April 2, 2005: The world mourns as Pope John Paul II passes away.
April 19, 2005: John Alois Ratzinger is elected Pope Benedict XVI.
Sept. 12, 2006: Benedict calls Islam's message "evil and inhuman" during a speech in his native Germany.
Today. Nov. 30, 2006: The world holds its breath as the pope visits the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in one of Islam's greatest strongholds-Istanbul.
Pope Benedict has yet to issue a full apology for his comments in September. He claims to be "very upset" about the effects his speech had on Muslims and supports the Vatican's view that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God." What effect will his comments have as he travels to Turkey?
Tensions between Christians and Muslims in Turkey have been high. In February, a Catholic priest was shot and killed by a teenage boy while praying in his church on a Sunday morning. On Thanksgiving, Two Turkish Christians were brought to trial, accused of "insulting Turkishness" and stirring up feelings of hatred against Islam. And just four days ago, more than 25,000 Turks gathered to greet the Pope in mass protest.
The advertised and original purpose of the visit was to strengthen ties between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Until the pope's comments in Germany, the Vatican had not indicated that this trip was at all designed to make overtures to Turkey or to Islam-surprising considering Turkey's overwhelming Muslim population.
Duke Professor Güven Güzeldere, a Turkish native, agrees that Benedict hasn't come to Turkey to build bridges. "This pope is an academic pope," he told Duke News. "He is not so much focused on the politics of the day or a dialogue between Islam and Christianity as positioning Catholicism in alliance with Orthodoxy."
Güzeldere believes the push for a Catholic-Orthodox alliance owes to the pope's desire "to situate this Greco-Roman Christian concept of God who acts according to reason against what he considers the Muslim concept of a transcendent God who is not bound by rationality." In addition to positioning Roman Catholicism against Islam, by this definition, Benedict would also place the Church in further opposition to Protestantism.
Professor Güzeldere contends that Benedict has recognized the war that Protestantism and science are waging against each other; it seems that the pope hopes to distance Roman Catholicism as well as Orthodoxy from this fight. An understanding between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches could shift the power back toward a sort of harmony between religion and science.
Today is perhaps the most important day of the Pope's short visit to Turkey-and the results could further clarify the Pope's perspective on Islam.
The Hagia Sophia, now a museum and popular tourist attraction, was built in the 6th century on the ruins of an early chapel. In the 15th century, when Constantinople was renamed Istanbul by Muslims, the Hagia Sophia became a holy place for the new ruling religion. In the 1930s, it began a new life as a museum; no religious ceremonies of any kind are allowed inside its walls today.
Any sign of religious devotion inside this building would be massively disrespectful to the pope's Muslim hosts. Past popes have had varied reactions on their visits: Pope Paul VI ignored acceptable protocol and knelt in reverence during his visit, while John Paul II respectfully contained himself.
Pope Benedict will also make a newly scheduled stop at the Blue Mosque, in what would appear to be an attempt to smooth things over with Muslims. He is the second pope to ever enter a mosque; John Paul II broke the ice in 2001 by visiting one in Damascus.
What the Pope says and does on this trip will be under close scrutiny. His half-hearted apology and his original schedule for this trip indicate that he's somewhat ambivalent about interaction between faiths. Apart from his background-deeply rooted in theology and academic study-it appears that the Pope might be more interested in Christian politics than the troubled waters of international relations.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't pose a problem. But unfortunately for Benedict, he follows in the footsteps of a Pope who became an international celebrity and symbol of peace and reconciliation. At a time of worldwide division and conflict, it would be wise for Benedict to take a page from his predecessor's book and help heal ancient divides. Perhaps we too, as students often locked in the Ivory Tower, should take this example to heal divides with action instead of photo ops.
As the leader of the largest denomination of the world's largest religion, one must decide whether to spend one's time tirelessly working for communication and peace between the world's religions and people, or whether to create even deeper divides between the factions of Christianity throughout the world. As his papacy is still in its infancy, he has the opportunity to embrace the former and avoid the latter.
It would also be wise for Benedict to take a page from the Good Book: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand."
Emily Thomey is a Trinity junior. Her column runs every other Thursday.
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