British Britain First Leader Posts Image of Hagia Sophia with Greek Soldiers in front

Paul Golding, leader of the far-right Britain First party in the UK, posted a image on X (formerly Twitter), depicting the Hagia Sophia with a superimposed Greek flag and surrounded by soldiers.

He captioned the image "Soon," suggesting this was imminent.

Golding's post comes at a time of heightened historical and cultural tensions between Turkey and Greece.

The Hagia Sophia, originally built as the Eastern Orthodox cathedral of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and considered a center of Christendom for nearly a thousand years, was later converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453. After serving as a museum for much of the 20th century, it was reconverted into a mosque in 2020—a decision that drew criticism from some international quarters, particularly from the Orthodox Christian world, who view the Hagia Sophia as a sacred site and its conversion as a symbolic loss. For many Orthodox Christians, the Hagia Sophia remains a potent symbol of their faith's historical presence in Constantinople and its reconversion into a mosque has deepened religious and cultural sensitivities.

"Britain First" is a far-right, ultranationalist political party in the United Kingdom. Their ideology centers around what they perceive as protecting British culture and identity, which they define in explicitly nativist terms

The incident highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding the Hagia Sophia and its status as a religious and cultural symbol.