Conspiracy theorists in Turkey consider Pope’s visit to Iraq a secret message

With the Turkish pro-government media already flooded with conspiracy theories, anti-Semitism and propaganda, Pope Francis I's current visit to Iraq has prompted Islamist conspiracy theorists to raise the issue that the visit amounts to Western meddling in Turkey's affairs, Ahval reported.

One of the most prominent pro-government Islamist columnists for the Yeni Safak newspaper, Yusuf Kaplan, described the pontiff's visit as a Vatican-Zionist siege.

Ibrahim Karagul, another pro-government Islamist columnist, commented on a photo taken during a meeting between the Pope and Ayatollah Sistani, a leading spiritual leader of Iraqi Shia Muslims.

He referred to the photo as alarming noting the image can be used to write a book.