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Wednesday, November 29 2006 @ 07:12 AM Central Standard Time
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Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Turkey yesterday as the official guest of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the pontiff on the red carpet as he disembarked the plane at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport.
Speaking with the pontiff in the VIP Lounge of the airport for 20 minutes, Erdogan said he asked for support for Turkey’s EU membership bid and quoted the pontiff as saying “We are not politicians but we wish Turkey’s EU membership.”
Pope Benedict XVI’s second stop in Ankara was Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.
“I am glad to say the words of the founder of the Republic of Turkey as my own: Peace in the country, peace in the world,” the pope wrote in the guestbook at Anitkabir.
The pontiff later went to Cankaya Residence for a short meeting with President Sezer.
Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate was another important stop on the pontiff’s program.
The pope visited the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, Ali Bardakoglu, at his office in Ankara yesterday.
Meeting with Benedict XVI, Bardakoglu had to address, albeit indirectly, the pope’s controversial statements on Islam.
Countering the notion that “Islam spread by the sword,” Bardakoglu said those ideas stemmed from prejudices and historical fears.
He instead wanted to emphasize the place of reason and peace in Islam.
“The faith in God, the possibility of every individual to pray to God directly, the possibility of exercising one’s freewill within the instructive and explanatory light of the religion of Islam form the base of freedom and rational thought as well.”
Pope Benedict XVI expressed hope that the intra-cultural dialogue would continue and Bardakoglu felt he had to address notions linking Islam with terrorism.
“We Muslims vehemently condemn all sorts of violence and terror; regardless of who commits the act and who suffers for it. We see these as crimes committed against the whole of humanity,” said Bardakoglu.
The pope mostly gave cordial messages to the Turkish people and Muslims in general. He maintained that, “God is our Creator. Christians and Muslims; all of us are members of the Abrahamic family, which believes in one God.”
The pope placed emphasis on working together:
“The most proper way for Christians and Muslims to walk together in this direction is uniting around a real dialogue where we try to understand each other sincerely while respecting the differences each other has and recognizing a common ground to stand on.”
Outside the building, around 40 members of a trade union held a demonstration in protest of Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey.
The protesters belonged to Memur-Sen, a conservative union of civil servants. They gathered in front of the Religious Affairs Directorate, where the pope was scheduled to visit later in the day.
The group chanted anti-pope slogans and carried placards and signs that read, "You're not welcome, Pope."
Mustafa Kir, chairman of the local branch of the union, addressed the protesters under heavy security.
"This pope is not coming with good intentions, this guest does not deserve respect," Kir said. "He came here by insulting our prophet and book". |
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