Pope Francis prays alongside Grand Mufti in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque
Pope treads carefully in footsteps of predecessor in ‘moment of silent
adoration’ to mark religious cooperation during Turkey visit
Constanze Letsch
The Observer, Saturday 29 November 2014 20.07 GMT
Pope Francis and Istanbul’s Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran pray together in
the Blue Mosque. Photograph: AP
In a gesture designed to highlight his commitment to inter-faith
dialogue, Pope Francis conducted a silent prayer alongside a senior
Islamic cleric in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday. Facing Mecca,
Francis bowed his head in prayer for several minutes while standing
next to Istanbul’s Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran. The Vatican described the
gesture as a “moment of silent adoration” of God.
Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict, caused dismay among many
conservative Catholics and some Muslims when he appeared to pray in
the same mosque on his visit to Turkey eight years ago. The Vatican
felt compelled to publish a statement saying that Benedict had merely
been in meditation, though he later acknowledged that he “certainly
turned his thoughts to God”.
Francis then paid a visit to the Hagia Sophia, the most important
cathedral of Orthodoxy for almost 1,000 years. The basilica was turned
into an imperial mosque under the Ottomans when they conquered the
city in 1453, and converted into a museum after the foundation of the
Turkish republic in 1923.
His visit was followed by a papal mass in the Catholic Cathedral of
the Holy Spirit, which the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman
Catholics said alongside Bartholomew I, head of the 300 million
Orthodox believers worldwide.
At the entrance to the church, Turks and foreigners alike strained to
catch a glimpse of the pope as he emerged after the mass. One
Argentinian TV assistant director, who came to visit his Turkish
girlfriend in Istanbul, said he was surprised and excited about the
possibility to see the pope. “This is the first stop for me, I came
straight from the airport,” he said.
Garbis Atmaca, 72, an Armenian jeweller from Istanbul, said he had
high hopes for the pope’s visit. “It is very good that he came,”
Atmaca said. “His visit will have a good impact on the Islamic world.
It will help foster understanding and peace.”
The mixed Christian community in Turkey is very small, estimated at
about 80,000 in a country of 75 million, and only the few Roman
Catholics and Chaldeans regard the pope as their spiritual leader.
Atmaca, who belongs to the Gregorian-Armenian church in Istanbul, said
that he nevertheless holds the current pontiff in high regard. “He is
a very modest man, the best pope we ever had.”
Three Austrian nuns who attended the mass said that they had never
seen as much cheering for a pope. “We came to see Pope Benedict eight
years ago,” one of them said. “But we have never seen anything like
this.”
Francis’s visit comes at a time of extreme hardship for the dwindling
Christian communities in the region, especially in neighbouring Syria
and Iraq where Islamic State (Isis) militants have captured large
swathes of land and persecuted Shia Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and
others who do not agree with their radical interpretation of Sunni
Islam. Many of those fleeing the violence currently live as refugees
in Turkey.
The 77-year-old Argentinian pontiff urged that fundamentalism be
fought not through military interventions, but by eradicating poverty,
hunger and marginalisation around the world.
“Both [the pope and Bartholomew] are deeply concerned about the brutal
treatment and expulsion of Christians from their homes in the region,
which has historically been the cradle of Christianity,” John
Chryssavgis, theological adviser at the Patriarch of Constantinople,
said.
Some fear that increased authoritarianism, nationalism and President
Erdogan’s constant focus on Sunni Muslim identity might lead to more
pressure on minorities in Turkey, too; others believe the situation
has started to improve for Christian minorities during the 12 years of
Islamic Justice and Development party government.
“Things are good now, better than before certainly,” Atmaca said. “I
think the Islamist rhetoric [of the government] is mostly show.”
Others feel there has been stagnation. “Things will likely not get
worse under the AKP,” said Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a human rights lawyer
and expert on minority rights. “But they will not get better either.
The Christians in Turkey should stand up for their rights and make
more demands.”
Speaking at the presidential palace on Saturday, Francis underlined
the importance of religious freedom for everyone. “It is essential
that all citizens – Muslim, Jewish and Christian – both in the
provision and practice of the law, enjoy the same rights and respect
the same duties,” he said in a joint press conference with Erdogan.
Later on Saturday, Bartholomew I, with whom the pope shares close
personal ties, is to receive Francis at the ecumenical patriarchate.
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/29/pope-francis-turkey-pray-blue-mosque-islam-cooperation