Pope Benedict held a surprise meeting with a Turkish Cypriot Islamic leader today, underscoring his view that inter-religious dialogue should be used as an inspiration for reunion. Pope Benedict had a brief encounter with Sheikh Nazim, the 88-year-old head of the Islamic Sufi Naqshbandi sect based in northern Cyprus, the Vatican said.
A moderate Islamic leader, Nazim is the 41st sheikh in the line of the sect, which adheres to a mystical form of Islam. It claims hundreds of thousands of followers and is growing in popularity across Europe and the US.
The brief but symbolic encounter took place outside the small Holy Cross Church, which is in the buffer zone, a no-man's-land splitting Cyprus east to west and patrolled by United Nations troops.
Cyprus, including its capital Nicosia, has been split between its Greek and Turkish populations since Turkey invaded its north in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup.
'I am happy to come here to visit a great man .... may Allah grant him a good life here and hereafter,' Nazim told reporters as he arrived at the Church complex which has served as the residence for the pope during his three-day trip.
Benedict is only visiting the south of the island, territory run by Cyprus's internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Nazim came from the Turkish occupied north for the meeting.
The pope has said his visit is not political and has mostly skirted around the highly complex issue of Cyprus's division.
But in a speech to Archbishop Chrysostomos, head of Cyprus's Orthodox Church, Benedict said he hoped all 'could find the wisdom and strength to work together for a just settlement'.
The main purpose of the pope's trip to Cyprus is the release on Sunday of a working document for a synod of Catholic bishops from the Middle East to be held at the Vatican in October.SIC: RTÉ