The Kreuzberg neighbourhood of Berlin is often referred to as “little Istanbul “. It’s famous for its Turkish Muslim population.Curiously it’s also where the Holy See’s representative to Germany, Archbishop Jean Claude Périsset has his residence, so pushing it a bit one could call this compound a ” little Vatican” of sorts.
Also because it’s where Benedict XVI stayed on the first night of the first State Visit to his homeland .
So when it came to choosing a venue for the Pope to meet with Muslim representatives on the morning of Friday 23rd of September , the location for this encounter seemed an obvious one.
And so at 9 am sharp the meeting began in this City of Berlin where minarets and domed roofs have hit the city’s sky line . The atmosphere was cordial and there were 15 representatives of the Muslim Community in Germany, the largest numerically in Western Europe after France and Britain. And it was as encounter between theologians, as the Muslim group was led by a Professor of Islamic theology Mouhanad Khorchide.
Speaking to the Pope , the Professor pointed to the fact that here in Germany there’s an ongoing process to establish Islamic Theology as a subject at German Universities. But he also highlighted the Catholic-Muslim Forum, launched in the Vatican in 2008 which he described as a major platform for Muslim-Christian dialogue , stressing the love of God and one’s fellows as the central binding link between Islam and Christianity .
And in his response to Professor Khorchide, Benedict XVI too highlighted some binding elements between the two faiths : “It seems to me, the Holy Father said, that there can be fruitful collaboration between Christians and Muslims. In the process, we help to build a society that differs in many respects from what we brought with us from the past. As believers, setting out from our respective convictions, we can offer an important witness in many key areas of life in society. I am thinking, for example, of the protection of the family based on marriage, respect for life in every phase of its natural course or the promotion of greater social justice.”
This meeting with the representatives of the well established Muslim community, mainly from Turkey, which represents a younger group than the mainstream German and since 9.11, unlike in the 1960’s and 70’s when integration went more smoothly, now causes concern for many who fear fundamentalist groups, marked the last of Benedict XVI’s appointments in Berlin.
A successful beginning to this four day official visit home for this Pope who seems to have charmed the previously aggressive media. The” Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung”, even went so far as to describe his keynote address at the Bundestag, the Federal Parliament: the “speech of the century” . Meanwhile on Friday his journey continues south of Berlin , in Erfurt as he flies to the Land of Luther.
via Vatican Radio – Theologians in Kreuzberg.