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Al Qaeda in Iraq, Vatican trade words on pope visit




CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Al Qaeda in Iraq on Wednesday denounced Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey, calling it part of a "crusader campaign" against Islam. The Vatican said the comments showed the need to fight "violence in the name of God."

The trip is Benedict's first visit to an Islamic country as pontiff, seeking dialogue with Muslims who were angered over a speech he made in September in which he cited a medieval text that linked Islam and violence.

Al Qaeda in Iraq, the most feared Islamic militant group in Iraq, issued its statement on an Islamic militant Web site it often uses to post messages.

"The Pope's visit, in fact, is to consolidate the crusader campaign against the lands of Islam after the failure of the crusader leaders (in Iraq and Afghanistan) ... and an attempt to extinguish the burning ember of Islam inside our Turkish brothers," it said.

It pointed to the pope's "bald-faced attack on Islam in September." The pope's speech at the time prompted outrage across much of the Islamic world, after he quoted a medieval document that called the Prophet Mohammed violent.

The al Qaeda in Iraq statement did not include any direct threat to the pope, saying only that the group is "confident in the defeat of Rome in all parts of the Islamic world."

The Vatican said Wednesday that the al Qaeda in Iraq denunciation shows the need for faiths to fight "violence in the name of God."

"This type of message shows once again the urgency and importance of a common commitment of all forces against violence," Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said. "It also shows the need of various faiths to say 'no' to violence in the name of God." (Watch Pope Benedict try to mend fences in Turkey )

The authenticity of the al Qaeda statement could not be confirmed. It was signed by the "Islamic state in Iraq," the so-called Islamic government that the group declared earlier this year and that now issues all its messages.

Pope reaches out to Christian minorities
On Wednesday Pope Benedict began his pilgrimage among Turkey's tiny Christian communities by paying homage to an Italian priest slain during Islamic protests and noting the pressures facing religious minorities across the Muslim world.

The pope is expected to sharpen his calls for what the Vatican calls "reciprocity" -- that Muslim demands for greater respect in the West must be matched by increased tolerance and freedoms for Christians in Islamic nations.

But too much pressure by the pope, who arrived in Istanbul late Wednesday and leaves Turkey on Friday, could risk new friction with Muslims after broad gestures of good will in the opening hours of the trip Tuesday that sought to ease simmering Muslim anger over the pope's remarks on violence and the Prophet Mohammed.

The deepening ties with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I -- called the "first among equals" of the Orthodox leaders -- also is watched with suspicion in Turkey as possible challenges to state-imposed limits on Christian minorities and others. Benedict has declared a "fundamental" commitment to try to heal rifts between the two ancient branches of Christianity, which split nearly 1,000 years ago over disputes including papal authority.

On Wednesday morning, the pope left behind the sprawling Turkish capital Ankara for the ruins of a small stone home at the end of a dirt road near the Aegean Sea coast -- the site where the Virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last years. (Watch Pope Benedict offer his blessings )

At an outdoor Mass attended by only 250 invited guests, the pope noted the challenges facing the "little flock" of Christians in Turkey.

"I have wanted to convey my personal love and spiritual closeness, together with that of the universal church, to the Christian community here in Turkey, a small minority which faces many challenges and difficulties daily," the pope said.

At times, he smiled and showed flashes of the pastoral flair of his predecessor, John Paul II, in one of the most intimate papal gatherings since John Paul's trip to remote Mount Sinai during a trip to Egypt in 2000.

Benedict went on to honor the memory of a Catholic priest who was slain in Turkey amid Muslim anger over the publication in European newspapers of caricatures of Mohammed.

"Let us sing joyfully, even when we're tested by difficulties and dangers as we have learned from the fine witness given by the Rev. Andrea Santoro, whom I am pleased to recall in this celebration," said Benedict. He later walked amid the crowd as they reached to touch his gold-and-white robes and cried "Viva il Papa" and "Benedetto," his name in Italian.

In February, a Turkish teenager shot the Italian priest as he knelt in prayer in his church in the Black Sea port of Trabzon. The attack was believed to have been linked to outrage over the cartoons. Two other Catholic priests were attacked this year in Turkey, where Christians have often complained of discrimination and persecution.

On Tuesday, the pope urged religious leaders of all faiths to "utterly refuse" to support any form of violence in the name of faith. He also said religious freedom was an essential element of democratic values.

He sought a careful balance as he held out a hand of friendship and "brotherhood" to Muslims on his first visit to a Muslim country, and expressed support for measures that Turkey has taken in its campaign to join the European Union.