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Controversy surrounding the Pope's shoes in Amman, Jordan

by Amy Judd | May 9, 2009 at 03:23 pm

267 views | 28 Recommendations | 5 comments

Controversy today surrounding the Pope's shoes in a mosque in Amman, Jordan, when he entered the Hussein bin Talal Mosque in the capital and did not remove his shoes, which is considered a sign of disrespect in the Islamic world, and rumours started to fly that His Holiness was not taking into consideration the customs of other nations.

For the record, Benedict XVI did put on slippers when he entered Istanbul’s Blue Mosque in 2006.

Today’s frenzy only lasted about 15 minutes, however, as it quickly became clear that keeping his shoes on wasn’t the pope’s choice. Instead, it turned out that his hosts at the mosque had laid down small aisles of carpet for the pope and his party to walk along, so the visitors were told it wasn’t necessary to remove their shoes.

The Pope's spokesperson Fr. Frederico Lombardi, quickly cleared up the matter and said to reporters:

“It would be absolutely wrong to make a problem out of this.”

The Pope also did not stop for a momet of slient prayer, unlike his last mosque visit.
His behaviour in some circles in Turkey did not sit well with other Catholics, however Fr. Frederico Lombardi had an explanation for that as well:

Instead of being shown around by a Muslim cleric like in Turkey, Benedict was accompanied today by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, a cousin of King Abdullah II, and by an architect who pointed out features of structural and artistic interest. As a result, there was no natural moment to stop for silent prayer. (Or, as Fr. Lombardi put it today, “respectful reflection.”)

It seemed to be a clear indication that in Middle East countries it's important to remember that symbolism means a lot and everything the Pope does will be looked upon closely.

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Roy C

at 16:00 on May 9th, 2009

Yes, and everything that Islam does will be explained as being the result of a reaction to the Crusades' horrible deeds.

René

at 16:57 on May 9th, 2009

Much ado about nothing. Islamic world complains about everything and nothing.

Paschen

at 20:17 on May 9th, 2009

I am surprised he failed to do that.

JP II did always remove his shoes and so did Benedict the XVI until now when ever they entered a Mosque. Maybe there is another reason like a slip in protocol or he was told he could keep them on and made the mistake to do so... I do not think this was intentionally meant to provoke or show disrespect at least I really hope so.

Yet, he should have known better. And should have his entourage that could have stopped him diplomatically and helped him remember.