Pope's Speech Stirs Muslim Anger
From the BBC:
Muslim religious leaders have accused Pope Benedict XVI of quoting anti-Islamic remarks during a speech at a German university this week.(emphasis added)
Questioning the concept of holy war, he quoted a 14th-Century Christian emperor who said Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things.
A senior Pakistani Islamic scholar, Javed Ahmed Gamdi, said jihad was not about spreading Islam with the sword.
Turkey's top religious official asked for an apology for the "hostile" words.
In Indian-administered Kashmir, police seized copies of newspapers which reported the Pope's comments to prevent any tension.
A Vatican spokesman, Father Frederico Lombardi, said he did not believe the Pope's comments were meant as a harsh criticism of Islam.
***
In his speech at Regensburg University, the German-born pontiff explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and faith.
Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted Emperor Manual II Paleologos of Byzantine, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The emperors words were, he said: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
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From a commenter at FreeRepublic:
"[Fill in the blank] stirs Muslim anger."
It's something new every day.
posted by Pro Ecclesia 2:39 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
It doesn't take much anymore, yet they continue to say islam is a religion of peace?
I hope that the Holy Father has good security.
Wow. I have never encountered the word "Turkophobe" before.
Gentlemen, start your roseries.
Good.
It is interesting that with the west, especially Europe just a hair away from becoming completly post-Christian this kind of thing provokes the Muslims. For all their faults, the Muslims do have a sense of history and they know full well that the only thing in history that has ever haulted their expansion in any meaningful way was the the succesors of St. Peter rallying the west.
Paul: The Holy Father has the best security, the prayers of the faithful, Our Lady (who I believe was protecting John Paul II) and of course, the Swiss Guard!
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