South Carolina, April 28, 2026
Photo: X South Carolina Senate candidate Mark Lynch has announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban all imports from Turkey until the Hagia Sophia is returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.
In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, Lynch criticized incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham for remaining silent when the historic building was converted back into a mosque in July 2020. Lynch called the conversion “one of the greatest injustices in Christian history” and pledged to take action if elected to the Senate.
The proposed legislation, which Lynch plans to title “The Return the Hagia Sophia to the Church Act,” would prohibit Turkish imports valued at approximately $17.52 billion annually, according to 2025 trade figures cited by the candidate. Lynch stated he would invite Christian clergy from Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant denominations to the Capitol on the day of the bill’s introduction to pressure Congress to pass the measure.
“The cathedral belongs to Christians and will be returned, under my watch, to the Christians under the ownership of the Greek Orthodox Church,” Lynch stated. He also pledged to “fight to stop the takeover of Christian churches by Islam, especially in the United States” if elected to the Senate.
The Hagia Sophia has a complex history spanning nearly 1,500 years. Originally built as a Christian cathedral in 537 AD during the Byzantine Empire, it served as the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for nearly a millennium. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935, Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk secularized the building, transforming it into a museum. In July 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree converting it back into a mosque, a decision that drew international criticism from religious and cultural heritage groups.
Lynch is challenging Graham for the Republican nomination in South Carolina’s upcoming Senate race.
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