In response to thousands and thousands of crazed anti-Pope Benedict protesters taking to Turkish streets over the weekend, the article offers up one of those "Let's understand why they are acting this way" analyses.
Like after 9/11, rather than blame the terrorists, libs put the onus on Americans to determine what we did to bring the attacks on ourselves. Why are the terrorists so mad at us?
TIME takes a similar stance with the Turkish reaction to the Pope's upcoming visit to Turkey, straining to justify the intense anger.
"For many in Turkey, the visiting pontiff personifies the mounting hostility they feel from Europe."
Reporter Pelin Turgut writes:
It took a 12 hour bus ride for Hafize Kucuk and Sevgi Ozen, 21-year-old university students, to get from the northern Turkish city of Samsun to an Istanbul rally Sunday protesting Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey this week. But they thought little of the inconvenience. "This is a man who insulted our Prophet [Muhammad] and didn't even apologize properly," said Kucuk. "Now he's coming to our country, a Muslim country. This is unacceptable. We came to make our voices heard."
The rally, attended by some 15,000 Islamist protestors, was a colorful affair. Huge, lurid posters linking Benedict to Crusader knights. Hundreds of young men, wearing white headbands inscribed with the message "We don't want this sly Pope in Turkey", chanted angry slogans.
Militant protestors are a minority, but many Turks are deeply skeptical about a visit they view as part of a Western design against Turkey, which is mostly Muslim but officially secular.
I wouldn't call the rally a colorful affair at all.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a colorful affair.
"Colorful" is not the right word to describe the rally. The connotation is too kind.
I would call it a disgusting display of hate and intolerance.
..."At this point most Turks are deeply suspicious of the West," says Cengiz Aktar, political science professor at Galatasaray University. "They see this visit as yet another development to be suspicious of."
Oh, I see. It's the big, bad West that's causing Turks to act this way.
Our fault.
...Nationalists believe the Pope's visit to Hagia Sophia, a major tourist attraction, is a sign of Christian desire to reclaim it as a church. Newspapers have speculated feverishly over whether he will pray while inside.
"Its not that we have anything personal against the Pope," says Zafer Emanetoglu, head of the youth branch of the Islamist party which organized Sunday's rally. "But we know that he is here as part of a greater plan against Turkey, and to unite Christians against Muslims."
Blah, blah, blah.
That sounds insane. Pope Benedict isn't going to "reclaim" Hagia Sophia.
The notion that the protesters have nothing personal against the Pope is equally insane.
Clearly, many of them do.
I think the protests should be condemned for what they are -- UGLY.
Look at a sampling of pictures from protests over the weekend:
A Turkish woman brandishes her placards during an anti-Pope rally organized by Islam-based Welfare Party in Istanbul, November 26, 2006. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY)
That placard on the left seems pretty personal to me.
Supporters of the pro-Islamic Felicity Party wave Turkish and party flags during an anti-pope rally in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)
I demand an apology! These Muslims are insulting Jesus! Come on, Christians! Let's rally in the streets and chant anti-Muslim slogans and wear headbands!
When was the last time thousands and thousands of Christians did that in response to something Muslims said or did?
It didn't happen after Muslims killed three thousand innocents on American soil, all in the name of Allah.
A Turkish woman, wearing a headband that reads:'The ignorant and sneaky pope who insulted Islam and our Prophet should not come to Turkey' attends an anti-pope rally in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)
Again, that's personal.
An apology from these Muslims to Christians is definitely in order for insulting the Holy Father, calling him ignorant and sneaky.
A Turkish woman, wearing a headband that reads:'No to an alliance of crusaders, let the pope not come!', holds a banner during an anti-pope rally in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal)
Muslims are bashing Christians. Is that politically correct?
A Turkish nationalist glues posters against Pope Benedict XVI. Crowds have begun converging in central Istanbul for a demonstration called by a small Islamist party against the visit to Turkey by Pope Benedict XVI, which starts on Tuesday.(AFP/Bulent Kilic)
Nooooo. That poster doesn't look to be a personal attack on the Pope, does it? It's a very flattering depiction of Pope Benedict.
Right.
A girl shouts slogans during an anti-Pope rally organised by the Islam-based Welfare Party in Istanbul November 26, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI is expected to arrive in Turkey on Tuesday. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski (TURKEY)
Demonstrators chant slogans during an anti-Pope rally organized by Islam-based Welfare Party in Istanbul, November 26, 2006. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY)
These photos bother me most of all. They are children being taught to hate.
It looks like they've learned their lessons well.
Wouldn't it help matters if these Muslim children were being taught to love others?
Wouldn't it make a difference if these Muslim children were being taught tolerance rather than violence?
I truly don't understand how SOME Muslim parents can raise their children to hate Christians and other non-Muslims.
Don't they want their children to inherit a peaceful world?
If they do, they're going about it the wrong way.
_____________________________
VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) -- On a day that tens of thousands took to the streets denouncing a four-day papal pilgrimage to Turkey set to begin Nov. 28, Pope Benedict XVI called for prayers for the success of the visit to include interreligious dialogue with Orthodox Christians and Muslim leaders against the backdrop of underlying deep divisions in the nation.
In Nov. 26 remarks during the gathering at St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday recitation of the midday Angelus, the pope also focused on the day’s celebration of the feast of Christ the King and called for a commitment to avoid all discrimination against those afflicted with AIDS in anticipation of the observance of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
Extending greetings to “the dear Turkish people, so rich in history and culture” and “sentiments of respect and sincere friendship" to the nation and its representatives, Pope Benedict urged the thousands of pilgrims gathered to offer prayers “that this pilgrimage may bring the fruits that God desires.”
I'll be praying for the Pope's safety and a successful visit to Turkey.
I won't be marching in the streets insulting Muslims.
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