IN THE SHADOW OF MUHAMMAD
Written by Robert Sand

Cherry Creek News, CO
Dec 18 2006

Upon his arrival, the airport and its vicinity were deserted; the
streets leading to the Turkish capital were empty; and the soldiers
posted on the hilltops stood motionless. There was neither playing
of anthems at the airfield, nor streamers or children.

If such a visit is indeed a crusade to re-establish Byzantium in
the 99-percent Muslim Turkey, an interpretation advanced by the
nationalist-Islamist Felicity Party, then such invasion could well
have been the gentlest one yet to occur in history. An invasion to
make amends rather than occupation. The pope’s September remarks,
interpreted by many as insulting to the Prophet Muhammad, overshadowed
his every move.

The recent visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey is not a political
visit, as some have been explaining, rather a pastoral mission aimed
at promoting dialogue and commitment to peace. Throughout the trip
the pope appeared in a somber mood. Great results cannot be expected
from a three day visit. Though its value is symbolic, the visit was
all about gesture.

In Turkey itself, both Christian and Muslim monuments testify to
the country’s glorious past. Though Turkey has preserved historical
monuments, it has ignored the fact that churches and cemeteries
belonging to massacred Armenians, Greeks and Syrians have been left
to decay in Anatolia.

The pope emphasized the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which
enumerated the common Abraham roots of Islam and Christianity. He
spoke of both religions as upholding the dignity of the human being.

He showed his sense of humor too. "I would like to recite a few
sentences from Pope Gregorius VII, from the year 1076, which sentences
were addressed to a Muslim prince from North Africa" he insinuated. All
trembled at the thought of a new blunder, another misunderstood Koran
exegesis. Benedict XVI though seemed to enjoy the moment. He pursued:
"Gregorius VII spoke of the special love (caritas) Christians and
Muslims owe each other, for both believe in, and attest to one God,
in different ways, every day praising Him and revering Him as the
creator and ruler of the universe".

Although Benedict XVI generally condemns secularism in the
industrialized world, he preached in Ankara the virtues of Turkish
secularism, before the diplomatic corps. Civil society in Turkey,
he chanted, "is clearly separated from religion, so that each is
autonomous while respecting the sphere of the other."

It was a rhetorical masterpiece. While praising Turkey’s constitutional
separation between church and state, the pope at the same time urged
the country to live up to its own law as he expressed, "I am pleased
to note that believers, whatever their religious affiliation, continue
to enjoy this right in the certainty that freedom of religion is one
of the cornerstones of humanity’s freedom."

But Benedict has one consolation: his predecessor didn’t fare any
better. John Paul II, who traveled to Turkey, with stops in Ankara,
Istanbul and Ephesus, in the early stage of his papacy in November
1979, found a cool reception too, complete with insults and death
threats, just like the reception granted to the pope from Germany.