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Pope turns to Mecca at Istanbul
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John Henry
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Dec 04, 2006 21:24 PST
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POPE TURNS TO MECCA AT
ISTANBULDecember 1, 2006
Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in Istanbul
AFTER offending the Muslim world by linking their religion with violence,
Pope Benedict XVI, in an exceptional gesture, turned towards Mecca in an
attitude of Muslim prayer at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul today, Turkish
state television showed.
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.
The Pope's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, was quick to point out to
journalists afterwards that the Pope had not actually prayed but was
"in meditation".
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 five-time-a-day prayers.
The Pope complied.
The two men, clad in long white robes, stood side by side and immobile
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
both hands, signalling the end of the prayer.
The Pope then pursued his tour of the imposing early-17th century
edifice, Istanbul's best known mosque, and exchanged presents with the
mufti.
"This picture is meant as a message of fraternity - a
souvenir of this visit that I will certainly never forget," the pope
said, presenting Cagrici with a mosaic representing doves.
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," said the mufti.
The Blue Mosque, known officially as the Sultan Ahmet mosque, opened in
1616 and is the most famous in Turkey.
It got its popular name from the fine blue Iznik tiles in the main prayer
room.
It stands in Sultan Ahmet Square in the old centre of Istanbul, opposite
the Aya Sofya museum which was once the Christian church Hagia
Sophia.
The Pope visited the mosque after a short tour of Aya Sofya.
As he left the mosque after about half an hour, 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 Ravensburg, Germany, he seemed to draw a parallel between
Islam and violence.
His four day trip to Turkey that began on Wednesday - his first to a
Muslim country - 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.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20852375-5005361,00.html
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