Erbaş, who climbed the minbar of Hagia Sophia with a sword, challenged Israel: The oppressors will definitely be defeated.

The President of Religious Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş, led the Friday prayer at the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Erbaş, who also led the funeral prayer in absentia for Ismail Haniyeh, read the Friday sermon with a sword in his hand.

FUNERAL PRAYER IN ABSENTIA FOR HANIYEH AT HAGIA SOPHIA

During the funeral ceremony of Haniyeh in Doha, the capital of Qatar, prayers were offered and funeral prayer in absentia was performed at the Hagia Sophia Mosque, just like in many mosques in Turkey. Ali Erbaş, who climbed the Hagia Sophia pulpit with a sword once again, prayed, "O Lord, make the soul of our brother Ismail Haniyeh, one of the unforgettable leaders of the Palestinian cause who was martyred as a result of the treacherous trap set by the oppressors the other day, rest in peace and make his place in heaven."

"THEY WILL DEFINITELY BE DEFEATED"

In his continued words, Erbaş said, "From the pulpit of Hagia Sophia, the legacy of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the conqueror of Istanbul, and the pulpit of Akşemseddin, I declare to the whole world once again that no oppression and injustice is eternal. No matter how strong the oppressors think they are, they will definitely be defeated, they will definitely be defeated."

Meanwhile, those who couldn't fit inside the mosque prayed on the mats spread outside.