More religious madness

Remove all ads!

Source


CAIRO (Reuters) - Muslims on Friday deplored remarks made by Pope Benedict on Islam and many of them said the Catholic leader should apologize in person to dispel the impression he had joined a campaign against their religion.

The furor prompted several thousand flag-waving Palestinians to march in the Gaza Strip in protest against the Pope's comments.

"This is another Crusader war against the Arab and Muslim world," said Hamas official Ismail Radwan as he addressed some 5,000 chanting demonstrators.


Pakistan's National Assembly, parliament's lower house, unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Pope's comments.

In a speech in Germany on Tuesday, the Pope appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that the early Muslims spread their religion by violence.

The 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest Muslim body, said quotations used by the Pope represented a "character assassination of the Prophet Mohammad" and a "smear campaign".

"The OIC hopes that this campaign is not the prelude of a new Vatican policy toward Islam ... The OIC also hopes that the Vatican will issue statements that reflect its true position and views on Islam and Islamic teachings," it said.

The Pope on Tuesday repeated criticism of the Prophet Mohammad by the 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything Mohammad brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preachedThe Pope, who used the terms "jihad" and "holy war" in his lecture, added "violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

"The Pope of the Vatican joins in the Zionist-American alliance against Islam," said the leading Moroccan daily Attajdid, the main Islamist newspaper in the kingdom.

"We demand that he apologizes personally, and not through (Vatican) sources, to all Muslims for such a wrong interpretation," said Beirut-based Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, one of the world's top Shi'ite Muslim clerics.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi defended the Pope's lecture and said he did not mean to offend Muslims.


"It was certainly not the intention of the Holy Father to undertake a comprehensive study of the jihad and of Muslim ideas on the subject, still less to offend the sensibilities of Muslim faithful," Lombardi told Vatican Radio.

A high-ranking Church source expressed fears for the Pope's safety, saying: "While I think the controversy will go away, it has done damage and if I were a security expert I'd be worried."

APOLOGY

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Arab world's largest group of political Islamists, demanded an apology from the Pope and called on the governments of Islamic countries to break relations with the Vatican if he does not make one.

The Sheikh of al-Azhar, one of the Sunni Muslim world's most prestigious seats of religious studies, said: "The Azhar asserts that these statements indicate clear ignorance of Islam

They attribute to Islam what it does not contain," the sheikh, Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, said in a statement on MENA.

In Iraq, the Pope's comments were condemned at Friday prayers by followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

"This is the second time such an offence has been give before Ramadan," said Sheikh Salah al-Ubeidi, one of Sadr's aides, referring to last year's publication of cartoons in a Danish paper sparking violent Muslim protests around the world.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Bild newspaper the aim of the Pope's speech had been misunderstood.


"It was an invitation to dialogue between religions ... What Benedict XVI emphasised was a decisive and uncompromising renunciation of all forms of violence in the name of religion," she was quoted as saying in an article to appear on Saturday.

The Koran endorses the concept of jihad, often translated as holy war, but Muslims differ on conditions for it, with some saying it applies only for self-defense against external attack


What to think of this ? The Pope quotes a statement from the 14th century, and all hell breaks loose again.

Should the Pope apologize, as they demand ?

[ September 18, 2006, 21:29: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

Oh hell no he shouldn't apologise. He should let the comment stand and let the muslim religion prove him wrong. If they take violent action then they're just proving him right.

If anything they shouldn't just demand an apology, they should prove why he's wrong first. Arab nations have a habit of burning American flags and calling the States everything horrible under the sun yet they don't demand an apology despite most claims being utterly false.

The whole issue is pretty pointless and people are getting riled up about what some old guy in a big hat said.

 

I don't want to offend catholics but I think Benedict XVI is one to be ignored. So I don't mind he apologises or not, because his comments are worthless. I wish someone more rational and sensible was pope.

 

The Pope was ill-judged to have quoted Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who is hardly an impartial observer of Islam, so casually and he would probably be better advised in future to address the concerns within Catholicism before commenting on those of another faith. What is more, it is unclear from the passages that followed the quote whether the Pope refutes or, indeed, endorses the emperor's language and although the Pope does make it clear that he was offering a quotation he did not sufficiently distance himself from the claim that Muhammed was responsible for evil. There might have been less fuss had Benedict a clearer record in favour of dialogue with Islam and he has certainly taken a less conciliatory approach in the Church's dealings with Islam than his predecessor Pope John Paul. However, the Pontiff has apologised today and that should be enough for what was almost certainly nothing more than an ill-judged remark.

 

Didn`t the guy who is now pope also claim that the Beatles were satanic? and that ACDC meant Anti-Christ Death to Christ?
Its not just the muslims who has their share of fanatics I think..............

 

That pretty much sums it up, but religions are not about "being rational." Another topic proved this to me a little while ago. The fact is that the muslims are simply feeling touchy due of one reason or another (suicide-bombers, Afghanistan, Iraq, US invasion, Israel... your pick). So naturally they need a good way to vent out all that steam. Since religions have caused most of the trouble, religions can also vent out the steam too, no?

 

Well. The Vatican hasn't been going easy on "unbelievers" too, back then.

Crusades n stuff.

so in my opinion: they all suck, i could not care less about what happens between them.

 

*sigh*

when people realize teh Flying Spaghetti Monster is the one true god everything will be so much better

 

That should be nice IF, as always, the few "we-are-talking-in-the-name-of-the-people" people, fight/blow themselves eachother, and not involving innocent people in their stupid crusades.

 

Actually, I think it´s great that Papa Ratzi diverted the attention that Denmark has been getting from the Mohammed-psychos.... erhh, crisis. The people of my little backwater country are no longer The Unholy Satans of Humanity.
I could even give you a link to an interview with Sayyed Tantawi, the spiritual leader of the sunni-muslims, approx 1 billion people. He claimed that what Denmark did was one of the biggest crimes ever commited. Kinda makes me proud to be Danish, I must say. Hitler, Idi Amin, Ayatollah Khomeini, Stalin etc. Sissies! Yup, we´re Danish, and we´re the Scourge of Humanity! Beware!
I´m just waiting for what comments this guy has about the Pope´s speech.
Here´s the link, though. The interview is in Danish, so it´s probably not going to make much sense to the majority of the people here. But anyway...
http://www.jp.dk/muhammed/artikel:aid=3901146/

 

Well - someone has to stand up and say it. Might as well be someone as expendable as the Pope...

Of course - there's the whole 'remove the plank in your own eye first' - you can preach about there been no justification for violence when you don't have any in your dogma...

 

They say worse things about Christianity all the time and they don't seem to have any problem with that. Additionally, they seemed to forget that the Crusaders took place less than 400 years after the massive attack of Muslims taking Palestine, Egypt and North Africa from the Byzantine Empire, as well as less than 300 years since the Muslim conquest of Spain in quite insidious circumstances.

Moreover, Emperor Manuel Paleologus demanded explanation as to why Muslim conquest in the form of a Jihad holy war was being directed against his homeland, if the Qoran said, "There is no compulsion in religion."

So what's offensive to Muslims? Quoting the inconvenient part of Qoran? Those who claim not to be extremists should be the last people to feel offended.

Besides, it was the Persian sage's idea that God wasn't bound by his own word, so Muslims could state He wanted them to run a Jihad even if He had expressly forbidden conversion conquest before. So?

I suppose the Pope is apologising because he didn't actually want to single out Muslims but simply talk about the relationship between theology, metaphysics and pondering the supernatural, and reason. But this is just my guess.

 

Looks like I'm the first Muslim to actually come by this thread...

Having read that article...I must say that I couldn't give two hoots about the Pope. I mean seriously...he's saying that violence in any religion is unacceptable and that Islam has innate tendencies towards violence, correct? That was my interpretation of that article...

And with all due respect I don't see why I need the approval of the CHRISTIAN pope for my religion...so yeah...big deal...

 

Hilarious. At every turn the pope made his intentions known of furthering dialogue and mutual respect between religions. But those people cant let fact get in the way of a chance to force conflict where thoughts should have been inspired. By willfully misinterpreting a single citation (which doesnt even reflect the pope's opinion, but was a mere means to Benedikt's argumentation) they made clear what they are aiming for: Intimidation and spreading resentment.
Regrettable only that the pope was taken aback by the "vehemence" of reactions. He shouldnt give these madmen a quarter since he isnt in the wrong. For once.

 

Dendri,

Actually Pope Benedict XVI has unfortunately withdrawn from the interfaith initiatives inaugurated by his predecessor, John Paul II, at a time when they are more desperately needed than ever. As pope Benedict moved move archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, one of the Catholic Church's leading experts on Islam, and head of its council on inter-religious dialogue, away from the centre of influence in Rome, and sent him to Egypt as papal nuncio. However, the Pope, as is evident from his personal expression of regret yesterday, is still in favour of dialogue and certainly does not seek needless confrontation.

Personally I think the Pope's denigration of Islam reeks of hypocrisy, since the Catholic church is ill-placed to condemn violent jihad when it has itself been guilty of unholy violence in crusades, persecutions and inquisitions. It would certainly be more constructive for the Vatican to condemn those militias in Africa, such as the diabolical Lord's Resistance Army, who use Christianity to justify violence before criticising Islam?

True dialogue will only be achieved when both sides are prepared to be self-critical in discussing aspects of their history that are not pretty and not edifying rather than simply having Christians saying to Muslims 'I will tell you what your history is about' and Muslims quoting distortions of Christian history which are just as laughable as Christian distortions of Muslim history. It's not all Crusades and Jihad.

 

I think if the Pope's intentions were as innocent as he proclaims, he could have found a better quote.

I also agree with Faraaz... why should any non-Catholic care about what the Pope says, anyway?

 

Why are these initiatives so desperately needed right now? A problem addressed in Benedikt's lecture of Regensburg. Religion and violence. Btw, the harshest critics of the pope admit that he is intend on improving interreligious relations. This lecture was meant as an invitation for same. Just as he showed his good will on other occasions.

His personal regret was the embarrasing display his words unleashed, not the the words themselves, neither their message. I would also say he doesnt seek confrontation at all, needless or otherwise. I am always willing to correct my thoughts on the matter, though, should there be evidence for your claims. Otoh, I have my suspicions what ends the mobs (and the ones orchestrating them) have in mind.

Never mind that Islam was debased by the reactions, violence, threats by its faithful around the globe. Please, where exactly has the pope denigrated Islam?

 

Muslims: Islam is not a violent religeon, and we will kill everyone who says otherwise.

I think their actions proved the pope's point, if he was actually trying to make one.

 

I feel for the peaceful Muslims who have to put up with the crap their misguided fanatical brothers do.