TURKEY: On delicate mission to Turkey, Pope calls for harmony between Christians and Muslims

Pope Benedict landed in Turkey on Tuesday (November 28) and was warmly greeted by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, who long delayed saying whether he would even meet the German-born Pontiff, greeted Pope Benedict with smiles as he stepped off his plane and had a short conversation with him at the airport about dialogue between religions and cultures. Erdogan also said that the pontiff told him he supported Ankara's bid to join the European Union. Benedict before his 2005 election as Pope had opposed Turkey's EU ambitions. Benedict travelled to Turkey for the four-day visit with two strikes against him, his well-known opposition to Turkish EU membership and his September speech that many Muslims said insulted Islam. He has said the speech was misunderstood but has not apologised for it. After talks with Erdogan, the pontiff visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and met with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. In his first speech of his four-day trip, the Pope stressed that Christians and Muslims must continue an open dialogue because they believe in the same God and agree on the meaning and purpose of life. His remarks, at a meeting with Turkey's Religious Affairs Director Ali Bardakoglu, struck a far more conciliatory tone than the speech in Regensburg in which he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor arguing that Islam was violent and irrational. Benedict said today's Christians and Muslims were called on to continue their dialogue as a "sincere exchange between friends ... with optimism and hope". The Pope avoided any reference to violence, but Bardakoglu brought up the issue to say that Muslims condemned it unconditionally. "We Muslims are condemning all types of violence and terror, regardless of the facts but whoever commits it against whomever and we perceive it as a crime of humanity, we are a member of a religion which assumes that killing an innocent person is a heavy crime and sin like killing all people," Bardakoglu said. Protesters in Ankara marched and chanted, denouncing the Pope's visit. Some waved placards comparing the Pope to Satan. The visit by the leader of 1.1 billion Roman Catholics was originally intended to be a pre-eminently Christian event but it has taken on wider political ramifications in Western-Islamic relations, Catholic-Muslim relations and Turkey's own desire to be part of Europe. Security was heavy for Benedict's first visit to the Muslim world, with sharpshooters on the roof of the arrivals building and troops guarding the airport both in Ankara and Istanbul, where the Pope will visit on Wednesday. About 8,000 police have been posted to protect the Pope and prevent any unsanctioned protests. While in Istanbul the Pope will visit the Blue Mosque, becoming only the second pontiff to ever enter a mosque. He'll meet Islamic and Jewish leaders as well as the heads of Turkey's Christian communities.

ITN Source | November 29, 2006

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