PRESENT POINT POWER

ABOVE & BELOW: Pope being welcomed at the Mosque

Pope ends

Turkey

trip with visit to mosque By Peter Popham in Istanbul Published: 01 December 2006

Benedict XVI became only the second pope in history to step inside a mosque. It was a fitting end to a trip which had had the potential to become the most disastrous papal visit in living memory. Instead, Benedict flies home today after his four-day visit to Turkey with compliments ringing in his ears. The polemical German pope, "God's rottweiler" as he was known when still a cardinal, has gone a long way towards neutralising the hostility he aroused in September when he quoted a medieval Byzantine emperor describing Islam as "evil and inhuman". Outside Hagia Sofia yesterday, Istanbul's immense church-turned-mosque-turned museum, a solitary woman held up a placard that read: "God's curses on he who stuck his tongue out at the Prophet. The Pope is the enemy of the Turks." She got plenty of attention from television cameras with nothing else to film, but despite or perhaps because of al-Qa'ida saying roughly the same thing, such sentiments became rarer as the week progressed. The Pope made "a good start" said Turkish daily Hurriyet, by giving his support to Turkey's bid to join the European Union. "Reason has prevailed on all sides" said a columnist in the Turkish Daily News. "The majority of Turks are happy that the visit is going well and that the Pope has been so conciliatory in his remarks." If the Pope regrets that the real debate over religion and violence which he tried to kick off with his address in September has been deferred, he kept his feelings to himself. Yesterday, Benedict, whom some Vatican-watchers had felt was putting his predecessor's policy of seeking amity with Islam into reverse, made a historic visit to Sultanahmet, the "Blue Mosque," (see BELOW) opposite Hagia Sofia,

a date written into his diary at the last minute and which had the potential to have explosive consequences. But the pontiff impressed his hosts by removing shoes and socks, and once inside he bowed his head in silent meditation for over a minute. (see BELOW)

As the controversy has receded, the emotion of the visit of a figure like this has become striking, the sense of a man wading through a terrain dense with history: triumphs and disasters, glory and schism. In Hagia Sofia, Benedict was shown some of the golden frescoes, among the oldest Christian works of art, that adorn the magnificent building's walls. Once the church became a mosque, they were covered with black paint in the zeal to obliterate every trace of idolatry. Many of them are still hidden. He spent Wednesday evening and much of Thursday with Bartholomew I, patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. The two men are trying to get unity talks between Catholics and Orthodox back on track after years of stagnation. The man known as "the Green Patriarch" found Benedict in ready agreement on environmental questions. "As religious leaders we consider it one of our duties to encourage... all efforts made to protect God's Creation, and to bequeath to future generations a world in which they will be able to live," the two men said in a joint declaration. "The divisions among Christians are a scandal to the world," the Pope said after an Orthodox ceremony yesterday lasting nearly three hours. All Christians, he said, should "renew Europe's awareness of its Christian roots, traditions and values".
The fact that such sentiments were not seen by thin-skinned Turks as another papal slap in the face was a credit to the Pope's painstaking diplomacy - and his qualified support for Turkey's entry into the EU, practically the first thing he said on touching down in the country, and the biggest surprise of the visit.

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Eighteen al-Qaeda arrests as Pope visits mosque

NICK PISA IN ISTANBUL
POPE Benedict XVI entered a mosque yesterday in an attempt to build bridges with Muslims just hours after a police operation netted 18 al-Qaeda suspects. Pope Benedict followed custom as he took off his shoes to enter the famous Blue Mosque in the heart of Istanbul on the third day of his visit to Turkey. Two months ago the German-born pontiff had angered Muslims by giving a speech in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor who said that everything Islam had brought to the world was "inhuman and evil". Security for his visit was tight and a ring of steel was thrown around the six-towered Blue Mosque and nearby Santa Sophia Museum.

As part of the clampdown and following a threat posted on the internet by an Iraq-based terror group, police carried out a number of arrests ahead of yesterday's visit and held 18 people they said were associated with Osama bin Laden's terror organisation.

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By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer Tue Nov 28, 5:57 PM ET

ANKARA, Turkey -

Pope Benedict XVI urged leaders of all religions Tuesday to "utterly refuse" to support any form of violence in the name of faith, while Turkey's top Muslim cleric complained to the pontiff of growing "Islamophobia" in the world. As he began his first visit to a Muslim country — a trip that drew extraordinary security but few onlookers — Benedict sought a careful balance as he extended friendship and brotherhood to Muslims, hoping to end the outcry from many Muslims over his remarks linking Islam to violence. He expressed support for Turkey's efforts to join the European Union, moving away from opposition he voiced when he was a cardinal. But the German pope also hammered away at key points of his 18-month papacy, telling diplomats that leaders of all religions must "utterly refuse to sanction recourse to violence as a legitimate expression of faith."

He avoided mention of any specific religion, even as he decried terrorism and the "disturbing conflicts across the Middle East." Benedict also said guarantees of religious freedom are essential for a just society, and the Vatican said he raised specific issues such as property rights of Turkey's tiny 32,000-member Catholic community during talks with Turkish officials. His comments could be reinforced later during the four-day visit when the pope meets in Istanbul with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians. The pope is expected to call for greater rights and protections for Christian minorities in the Muslim world, including the small Greek Orthodox community in Turkey. The 79-year-old made reconciliation a priority of his first day, taking on a taxing series of meetings that saw him needing a drink of water after coughing repeatedly while addressing diplomats in the last public appearance in the evening. Benedict's journey is extraordinarily sensitive, a closely watched pilgrimage full of symbolism that could offer hope of religious reconciliation or deepen what many say is a growing divide between the Christian and Islamic worlds. Seeking to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam, Benedict met with Ali Bardakoglu, who heads religious affairs in Turkey, warmly grasping hands. Benedict sat nearby as the Muslim cleric defended his religion.

"The so-called conviction that the sword is used to expand Islam in the world and growing Islamophobia hurts all Muslims," Bardakoglu said. The comment appeared to be a reference to Benedict's remarks in a speech in September when he quoted a 14th-century Christian emperor who characterized the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by thy sword the faith he preached." The Vatican described the cleric's speech as "positive, respectful and non-polemical," applauding what the church sees as efforts for a true dialogue between faiths.

On Sunday, more than 25,000 Turks showed up to an anti-Vatican protest in Istanbul, asking the pope to stay at home, but on the streets of Ankara most people went about their usual business and only a tiny protest was held outside the religious affairs office hours before the pope arrived. "Today we had the sensation he was a welcome guest," said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi. "All feel the same responsibility in this difficult moment in history, let's work together," Benedict said during his flight from Rome to Ankara, where more than 3,000 police and sharpshooters joined a security effort that surpassed even the visit of President Bush two years ago. "We know that the scope of this trip is dialogue and brotherhood and the commitment for understanding between cultures ... and for reconciliation," he said. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — in a last-minute change of plans — welcomed the pope at the foot of the plane and described the visit as "very meaningful." Erdogan's political party has Islamic roots, though the government is secular. In his first official act, Benedict visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, and wrote a message in a guest book calling Turkey "a meeting point of different religions and cultures and a bridge between Asia and Europe." Police monitored the highway leading to Ankara from the airport, where Turkish and Vatican flags waved in a light breeze. Snipers climbed atop buildings and hilltops. In wooded areas along the route, soldiers in camouflage fatigues set up observation points and sniffer dogs passed along bridges. It was his first visit to a Muslim country as pontiff. The original goal of the pope's trip to Turkey was to meet Bartholomew I, leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. The two major branches of Christianity represented by Bartholomew and Benedict split in 1054 over differences in opinion on the power of the papacy, and the two spiritual heads will meet in an attempt to breach the divide and reunite the churches. Benedict leaves Ankara on Wednesday for Ephesus, where the Virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last years, and will then travel to Istanbul. A closely watched moment of the trip will come Thursday during Benedict's visit to Haghia Sophia, a 1,500-year-old site that was originally a Byzantine church and then turned into a mosque after the Muslim conquest of Istanbul — then known as Constantinople — in 1453. It is now a museum, and Turks would take offense at any religious gestures by the pontiff, who also plans to visit the nearby Blue Mosque. In 1967, Pope Paul VI fell to his knees in prayer, touching off protests by Turks claiming he violated the secular nature of the domed complex. In 1979,

Pope John Paul II made no overt religious signs during his visit.

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Pope makes 'unforgettable' visit to mosque at high point of Turkey trip

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI, in an exceptional gesture, turned towards Mecca for a moment of meditation in an attitude of Muslim prayer at the Blue Mosque, the third day of his eventful visit to Turkey. The dramatic moment came a mere 10 weeks after much of the Muslim world was outraged by comments the pontiff made seen as linking Islam to violence. Benedict XVI, who became the second pope in history -- after John Paul II in Damascus in 2001 -- to set foot in a Muslim house of worship, made the gesture at the suggestion of Istanbul Mufti Mustafa Cagrici, his guide for the occasion.

After explaining the basics of Muslim prayer to the pontiff during the early part of the tour, Cagrici said: "Let us turn toward the Kiblah" -- the direction of Mecca, which all Muslims must face when they perform their prayers five times a day. The pope complied. The two men, clad in long white robes, stood side by side and motionless for about two minutes, their hands crossed on their stomachs in a classical Muslim prayer attitude known as "the posture of tranquillity." The pope remained with his eyes closed for about a minute, but did not repeat Cagrici's gesture when the mufti wiped his face with the palms of his hands, signalling the end of the prayer. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi took pains to explain to journalists afterwards that the pope had not actually prayed but was "in meditation." Benedict is known to insist that members of different religions cannot pray together, but side by side. In the street outside the mosque, Istanbul residents who watched the visit on television debated the moment. After Mehmet Saglam, a student, told AFP he thought it was "a nice gesture," a passer-by asked: "But was it sincere?" "It's politics, all this," Saglam replied. Afterwards, the pope, padding the floor in white slippers -- Muslim tradition dictates that shoes be taken off before entering a mosque -- pursued his half-hour tour of the imposing mosque built in the early 17th century. Stopping several times to take in the mufti's comments on the Sultanahmet Mosque, as the Blue Mosque is known in Turkey, the pontiff was attentive and smiling, asking several questions. He was surprised at the vast size of the sanctuary, which has a capacity for 8,000 faithful. "That's a lot," the pope commented. The two men exchanged gifts, the pontiff first presenting Cagrici with a mosaic representing doves and saying: "This picture is meant as a message of fraternity --a souvenir of this visit that I will certainly never forget."

Benedict XVI received an Ottoman calligraphy that read: "In the name of Allah the merciful" -- also in the form of a dove. "A pleasant twist of fate," commented the mufti. As he left the mosque, visibly delighted, the 79-year-old pontiff said: "This visit will help us find together the means and paths to peace for the good of humanity." Benedict XVI had thrown the Muslim world into turmoil in September when, in a speech in Regensburg, Germany, he seemed to draw a parallel between Islam and violence. His four-day trip to Turkey that began Tuesday -- his first to a Muslim country -- is aimed mainly at attempting to heal the 10-century rift between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, but has changed in part into an exercise in fence-mending with Islam.

A few moments after the pope left the mosque, the muezzin's evening call to prayer could be heard in the night air. Just before the mosque visit, the pope went to the Saint Sophia museum, a sixth-century Byzantine basilica that served as a mosque under nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule. Flanked by Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler and Haluk Ozozlu, the museum director who was acting as his guide, and a retinue of Vatican and Turkish officials as well as bodyguards, the pope spent half an hour inside the Istanbul landmark. He occasionally put his hands together in admiration -- once while listening to explanations on the edifice's world-famous cupola -- but refrained from any religious gesture, such as praying or crossing himself. Pope Paul VI, visiting the same site in 1967, had astonished his host, then-foreign minister Ihsan Sabri Caglayangil, by spontaneously falling to his knees in prayer and creating a diplomatic incident.