Pope Benedict held a surprise meeting with a Turkish Cypriot Islamic leader today, underscoring his view that inter-religious dialogue should be used as an inspiration for reunion.

Pope Benedict had a brief encounter with Sheikh Nazim, the 88-year-old head of the Islamic Sufi Naqshbandi sect based in northern Cyprus, the Vatican said.

A moderate Islamic leader, Nazim is the 41st sheikh in the line of the sect, which adheres to a mystical form of Islam. It claims hundreds of thousands of followers and is growing in popularity across Europe and the US.   »»» RTÉ News

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