Heavy Security Expected During Pope’s Volatile Visit To Turkey
Posted November 27, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It is not the greeting the leader of millions of Roman Catholics usually receives.
But when Pope Benedict XVI lands in Turkey for an official state visit Tuesday, it’s clear he won’t be welcomed by a large number of people.
The pontiff has been under fire in the Muslim world since September, when he claimed the Prophet Mohammed has brought only ‘evil’ into the world and that he was ‘inhuman’.
That comment caused riots in some countries, threats in others and effigies of the Pope were burned in a large number of cities.
And now that he’s heading to a strongly Muslim country, believers are expected to take their protests to him in person.
There have already been numerous threats made against the religious leader, and security for his visit will be tight. The Pope is expected to eschew the bubbletop car for a heavily armoured vehicle and there are even reports he may wear a bulletproof vest under his garments.
Tens of thousands of protestors have already taken to the streets in advance of the four-day journey, shouting their disapproval. Others have unveiled banners depicting Benedict as a two headed snake.
“He’s coming to advance the ambitions of the Christian world. I don’t want him to come,” comments Sadik Kar, a 43-year-old computer salesman, after prayers at an Istanbul mosque.
For a time it appeared the upper echelons of the government in the country felt the same way. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had originally announced he would refuse to meet with the Pope to protest the remarks, leaving on a trip for Latvia instead.
But cooler heads prevailed on Monday and now the head of state will meet with the head of the church at the airport before he departs for his journey, fearing how such a diplomatic snub would be seen around the world.
“We see the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey as important,” assures Bulent Arinc, the head of Turkey’s parliament. “It may be possible to correct some mistakes by coming together. You don’t shake hands with a closed fist.”
