An interesting article in the New York Times ...
“The pope is both a political and religious figure,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an economic conference here. “But this person spoke in a way that is unfitting even for us politicians.”
... “If Western leaders of this kind are shutting the door, we are feeling very lonely, and prey to reactionary and nationalistic forces,” said Dogu Ergil, a political science professor at Ankara University. “Turks are increasingly feeling that they have no allies, and so be it.”
Mr. Ergil said such alienation had already curbed enthusiasm inside Turkey for joining the European Union, which he said could slow the pace of reform, and ultimately tilt Turkey away from the West.
The pope’s comments also angered other secularists, who took the pope’s speech as a kind of patronizing lecture from a flawed parent, condemning all Muslims for the sins of a few.
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