Pope could use Turkey trip to appease Muslims

The papal trip to predominantly Muslim Turkey in late November could provide an opportunity to support dialogue and friendship between religions and people to help defuse the anger in the Islamic world triggered by remarks of Pope Benedict XVI on Islam and violence.

The entire Islamic world from Turkey, a secular and pro-Western country, to the Middle East and Pakistan has been outraged at the pontiff’s remarks since last week with Turkey’s ruling Islamic-rooted government accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and calling on the pontiff to offer his sincere and personal apology.

The anger began after Pope Benedict XVI, in a talk in Germany on rejecting religious motivation for violence, cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterised some of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as “evil and inhuman”, particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith”.

The pope said on Sunday that he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims took offence and stressed that the emperor’s words did not reflect his own opinion. However, most in the Islamic world, including the Turks, were not satisfied.