Pope prays at Turkey mosque
(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-01 08:59
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Pope Benedict XVI joined an Islamic cleric in prayers
under the towering dome of Istanbul's most famous mosque Thursday in a powerful
gesture seeking to transform his image among Muslims from adversary to
peacemaker.
Pope Benedict XVI, right, is greeted by Istanbul's Mufti
Mustafa Cagrici outside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday,
Nov. 30, 2006. The pope visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul on the third
day of his four-day trip to Turkey. [AP]
 | The
pope's minute of prayer was done in silence, but the message of reconciliation
was designed to resonate loudly nearly three months after he provoked worldwide
fury for remarks on violence and the Prophet Muhammad.
"This visit will help us find together the way of peace
for the good of all humanity," the pope said inside the 17th-century Blue
Mosque - in only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of
worship. Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, made a brief stop in a mosque in
Syria in 2001.
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