Constantinople, not Istanbul

Some Muslims in Turkey apparently are not a very modest people, and they seem to think that the world revolves around them. Pope Benedict XVI is in Turkey this week to meet with the Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Bartholomew I (the Orthodox Church split from the Catholic Church in 1054, yet remains close to Catholicism, and in recent history, steps have been furthered to reunite the two Churches).

His trip to Turkey, however, has an added component, something that was added after his September remarks in Regensburg. He will now be meeting with the leader of Turkey, some clerics of Islam, and he will be traveling to the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul, making it the second time in history that a Pope sets foot inside a mosque (Pope John Paul II was the first).

Adding to all of this, Pope Benedict XVI caused some controversy by letting it be known he was to visit the Hagia Sophia, a formerly Christian church that was violently turned into a mosque in 1453 (it has been a museum since 1935).

To make it more visibly known, Pope Benedict XVI is traveling to Turkey for one prime reason, and that is to meet with the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church. At the start of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI was given an invitation by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to visit him in Turkey. Seeing as how Pope Benedict XVI’s goal is to resolve schisms and promote dialogue among Christianity, he accepted.

By doing this, he is working towards repairing the 1000-year rift between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. In September, however, the Muslim component became a larger issue, and moderate Muslims called for meetings with him.

This event led to a small panic among radical Muslims, because they perceive the Pope’s trip as a way to “pull Turkey” out of the Islamic world. This, of course, is not such an easy task, especially noting that only 99.8% of Turkey’s population is Muslim. Then the protests began, and the lack of proper historical education in Turkey becomes evident. One protestor outside the Hagia Sophia carried a sign that said the Hagia Sophia is “Turkish and will remain Turkish.” Of course, it is known the Emperor Justinian I had it built, as a church no less, before Islam (and even Mohammed) existed! In the face of that, Benedict XVI visited the former church, and then proceeded to meet again with the Patriarch Bartholomew I.

Upon meeting Patriarch Bartholomew I, the two heads of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches signed a common declaration. Among other things, they called for a wider acceptance of Christians in Muslim countries - a response to calls by Muslims that the West be “more accommodating” to Muslims. One point that should be made, however, is that Christians are not exactly allowed to freely exercise their religion, especially inside of Turkey. For example, they cannot run schools of theology (the Orthodox seminary has been closed since 1971), they cannot have crosses on the outside of their churches, and the Turkish government states that it does not recognize the title of Ecumenical Patriarch of Bartholomew I.

If what Muslims seek is true equality and treatment in the historically Christian West, then they should see to it that Christians are afforded the same treatment and equality in the Muslim countries. The way to do this is to let Pope Benedict XVI peacefully meet with another Christian leader in a spiritual home of Christianity for many (so far they have done so, but not without threats). They should also take care to be open to criticism, and prove that they truly are a religion of peace, and not of violence. To further show that Islam is a peaceful religion, they should strongly condemn the violent statements made against the Pope, and treat him (and his fellow Christians) as they desire to be treated.