Turkey: Thousands rally in Istanbul against papal visit(may visit Hagia Sophia)

AFP ^ | 11/26/06 | Nicolas Cheviron

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ok, Pope may replace U.S. as a Great Satan of Jihadis.:-)

[claptrap]

How do these people even manage to feed themselves?

To say they are idiots is denegrating to actual idiots.

[spanalot]

the Pope is a very brave man

[the invisib1e hand]

Turkey...

Heaving breasts, silky thighs....I love Thanksgiving.

[the invisib1e hand]

How to describe the "war on terror?"

"Allahu Akbar," the protestors chanted, followed by others who shouted "Down with Israel" and "Down with America."

This how the enemy describes it. Wake up, America.

[sageb1]

And in other developments

MAS [Muslim American Society] Plans "Pray-In" at Reagan Airport (BARF Alert!)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1744062/posts?page=1

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Hate on display. And this backward country wants to join the European union! That's like headhunters asking to join a soccer team.
And the Pope was right in September.

[George W. Bush]

The rally highlighted another sensitivity the pope's program has touched here -- his planned visit to Hagia Sophia, a sixth century Byzantine church which was converted to a mosque in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople. It was transformed into a museum in 1935.

Hagia Sophia, a truly lovely ancient church with a great history, and other churches should be returned to the Orthodox and to the various Catholics who built them. Well, if the Turks hadn't virtually exterminated them.

Being a non-RC, I may not have a dog in the fight but I'm not sure the pope has any good prospect here to relieve the persecution of Christians by Muslims. I suppose I should just hope they don't murder him for saying they're a violent religion. We know the natural tendencies of the Religion Of Peace^TM.

[Loyalist]

In anticipation of the demonstration, the pro-SP daily Milli Gazete headlined its front page Sunday with the words: "This is Istanbul, not Constantinople."

Been a long time gone
Old Constantinople
Still has Turkish delight
On a moonlight night
Evr'y gal in Constantinople
Is a Miss-stanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul.

[Gritty]

I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that the only Good Muslim is a Dead Muslim.

[ClaireSolt]

Thousands in a country of how many millions?

[cousair]

Boy, are you ever right!!!!!

[El Gato]

Chanting Islamist slogans and brandishing banners against Western intervention in the Middle East, thousands of people have rallied here to denounce the visit to Turkey by Pope Benedict XVI, which starts on Tuesday.

Of course whenever one of the Imams, Ayatollahs, Muftis or yabba dabba does visits the West, there are mass demonstrations, with much looting an property damage

....

Oh wait, that just happens after the home team wins a national championship.. never mind.

[El Gato]

How do these people even manage to feed themselves?

In many countries, they don't. Turkey is not one of them though. Still they have plenty of the Islamist sub idiots.

[El Gato]

The rally highlighted another sensitivity the pope's program has touched here -- his planned visit to Hagia Sophia, a sixth century Byzantine church which was converted to a mosque in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople

If Christians and Jews played by the rules of Islam, that is anyplace that was ever trod by a Muslim, is theirs forever. We'd have to retake Constantinople, aka Istanbul, and force all it's inhabitants to convert... or at least pay a special tax.

[El Gato]

I should just hope they don't murder him for saying they're a violent religion

That would make the Poles, Italians, French, a good chunk of the Germans (if not all of them, the Pope is German after all) and many Americans, including many non Roman Catholics.... upset... maybe upset enough to actually wake up and smell the coffee... maybe.

[Peter Libra]

Thank you for this post.

I am making a special effort to follow this visit of the Pope. Especially encouraging are the last two paragraphs of this post. Reading from it, it does seem that there was a militant Islamic party. It was removed from power and then outlawed.

It seems that the Prime Minister Erdogan was in that party , but left to form a party that respects the secular aspect of Turkey.

As to the Sophia Hagia- said to be one of the "wonders of the world"- I must concede, I have now seen photographs of it. This courtesy of Wikipedia.

It must be the spring weather up in Great Lakes country. I have a feeling of optimism.

The jury is still out on the state of Turkey. At least they quickly arrested that would be assassin of the previous Pope.He had served his sentence and was released and deported to Turkey. He had murdered a journalist in Turkey previously.

[Highway55]

Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

from, "They Might be Giants."

[George W. Bush]

As to the Sophia Hagia- said to be one of the "wonders of the world"- I must concede, I have now seen photographs of it. This courtesy of Wikipedia.

I never knew much about it but saw a program in HDTV (HDNet, I think) with some wonderful shots of the interior and exterior, how it was designed and built...well, it was a wonderful story. It is, as an ancient church prominent in history, something that all Christians can lay some claim to even if they aren't Orthodox. I would not feel the same way about the Vatican or the cathedrals of Europe.

[Churchillspirit]

Extremely well put.