Pope meets with Turkey’s leading Muslim cleric, condemns religious violence, visits mosque

December 01, 2014

Following his arrival in the Turkish capital of Ankara on November 28, Pope Francis visited the Diyanet, or Presidency of Religious Affairs, which is led by Mehmet Görmez, the nation’s leading Muslim cleric.

Characterizing Islam as a “religion of peace,” Görmez described terrorism as “a rebellion against God, and as Muslims we reject this extremism and bloodshed,” the Hürriyet Daily News reported.

“Especially tragic is the situation in the Middle East, above all in Iraq and Syria,” Pope Francis said. “Everyone suffers the consequences of these conflicts, and the humanitarian situation is unbearable. I think of so many children, the sufferings of so many mothers, of the elderly, of those displaced and of all refugees, subject to every form of violence.”

The Pope, referring to the Islamic State, continued:

Particular concern arises from the fact that, owing mainly to an extremist and fundamentalist group, entire communities, especially – though not exclusively – Christians and Yazidis, have suffered and continue to suffer barbaric violence simply because of their ethnic and religious identity. They have been forcibly evicted from their homes, having to leave behind everything to save their lives and preserve their faith. This violence has also brought damage to sacred buildings, monuments, religious symbols and cultural patrimony, as if trying to erase every trace, every memory of the other.

“As religious leaders, we are obliged to denounce all violations against human dignity and human rights,” Pope Francis added. “Human life, a gift of God the Creator, possesses a sacred character. As such, any violence which seeks religious justification warrants the strongest condemnation because the Omnipotent is the God of life and peace. The world expects those who claim to adore God to be men and women of peace who are capable of living as brothers and sisters, regardless of ethnic, religious, cultural or ideological differences.”

On November 29, Pope Francis flew from Ankara to Istanbul, which is at once the largest city in Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East. In Istanbul, he visited Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as Pope Benedict had done in 2006.

Completed in 537, Hagia Sophia served as the basilica of the Patriarch of Constantinople until the Byzantine Empire’s fall to Ottoman Turks in 1453. Hagia Sophia was then used as a mosque until 1931 and reopened in 1935 as a museum under the secularizing Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Popularly known as the Blue Mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque was completed in 1616. While in the mosque, the Pope spent “several minutes in silent prayer,” according to a Vatican Radio report.

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Turkey (Holy See)
• As it happened: Pope Francis in first day of historic visit to Turkey (Hürriyet Daily News)
• Arriving in Turkey, Pope calls for fight against fundamentalism, terrorism (CWN, 11/28)
• In Istanbul: small steps towards ecumenical and interfaith progress (Vatican Radio)