The Pope's perilous visit to Turkey

For the journalist Henri Tincq, a specialist on religions, Benedict XVI's speech in Regensburg "had the merit of re-opening debate on faith, reason and the seeds of violence planted in all religions. Muslim intellectuals have seized it. ... For them, to re-open the doors of 'Ijtihad', the interpretation of sacred texts, is no longer a taboo subject. ... The Pope's trip to Turkey is therefore both a risk and a precious opportunity. The risk is that tension will become worse if Benedict XVI makes any statements that are once again judged provocative, or if the nationalist Islamists manifest their impatience. But the opportunity is equally there for a new understanding between Christianism and Islam in a secular Muslim country which 20th century experience has revealed to be, despite its crises and repression, democratically and secularly soluble."

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