Posted on 09/19/2006 4:52:17 AM PDT by Brilliant
Employees of the state body that organizes Muslim worship in Turkey asked the authorities on Tuesday to open legal proceedings against Pope Benedict and to arrest him when he visits the country in November.
Muslims worldwide have been angered by remarks the Pope made in a lecture last week that they said portrayed Islam as a religion tainted by violence and irrationality.
Benedict has said he is deeply sorry Muslims have been offended by his use of a medieval quotation on Islam and holy war, but has stopped short of retracting his comments.
Employees of Ankara's Directorate General for Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, presented a petition to the Justice Ministry asking it to launch a probe into the Pope's remarks and to detain him when he arrives, the Anatolian news agency said.
They said the Pontiff had violated Turkish laws upholding freedom of belief and thought by "insulting" Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.
The protesters held banners that read "Either apologize or don't come."
It is not uncommon for individuals or organizations in Turkey to seek legal action against world leaders whose actions they disapprove of. They have never succeeded.
Benedict is due to pay an official visit to Turkey on November 28-30, his first to a Muslim country since he became Pope.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has described the Pope's comments on Islam as "ugly" but the government has said it still expects the visit to go ahead on schedule.
The Diyanet controls all imams in Turkey, writes their Friday sermons and sends prayer leaders to Turkish communities abroad.
Ali Bardakoglu, head of the Diyanet, has criticized the Pope's remarks but has also welcomed his subsequent apology.
Exactly. It's all just inflamed, frenzied emotionalism, and there is absolutely no rational thought behind it. (Because, of course, if the people were actually capable of thinking for themselves, then the mullahs would lose there power)
Denial isn't just a river in Egpyt. Islam = denial
Wasn't it a Turk who shot the previous Pope?
I live in Turkey but have never heard of these idiots' petition. The Turkish press probably didn't find it worth reporting.
Excuse me but would you please compare the number of people Muslims have killed vs. those killed by Catholics?
A lot more people have been killed by mooslims than have ever been cilled by Catholics.
Really? Did Moslems have anything to do with World War II for instance? Last I heard, 50 million people died during that war and thats more than the total number of people killed in all wars in history.
Yes an insane dimwhit who thinks he' the Mesiah. He was hired by Bulgarian intelligence to do the job, by the way.
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