Pope Benedict XVI entered the Mosque with his shoes

Pope Benedict XVI did not remove his shoes to visit the largest mosque in Jordan, in Amman Saturday, as organizers had planned a special course that (according to them) does not require removing them, said the press spokesman of the Vatican , Father Federico Lombardi.

•     Father Lombardi was asked at a press conference that the pope had his shoes on his feet during the visit of the Mosque ‘El Hussein bin Talal’ in Amman, while it is generally required to remove his shoes when entering a mosque.
  
      Benedict XVI was prepared to remove them but his escorts have taken a special course and did not asked him to do so, he explained. He said that it should in no way be interpreted as a sign of disrespect to Islam.
  
      Prince Ghazi Ben Mohamed, cousin and advisor on religious affairs of King Abdullah II, who led the Pope during the visit, described it as a ‘goodwill gesture and a sign of mutual respect between Muslims and Christians.’
  
      Father Lombardi said that the architect of this mosque, recently built, was present and commented at length on various aspects of the building.
• The pope knows that shoes must be removed before entering a Mosque 
  
      During his visit to Istanbul in December 2006, Benedict XVI had removed his shoes before entering the Blue Mosque where he prayed, a gesture intended to turn the page of the crisis caused by his speech in Regensburg (Germany) in September. In this speech, the pope seemed to establish link between Islam and violence.
  
      His predecessor, John Paul II had also removed his shoes upon entering the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in May 2001, the first visit of a pope in a mosque.
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• Ennaharonline/ M. Oudina