Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Istanbul (Agenzia Fides) – Following the example of the “Poverello di Assisi” (St. Francis), who went our to the encounter of the Sultan Melek el Kamel, the Franciscans of Turkey are working hard in the area of Islamic-Christian dialogue. Among their initiatives in improving relationships with the Turkish Muslim world, is a Symposium that will take place October 24, entitled: “The relationship between faith and reason in Islam and Christianity.” The event is being organized by the Franciscan Capuchin Friars of Turkey, in collaboration with the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome and the Theology Department at the University of Marmara (Istanbul).
This is the sixth year that the event is being held and it is expected to be attended by religious and civil leaders, university students, and communities interested in listening to talks from Christian and Muslim scholars. The objective of the encounter is to “understand and respect” one another, the Franciscan friars explain. Key documents for the sessions will include the speech of Pope Benedict XVI given in Ratisbona and the Letter sent about a year ago to the Holy Father by 138 Islamic Scholars.
The presence of the Franciscans among the Muslims in Turkey is marked by the desire to see them as brothers, for love of Christ, and to come to a mutual understanding. This comes about through an experience of friendship and sharing experiences, according to the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi of “humbling oneself” and receiving the other person with their culture and religious traditions.
“With the Christian community, joyful in the midst of trials, we share the responsibility of offering a testimony and of announcing the Gospel to those of our brethren who still do not know Christ,” in the spirit of St. Francis: “Filled with divine inspiration, go my brothers to the Muslims. Live among them as minors, always being instruments of peace and reconciliation, without dispute and confessing your Christian faith at every moment (cf. The Rule, 16.6).”
The first missionary expedition of Capuchin Franciscans to Turkey was in 1587, in order to offer support to the Christian community in Istanbul, to substitute the Jesuits who had died from the plague. The Franciscan missionaries gained so much esteem from the people that they were permitted to “move freely” in the Ottoman Empire, something unique for a religious order at that time. They gained the favor of the Sultans in various moments in history, however their work did cost the lives of many missionaries. The wars at the beginning of the 1900s reduced the presence of the friars to about twenty who are now dispersed among the following six cities: Istanbul, Smyrna, Ephesus, Mersin, Iskenderun, and Antioch. They are now an important presence that maintains the witness to the Gospel in Asia Minor alive, carrying out a pastoral ministry that is compatible with the local laws.
Turkey has a population of 70 million, 99% of whom are Muslim. Christians are only 0.6% of the population, about 30,000 of whom are Catholics. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/10/2008)
