diminish, disrupt, change, alter, convert, neglect the foundation and eliminate its function. If anyone commits any of these acts, in short, if he commits one of the superstitious acts, he is clearly committing a great haram (forbidden by Islam). The sultan continued: “Let the curse of Allah and the angels and all mankind be upon them. Let them dwell in hell forever and their punishment shall not be eased. No mercy for them forever. Whoever changes it after hearing it and seeing it, his sin shall be upon those who change it. Indeed, he is the hearing, the knowing.”
Therefore, the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque today is a step for liberation from the curse of Sultan Mehmed. Turkey, on the other hand, deserves appreciation for respecting his heritage and doing what it takes to preserve it...."