Thousands protest at Pope's visit
Tens of thousands of people chanted slogans against Pope Benedict XVI and waved banners against his upcoming visit in a defiant display of the pro-Islamic anger that could await the pontiff on his first papal trip to a mostly Muslim nation.
About 25,000 people filled a square in a working-class district of Istanbul at a rally organised by an Islamist political party whose leaders have strongly denounced the pope’s remarks in September that linked violence and Islam.
“No to the pope,” protesters chanted, waving anti-Vatican signs and the red flag of the Saadet, or Felicity party.
The demonstration highlighted the deep strains in Turkey before the pope’s four-day visit, which begins on Tuesday.
Turkish officials hope to use the visit to promote their ambitions of joining the European Union and to showcase its secular political system. But pro-Islamic groups – which have been gaining strength for years – perceive Benedict as a symbol of Western intolerance and injustices against Muslims.
The pope plans to first meet with political and Muslim religious leaders in the capital, Ankara. He later heads to Istanbul – the ancient Christian capital Constantinople – to be hosted by the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
The pope is expected to continue the Vatican’s efforts to heal rifts between Muslims and Christians. The Vatican has expressed regret for offending Muslims and noted sorrow for the violent backlash to his comments – which the Vatican said were an attempt to show the incompatibility between faith and violence.
At the Vatican today, Benedict expressed his ”feelings of esteem and of sincere friendship” for Turks and their leaders. The Vatican spokesman also confirmed that the pope would visit Istanbul’s famous 17th century Blue Mosque as “a sign of respect” to Muslims.
The mosque faces the Haghia Sophia, a former Byzantine church that was converted to a mosque following the fall of the city to Muslim armies in 1453. It is a now museum.
But Benedict may also use his time in Turkey as a forum to demand that Islamic nations offer greater rights and protection to Christian minorities, such as the remnants of the once-thriving Greek Orthodox community in Istanbul.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, said Benedict’s visit could help “remove some misunderstandings” between Christians and Muslims.
“The messages the pope gives here will, of course, be very important,” said Gul at a news conference.
But the protesters sent a loud message that the pope is not welcome until he offers a full apology for his remarks, in which he characterised some of Muhammad’s teachings as ”evil and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith”.
“The pope was disrespectful to us and he needs to apologise,” said one banner.
Officially, Turkey is a rigidly secular republic, though around 99% of its population is Muslim.
In 2004 – before becoming pope – the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger cast doubt on whether Turkey has a place among EU nations. “Turkey has always represented a different continent, in permanent contrast to Europe,” he was quoted by the French magazine Le Figaro as saying.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi downplayed those comments in an interview with Turkey’s state-owned news agency today, saying the Vatican was not against Turkey joining the EU if it fulfilled the membership criteria.
