| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Vatican: Pope's talks with Muslims scares al Qaeda |
| 2007-12-18 |
| VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Tuesday rejected condemnation by al Qaeda of a historic meeting between Pope Benedict and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, saying the militants were afraid of inter-religious dialogue. Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, referred to Benedict as a Pontiff who had "insulted Islam and Muslims" and criticized King Abdullah's meeting with him last month. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Zawahri's video-taped comments, posted on the Internet on Sunday, showed al Qaeda's was worried about the implications of the meeting - the first between a Pope and a Saudi monarch. The Pope was also pursuing dialogue with a group of prominent Muslim scholars, including Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad bin Talal, Lombardi noted. "These people want dialogue and are working toward peace," Lombardi said. "This worries those who don't want dialogue." Zawahri has previously denounced the Pope for a speech he made last year at a university in his native Germany, when the Pontiff used a quote that associated Islam with violence. Muslims around the world complained about the speech, but the Pope said he was misunderstood and has several times expressed his esteem for Muslims. In the latest message, Zawahri noted that Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Al al-Sheikh was quick to condemn jihad in Iraq but not the Saudi king's visit with Benedict. "Wouldn't have it been more appropriate for this mufti who rules according to the school of Bush to reproach his so-called guardian (King Abdullah) for his visit with the Pope," Zawahri asked, quoted by U.S. terrorism monitoring organization IntelCenter. "Is this how the moderate creed and confrontation of polytheism is supposed to be?", he added. Lombardi said the entire episode showed that dialogue and pursuit of peace were "gaining more weight and this is undoubtedly a positive factor". |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #13 As a Christian, the Pope is called to love these people no matter what and to seek peace. Love, like, and trust are very different things, Ebbang Uluque6305. And so long as the pope esteems jihadis properly... |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-12-18 21:11 |
| #12 ION, SPACE > INTERGALACTIC "SHOT IN THE DARK" SHOCKS ASTRONOMERS + BAFFLING COSMIC EXPLOSION CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. *MADONNA FANS to POPE > Last January 25th, for a future January 25th. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-12-18 20:08 |
| #11 IRAN-DAILY > HAJ [Mecca] EMBODIES MUSLIM [World] UNITY - FUTURE BELONGS TO MUSLIM UMMAH [Islam]. Ummah = Islam may be saved from "HUMILIATING BACKWARDNESS" as imposed on same by outsiders over the centuries via the THREE PILLARS: (1) UNIFIED FORTIFIED FRONT agz arrogant powers (2) Compassion and Convergence (3) Obedience to God-Faith/islam. SEE IRANIAN NUCPROGS FOR (1). * See also PAYVAND > PROFESSOR MOLANA:IRAN SHOULD CREATE "SOFT POWER" TO CHANGE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-12-18 19:15 |
| #10 Damn, Deacon, your list brought tears...I was laughing so hard. That list is a keeper ! |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2907 2007-12-18 18:45 |
| #9 He's still putting the onus on the Muslims to prove they are "peaceful". He's dividing the Bloodthirsty, "kill all infidels" from the more pragmatic. Heh, he said onus. Heh heh |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2007-12-18 16:23 |
| #8 I suspected that the Rooters article might have slanted the subject matter a bit, and it appears that I was right. In the Catholic online news site, zenit.org, Vatican spokeman Fr. Lombardi has this to say: These events "are a significant fact for the whole Muslim world," the Vatican spokesman said. "The fact that these voices that explicitly wish to dialogue and commit themselves to peace would have a growing importance in Islam is evidently a fact that worries those who do not want this dialogue." The "negative reference" to the Pope, Father Lombardi added, "is not surprising, nor does it particularly worry us." In fact, the spokesman recommended that it not be given "a great importance" That is some serious Vatican-style bird-flipping. Zenit Link |
| Posted by: mrp 2007-12-18 16:04 |
| #7 He's still putting the onus on the Muslims to prove they are "peaceful". He's dividing the Bloodthirsty, "kill all infidels" from the more pragmatic. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2007-12-18 16:02 |
| #6 Now, now, tw. As a Christian, the Pope is called to love these people no matter what and to seek peace. But I do have to wonder if the phrase "several times expressed his esteem for Muslims" was Lombardi's or Reuters. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-12-18 15:33 |
| #5 I'm kinda hoping we can get the Constitution changed in time to elect the Pope President. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-12-18 15:18 |
| #4 LOLOL!!tw! You Might Be a Member of the Taliban or Al Qaeda if... 10. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.. 9. You own a $300 machine gun and a $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes. 8. You have more wives than teeth. 7. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide 6.. You can't think of anyone you HAVEN'T declared Jihad against. 5. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry ammunition in your robe. 4. You've never been asked, "Does this burka make my ass look fat?" 3. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs. 2. You've never uttered the phrase, "I love what you've done with your cave." 1. You wipe your butt with your bare left hand, but consider bacon unclean. Hunt hard, Shoot straight, Kill clean and Apologize to no one |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2007-12-18 15:15 |
| #3 What the Vatican spokesman really said was, "Cowardy, cowardy custard!" But it was in such beautiful and literate Italian that the Reuters translators didn't feel comfortable giving out such a simple statement. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-12-18 15:11 |
| #2 Well, pretty much everything Islam does offends me, so eat pork and die moon worshipers. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-12-18 14:02 |
| #1 Yeah, but in their view, soft-serve ice cream is an offense to Islam and Muslims. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2007-12-18 13:13 |