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Pope urges solidarity to stop aggressors in Syria and Iraq

28 November 2014 18:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Pope Francis called for an end to all forms of fundamentalism on Friday and said fighting hunger and poverty, rather than military intervention alone, were key to stopping Islamist militants carrying out "grave persecutions" in Syria and Iraq, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Speaking at the start of a three-day trip to Turkey, Francis said "terrorist violence" showed no sign of abating in Turkey's southern neighbors, where Islamist insurgents had declared a caliphate and persecuted Shi'ite Muslims, Christians and others who do not share their ultra-radical brand of Sunni Islam.

"It is licit, while always respecting international law, to stop an unjust aggressor," the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics said in reference to the Islamic State militants after a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"What is required is a concerted commitment on the part of all ... (to) enable resources to be directed, not to weaponry, but to the other noble battles worthy of man: the fight against hunger and sickness," he said.

Before the meeting with Erdogan, Francis visited the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern secular Turkish state in 1923.

Francis faces a delicate mission in Turkey, a majority Muslim but constitutionally secular state, in strengthening ties with religious leaders while condemning violence against Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.

Francis called for interreligious dialogue "so that there will be an end of all forms of fundamentalism and terrorism which gravely demean the dignity of every man and woman and exploit religion."

Turkey has been a reluctant member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, refusing a frontline military role but backing the Syrian opposition and calling for President Bashar al-Assad to be toppled.

It is sheltering nearly 2 million refugees from Syria, thousands of Christians among them. Turkey has seen its own Christian population dwindle over the past century, with decades of violence and economic and political pressure forcing most Christians to leave after World War One and the emergence of the post-Ottoman Turkish state.

Turkey's Christian population has dwindled over the past century and minority groups fear Erdogan's roots in Islamist politics mean it is moving in an ever less tolerant direction.

"It is essential that all citizens - Muslim, Jewish and Christian - both in the provision and practice of the law, enjoy the same rights and respect the same duties," Francis said.