Pope Francis has taken part in a Muslim prayer alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul on the second leg of his three -day visit to Turkey.

Francis stood on Saturday morning with his head bowed and hands clasped in front of him in a two minutes of silent prayer inside the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet mosque , aiming to show respect for Islam and encourage stronger ties between the two faiths .

" May God accept it, " Rahmi Yaran , the Grand Mufti of Istanbul told the pope at the end of the prayer.

Earlier, Yaran gave Francis a tour of the mosque which is famed for its elaborate blue tiles and cascading domes and better known as the Blue Mosque .

Francis then visited the nearby Haghia Sofia, which was
the main Byzantine church in Constantinople - present - day Istanbul - before being turned into a mosque following the Muslim conquest of the city in 1453 . The Haghia Sophia is now museum, although some Islamic groups want it to be converted back into a mosque .

A few dozen well - wishers outside Haghia Sophia waved a combination of the Turkish and the flag of the Holy See.

Maamin:
Ummm..keep us posted when the pope says the shahadah. Till then..*squeezes thread and throws into dustbin*

Rilwayne001:


And did you see me claim that the Pope will convert?

Maamin:


Did I said you claimed that the pope will convert

Macelliot:
The Pope wants peace. He wants your muslims extremist brothers to stop beheading Christians in the middle east, so He is clamouring for peace.

Rilwayne001:


And why are you expecting him to recite the shahada?

Maamin:


And what is special about Pope Francis Prays In Istanbul's Blue Mosque?

Rilwayne001:


And where did i call it a special news?

Maamin:

And where did I said you call it special news?

Maamin:

And what is special about Pope Francis Prays In Istanbul's Blue Mosque?

Rilwayne001:


I guess you don't know what you are doing, do you?

Maamin:


Oh dearie me , No sire is you that does not know what you are doing
When I said "what is special..".. [b] did I said you said exactly those 3 words in bold?

tartar9:
may Allah(SA) guide him to Islam.cant wait for when the flag of the Caliphate flies over st.peters basillica.

Maamin:


And what is special about Pope Francis Prays In Istanbul's Blue Mosque?

Rilwayne001:


Yes, he is a good man.

tintingz:
Lol... Rilwyne001 and Maamin.

tartar9:
may Allah(SA) guide him to Islam.cant wait for when the flag of the Caliphate flies over st.peters basillica.

Burmak:
[s] Am a catholic but i do not support the pope's action.his predecessors did the same but with what results? No true peace without christ the pope is just wasting his precious time,if you want there to peace pray for them to be converted to christ's all this dialogue is useless jesus instructed his church to pray for them and make them his disciples and not to dialogue with them.
These people are only doing what their god commanded them they can never change its like trying to evangelise lucifer [/s]

Rilwayne001:


You know better that the Pope, is'nt it?

Rilwayne001:


http://m.aljazeera.com/story/20141129122643736106