Many commentators on the late Pope John Paul II's ministry have noted his outreach efforts towards the Muslim world. Apparently it was a two-way street. On April, 4 Metin Kaplan, nicknamed the "Caliph of Cologne" and leader of the self-proclaimed "Anatolian Federal Islamic State" told a tribunal in Istanbul, "When I was in Germany, before the pope's death, I wrote him a letter, asking him to convert to Islam," adding that it was his "responsibility" as a Muslim to try "to bring the pope into the Islamic fold." Kaplan is on trial for attempting to overthrow Turkey's secular political system and an alleged 1988 effort to crash an aircraft into Kemal Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara. Prosecutor Suleyman Pehlivan is seeking a life sentence. Kaplan led the Cologne-based extremist Hilafet Devleti, a movement that translates to "Caliphate State." Germany extradited Kaplan to Turkey in October 2004 after he served four years in prison for ordering the murder of a rival religious leader, after receiving assurances that he would not face capital punishment. During his trial in Germany, the court heard evidence that Hilafet Devleti sent funds to Muslim insurgents in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. Kaplan's lawyers Ismet Koc and Husnu Tuna denied the mausoleum bombing charge and called on the court to act in accordance with European Union judicial practice and grant their client bail. Denying the request, the court and adjourned the trial to May 30 to allow Kaplan's lawyers time to develop their defense.