Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally converted the former museum back into a mosque Friday and declared it open for Muslim worship.

Turkey's President Erdogan issued a decree on Friday formally changing the status of the Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. The decision was met with controversy as the historical landmark has roots in both Christianity and Islam. Holly Williams reports.

The Geneva-based World Council of Churches says it represents more than 500 million Christians. The letter is from Ioan Sauca, interim general secretary, who says the Council feels "grief and dismay". "By deciding to convert the Hagia Sophia back to a mosque you have reversed that positive sign of Turkey's openness and changed it to a sign of exclusion and division." He writes that the decision "will...

The World Association of Churches says returning the Turkish landmark to a mosque is mistaken.

The president of Turkey on Friday formally converted Istanbul’s sixth-century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and declared it open for Muslim worship, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that had made the religious landmark a museum.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has formally reconverted Istanbul's sixth-century Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Millions of Syrian civilians in the country's northwest depend on the humanitarian aid delivered from Turkey, the United Nations says.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday formally re-converted Istanbul’s sixth-century iconic Hagia Sophia into a mosque, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that had turned it into a museum. Erdogan signed a decree handing over Hagia Sophia to Turkey’s Religious Affairs Presidency and declaring it open to Muslim worship. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Turkey’s highest administrative court on Friday issued a ruling that paves the way for the government to convert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia — a former cathedral-turned-mosque that now serves as a museum — back into a Muslim house of worship. The Council of State threw its weight...

A 1934 Cabinet decision had turned the iconic and hugely symbolic site into a museum.