Turkish Officials Condemn Pope Benedict XVI's Remarks on Islam

Turkish parliamentary and labor union figures voiced sharp criticism of Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006 over comments he made about Islam.

Hasan Korkmazcan, chairman of the Turkish Parliamentarians' Union, held a press conference at the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. He argued that the Pope's hostility toward Islam reflected the institutional nature of the church, which he described as organized clergy acting against individual reason and conscience. Korkmazcan said such hostility was predictable given the Vatican's structure, and called the remarks inappropriate for a head of state.

Separately, members of Kamu-Sen, the Turkish Public Workers' Labor Union, placed a black wreath outside the Vatican Embassy in Ankara to protest the Pope's statements about Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

Bilal Eser, chairman of the Turk Diyanet Vakif-Sen union affiliated with Kamu-Sen, spoke at the embassy and said the Pope's remarks caused harm not only to the Christian world but to the broader cause of peace among peoples.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.