Turks say pope not welcome until he makes amends

Turks have today demanded Pope Benedict XVI make amends over comments on Islam that enraged Muslims before visiting the predominantly Muslim country in November.

“Either apologise, or do not come,” read a banner carried by dozens of protesters from a religious workers’ union in Ankara today – a sign many Muslims feel Benedict’s expression of regret on Sunday was insufficient.

The protesters reportedly demanded that the Justice Ministry arrest the pope on his arrival in Turkey and face trial on charges of insulting Islam and causing hatred based on religious differences.

Ilnur Cevik, editor-in-chief of The New Anatolian newspaper, said in a commentary today that the pope must reach out to Muslims before visiting Turkey.

“We too want this visit to materialise, but how? How can the pope make amends and convince the masses with religious sensitivities in Turkey that he is not an enemy of Islam and that he wants to forge an atmosphere of coexistence?” asked Cevik.

“This is a hard task which the pontiff has to undertake. If he fails to do this, it will be very hard for the Turkish people to give him a warm welcome.”

The source of the Islamic anger was a speech last week in which the pontiff cited a Medieval text that characterised some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith.”

Secular Turkey’s ruling Islamic-rooted government accused him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and called on the pontiff to offer a sincere and personal apology.

The pope said Sunday that he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims took offense, and stressed that the emperor’s words did not reflect his own opinion.

In Turkey, the pope’s remarks strengthened the widespread view that the pope is hostile to Turkey’s membership in the European Union.

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope questioned whether the European Union should open its doors to predominantly Muslim Turkey, saying its membership might be incompatible with European culture.

However, Cevik said the papal visit scheduled for November 28 could be an opportunity “to dispel prejudices on both sides.” civilisations

“The pope has to see the fact that secular Turkey with its huge Muslim population can be an asset for the European Union,” said Cevik. “He could see himself that Turkey could be a good bridge between civilisations and religions ... that this is a unique Muslim country with a Western look.”

Cengiz Aktar, a columnist for Turkish Daily News, agreed today, saying that the pope’s “most significant message could be how precious the peace we are all searching for would be: The EU membership of Muslim, but secular, Turkey.”

Catholic bishops met in Istanbul yesterday and decided the pope’s visit to Turkey in November should go ahead, said Monsignor Georges Marovitch, the Vatican embassy spokesman in Turkey. The pope was invited by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunchly secular leader.

Benedict is scheduled to visit Turkey from November 28 to December 1, where a focus of his visit will be meeting with the Istanbul-based leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I.

The top Muslim clergyman in the Palestinian territories today demanded Pope Benedict XVI offer a “clear apology” for remarks about Islam that ignited protests across the Muslim world.

The mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, urged Palestinians to stop their attacks on churches, but held the pontiff responsible for the outpouring of Muslim anger.

“So far, we consider the apology of the Vatican Pope insufficient,” Hussein told reporters.

“We firmly ask the Vatican Pope to offer a personal, public and clear apology to the 1.5 billion Muslims in this world.”

However the Pope’s expression of regret following his remarks on Islam and violence is acceptable, but the pontiff should avoid making future comments that could offend Muslims, Malaysia’s prime minister has said.

“I think we can accept it and we hope there are no more statements that can anger the Muslims,” Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told Malaysian journalists last night in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

Malaysia, which chairs the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the world’s biggest Muslim bloc, previously demanded that the pope offer a full apology and retract what he said.

Abdullah’s comments, carried today by the national news agency Bernama, came after he met with US President George Bush, who told the Malaysian leader he believed that Pope Benedict XVI was sincere in apologising following the angry response of Muslims to his recent speech.