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Pope turns to Mecca
30/11/2006 19:50 - (SA)
Istanbul - After offending the Muslim world by linking their religion with violence, Pope Benedict XVI - in an exceptional gesture - turned towards Mecca in an attitude of Muslim prayer at the Blue Mosque here on Thursday, Turkish state television showed.
Benedict, who became the second pope in history - after John Paul II in Damascus in 2001 - to set foot in a Muslim house of worship, made the gesture at the suggestion of Istanbul Mufti Mustafa Cagrici, his guide for the occasion.
The pope's spokesperson, Federico Lombardi, was quick to point out to journalists afterwards that the pope had not actually prayed, but was "in meditation".
After explaining the basics of Muslim prayer to the pontiff during the early part of the tour, Cagrici said: "Let us turn toward the Kiblah" - the direction of Mecca, which all Muslims must face when they perform their five-time-a-day prayers.
The pope complied.
The two men, clad in long white robes, stood side by side and immobile for about two minutes, their hands crossed on their stomachs in a classical Muslim prayer attitude known as "the posture of tranquility".
As he left the mosque after about half an hour, visibly delighted, the 79-year-old pontiff said: "This visit will help us find together the means and paths to peace, for the good of humanity."
- AFP
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