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Pope Brings Message of Interreligious Peace to Istanbul

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  • Pope Brings Message of Interreligious Peace to Istanbul

    The New York Times
    Nov 29 2014


    Pope Brings Message of Interreligious Peace to Istanbul


    By SEBNEM ARSUNOV. 29, 2014

    ISTANBUL -- On the second leg of his trip to Turkey, Pope Francis was
    welcomed on Saturday by curious bystanders and tourists from around
    the world as he visited the historical district here to deliver his
    message of further interreligious dialogue for peace.

    Istanbul, which is home to several cultural landmarks for both
    Christians and Muslims, offered the pope an ideal venue to put his
    message into action. The pope, 77, first visited the Sultan Ahmet
    Mosque of Muslims, then Hagia Sophia, now a museum but formerly the
    leading temple for Eastern Orthodox Christians. Both monumental
    structures overlook the same yard.


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    In the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, the pope
    did not wrap his hands under his chest to resemble the Islamic
    tradition, as did his predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2006, but he bowed
    his head and clasped his hands alongside the city's senior cleric for
    a two-minute silent prayer, both facing the direction of Mecca. "May
    Allah accept it," said Rahmi Yaran, the grand mufti of Istanbul, as
    the two finished their prayers.

    Outside, a small but enthusiastic group of Christians waved Turkish
    and Vatican flags, played guitars and cheered "Papa Francesco" as the
    pope smiled and waved before entering the Hagia Sophia museum, which
    dates to the sixth century.

    The church was converted into a mosque after the 1453 Ottoman
    conquest, and made a museum in 1935. Some ultranationalist groups have
    protested to demand that it again serve as a mosque.

    Live coverage of the visit showed Francis listening to the museum
    director, Hayrullah Cengiz, who pointed at Islamic inscriptions and
    adjoining images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus.

    Security measures included 7,000 police officers on duty in the
    historical neighborhood, which is often crowded with tourists, and the
    restriction of trams and pedestrian crossings.

    Christians in Turkey number about 100,000 -- including Armenians,
    Orthodox Christians and Catholics -- out of a population of 74 million.

    "It is symbolically important that the spiritual leader of a different
    faith visits Turkey to promote peace among civilizations," said Tatyos
    Bebek, an Armenian-Turk who lives in Istanbul.

    During meetings Friday in Ankara with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
    of Turkey and the head of the religious affairs directorate, the pope
    repeated his call for interreligious dialogue, rather than military
    action alone, to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, especially in
    Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State has been gaining ground.

    On Saturday, Islamic State militants launched two suicide attacks with
    explosive-laden vehicles at the border crossing of Mursitpinar, the
    Turkish town near Kobani, Syria, where Islamic State and Kurdish pesh
    merga forces have battled since late September. Four pesh merga
    fighters were killed and 18 injured, CNN Turk television reported.
    Planes from the United States-led coalition struck the radicals' bases
    in the area after the attack, said the report, quoting witnesses.

    A group of Iraqi Christians who were forced to flee Mosul after the
    Islamic State raided the Iraqi city in June were excited to see the
    pope in Istanbul.

    "Muslim Christians are dying in Iraq," said Tony Quta, who has applied
    for refugee status with the United Nations Humanitarian Refugee
    Council. "I am very happy to see him today, I came to see him, and I
    thank President Erdogan for everything."

    Turkey shelters at least 1.6 million refugees from Syria and maintains
    an open-border policy for Iraqi and Syrian civilians who have escaped
    violence.

    The pope's visit is considered a message of solidarity with the
    Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church, which represents
    nearly 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. It has been based in
    Constantinople, now Istanbul, since the sixth century, though the
    institution is not recognized by the Turkish state.

    Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, speaking to reporters on Saturday,
    praised the cooperation between the churches and said that he and Pope
    Francis would continue to pray "together for the unity of our churches
    of the divided Christendom as well as the peace in the Middle East and
    around the globe."

    Both leaders were expected to discuss concerns about the fading of
    Christianity in its historical birthplaces and threats against their
    communities in the Middle East, officials of the patriarchate said.

    "In our journey of faith and fraternal living," Pope Francis said in
    his sermon at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul,
    "the more we allow ourselves to be humbly guided by the Spirit of
    Lord, the more we will overcome misunderstandings, divisions, and
    disagreements and be a credible sign of unity and peace."

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/world/europe/pope-brings-message-of-interreligious-peace-to-istanbul.html?_r=0

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