Many, both Protestants and Catholics, are in a hubbub over the fact that Pope Francis recently visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and: Facing Mecca, Francis bowed his head in prayer for several minutes while standing next to Istanbul’s Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran. The Vatican described the gesture as a “moment of silent adoration” of God. Of course a person can pray anywhere, but much was made of the fact that he supposedly faced Mecca while doing this. Personally I really dont think this would be an issue, but my knowledge of geography caused me to check something on the map and it was confirmed that by facing Mecca from Istanbul one would first be facing Jerusalem, the same direction observant Jews face when praying (Because it was the site of the Temple), and where the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulcher and many other Christian holy sites reside (See the attached map). So really it is a matter of opinion whether he was facing Mecca or Jerusalem.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 22:42:45 +0000
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