PHOTO: Turkey’s megalomaniacal Islamist leader is already seen as a hero to many in the Muslim world, including Palestinian Arabs.

The saga of the Hagia Sophia goes like this in a nutshell: Centuries ago, Turkish Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror forcibly converted one of Christendom’s grandest churches into a mosque. But when secularism later triumphed during the era of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this forced conversion was partially reversed, and Hagia Sophia became a museum. But now Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has evoked the legacy of Mehmed by again converting one of Christianity’s most recognizable shrines into a mosque.

This is the same Erdogan who sought to pressure the West by sending thousands upon thousands of refugees from Muslim countries into Europe. He sees the pitiful Muslim masses as a powerful weapon in his quest to ultimately bring the Christian West under the dominion of Islam.

Erdogan’s controversial decision to again convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque must be seen in light of his larger agenda of restoring the glory of the Ottoman Empire. And...