Pope Benedict may visit Istanbul's biggest mosque during his trip to Turkey next week as a sign of respect for Islam, Vatican sources have confirmed.
It would be a highly symbolic visit for the pontiff, who recently enraged many Muslims by quoting a medieval Christian emperor who said Islam was "evil and inhuman", especially his command to spread his faith by the sword.
The visit to the famed Blue Mosque, built in 1609 to rival the city's magnificent Christian basilica, the Hagia Sophia, was suggested by Turkey's department of religious affairs, Turkish media sources said.
The same sources said that the Vatican had accepted and that the pope's itinerary was being adjusted accordingly. He is already scheduled to visit the basilica, which is now a museum.
There are fears that Benedict's four-day trip to Muslim Turkey, which is scheduled to start on November 28 in Ankara, could rekindle anger over his Islam comment.
Benedict has said on at least four occasions that he deeply regretted the offence his words had caused, stressing the quotation did not reflect his own opinion. But there is lingering resentment among some Turks, as was was demonstrated this week when about 40 ultra- nationalists stormed the Hagia Sophia as part of a protest against Benedict's trip.
In another sign of anti-pope feeling, a radical Islamic party is organising a protest in Istanbul on Sunday. The party, whose initiative has been backed by 60 Turkish Muslim associations, says it expects a million people to turn out. Turkey was one of the countries which reacted most strongly to the comment. Premier Tayyip Erdogan joined leading Islamic clerics in criticising the pope and demanding an apology.
Erdogan, along with his foreign minister, is scheduled to be away from Turkey during the pope's visit. Some Turkish and European commentators have speculated that this is no coincidence and instead a way of marking distance.
Erdogan has denied this and on Friday he revealed that a brief meeting with the pope when he arrives in Ankara on Tuesday may be possible. He also stressed that his government did not approve of the anti-pope demonstration being organised for Sunday.
Despite the background of tensions, the Vatican insists it has no fears for the pope's safety while he is in Turkey and he will not be wearing a bullet-proof vest at any time. "We're not worried. Turkey is able to guarantee security on this trip without any problems," said spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.
Turkish authorities are expected to put scores of snipers on rooftops during the pope's visit and police with machine guns will patrol the Bosphorus in boats when he is Istanbul.
The Turkish president, who invited Benedict to visit last year, has made available his bullet-proof limousines for the pope when he is in Ankara, Istanbul and Ephesus.
