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Benedict's Boffo Bust of Islam - Please Bear With Me
Turkey accuses Pope of reviving the CrusadesThis crap begs for inline commentary. I'll cheerfully leave it to any moderator who sees fit. My comments will follow in the first post. (If some other outraged Rantburger doesn't beat me to it.) MUSLIMS around the world expressed outrage yesterday over Pope Benedict XVIs perceived insult to Islam, with Turkeys ruling party accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and scores taking to the streets in protest. Pakistans parliament unanimously condemned the pope, and the foreign ministry summoned the Vaticans ambassador to express regret over the remarks. The Vatican said the pope did not intend the remarks made in Germany on Tuesday during an address at a university to be offensive. Benedict quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam. The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war, the pope said. He said, I quote, Show me just what Mohammed 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. Benedict did not explicitly agree with the statement nor repudiate it. The comments raised tensions ahead of his planned visit to Turkey in November his first pilgrimage to a Muslim country. Salih Kapusuz, a deputy leader of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogans party, said Benedicts remarks were either the result of pitiful ignorance about Islam and its prophet, or a deliberate distortion. He has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world, Mr Kapusuz told the state-owned Anatolia news agency. It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades. Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words, he said. He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini. Turkeys staunchly secular opposition party also demanded that Benedict apologise before his visit. Lebanons most senior Shiite Muslim cleric denounced the remarks and demanded the Pope personally apologise. We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels ... and ask him (Benedict) to offer a personal apology not through his officials to Muslims for this false reading (of Islam), grand ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told worshippers. After Benedict returned to Italy on Thursday, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said, It certainly wasnt the intention of the Pope to carry out a deep examination of jihad (holy war) and on Muslim thought on it, much less to offend the sensibility of Muslim believers. Turkeys top Islamic cleric, Ali Bardakoglu, said Mr Lombardis comments were not enough. The Pope himself should stand at the dais and say I take it all back, I was misunderstood and apologise in order to contribute to world peace, he said. Elsewhere, Syrias top Sunni Muslim religious authority, Sheik Ahmad Badereddine Hassoun, sent a letter to the Pope that he feared the comments would worsen interfaith relations. Later, he delivered a scathing sermon in which he denounced the remarks. We have heard about your hate for Arabs and Muslims. Now that you have dropped the mask from your face we see its ugliness, he said. My comments will follow in the first post. Please let me know what you think of their admittedly lengthy content. Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-16 |
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