Vatican: Pope's Comment On Islamic Violence May Lead To Islamic Viol= ence

Vatican: Pope's Comment On Islamic Violence May Lead To Islamic Violence

September 15, 2006 from= Western Resistance

The speech= by Pope Benedict XVI in Regensburg University, Germany, in which he quoted Byzantine emperor Manuel Paleologos II, has been creating an avalanche of condemnation from the Muslim world.

The speech was made on Tuesday, Septem= ber 12, and in a small section of this speech, Benedict quoted the 14th century emperor who had said:." "Show me ju= st 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”

Yesterday, Turkey's senior Islamic cleri= c, Ali Bardakoglu condem= ned the Pope for the remarks saying they were "full of enmity and grudges" and indicated "hatred in his heart". The condemnati= ons may scupper a planned visit by the Pope to = Turkey, scheduled for Novembe= r. Bardakoglu had said = on NTV: "I do not think any good will come from a visit to the Muslim world by= a person who has such ideas."

Since his comments, the issue has escalated, in a manner similar to the escalation of the furor over the Danish cartoons. Even though the Pope's comments were extracted out of context= , it could well be that the issue will, like the cartoons, provoke violence from Muslims, and thereby prove the validity of Manuel Pale= ologos II's analysis of Islam.

Muslims themselves will not appreciate= any irony in using violence to prove that Islam is non-violent.

Reactions are captured in various news sources - Der Spiegel, the Guardian<= /a>, the Times, Associated Press, CNN, Radio Free Europe and others.

Iranian Islamist news from IRNA= commented, and as Ir= an is breaking international law, we will break their copyright and reproduce their article in full.

Pope's views on Jihad regrettable, sa= ys FO of Pakistan

Pakistan's Foreign Office on Friday deplored Pope Benedict's remarks against Islam. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam in a statement regretted that a respected relig= ious leader of his stature had made partisan remarks against Islam. She said the pope's statement proved that he was unaware of the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). She said the pope's highly controversial and regrettable statement could fan religious disharmony.

Pope Benedict XVI courted controversy during a visit to his native Bavaria town in Germany on Tuesday when he fleetingly criticized the Islamic concept of jihad. The spokesperson said the pope was a respected personality not only for Christi= ans but also for Muslims and he should avoid issuing controversial statements. Religious scholars and leaders also criticized Pope's remarks and urged him= to play a positive role in bringing Islam and Christianity closer.<= span lang=3DEN-AU style=3D'font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-ansi-langu= age: EN-AU'>

The pope's attitude is very different from that of his predecessor. Instead of bringing Islam and Christianity closer, he is straining relations between the two religions, <= span class=3DSpellE>Khurshid Ahmed, head of the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad, said.

"In the present political a= tmosphere such views can be exploited by those who are trying to malign Muslims and Islam. We expect the pope to play a positive role in promoting relations between religions and civilizations," Ahmed said.

Hafiz Hussa= in Ahmed, a JUI lawmaker, urged the pope not to take inspiration from US Presi= dent George W. Bush. "The pope is a respected personality not only for Christians but for Muslims also. He should not lower his stature by giving Bush-like statements", he said. "Jihad is a tool for defence and = we expect the pope to speak against aggression," he said.

The pope's statement is highly irresponsible, senior scholar Javed Ahmed Ghamdi said. The concept of jihad is not to spread Is= lam with sword, Ghamdi said in a statement. The pop= e's statement was an attempt to jeopardize a remarkable unity displayed by Christians and Muslims against recent Israeli aggression in Lebanon= , a spokesman for the Jamaat-i-Islami said.<= /b>

Meanwhile, police in occupied Kashmir on Thursday seized newspapers carrying Pope Benedict's statement. The Muslim League, a Kashmiri liberation group, called for a protest on Friday over the pope's comments.

A motion was carried unanimously today= in the Pakistan parliament, condemning the Pope's "comments". The issue for Pakistan has come as a welcome distraction from the failure of the government and the opposition Islamist parties of the MMA (which include the Jamaat-e-Islami) to reach an agreement over changes to the appalling Islamic rape laws, whic= h we will be discussing shortly.

When the issue of changing the so-call= ed Hudood Ordinances, which ensure that a woman who has = been raped must have four witnesses, or be accused of adultery, the MMA threaten= ed to resign their seats in the National Assembly. As a fudge compromise, the amendments to the controversial bill have been postponed, a measure which h= as been condemned by women's rights groups in = Pakistan and by critics aroun= d the globe. The issue of condemnation of the Pope has allowed some sense of unit= y of purpose in Pakistan<= /st1:place>'s fractured political scene.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Is= lamic association in Indon= esia, which has 30 million members, said: "The pope's statements reflect his lack of wisdom. It is obvious from the statements that the pope doesn't hav= e a correct understanding of Islam. Whether the pope apologizes or not, the Isl= amic community should show that Islam is a religion of compassion."

Such a hope is unlikely to come into being. Fauzan Al-Anshori, chairman of the Islamist group the Indonesian Mujahede= en Council, said: "Muslims can't eliminate jihad from the Islamic discour= se, the same way Christians can't do away with the doctrine of Trinity."

Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood has condemned the speech and has said that Islam was a religion= of "peace and reason", which does not explain why Qaradawi supports the killing of Israeli civilians by suicide bombers.

Dr Jameel = al-Lowahiq, professor of Shariah at the Taif University in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Turkey, said: "The lectu= re of the present pope, particularly at the time of deep international crisis, betrays the utter lack of prudence and propriety in sensing the consequence= s of making such a statement."

One comment the Pope had made in his speech, which came from himself and not from the= 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologos II = was this: "Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature = of the soul."

This comment is probably far more challenging to Islam than Paleologos' simple tr= uthful statement. The fact that Mohammed went to war against unbelievers is someth= ing Muslims at one hand seem proud of, even though on the other hand they lie t= hat that Islam means "peace", when it literally means "submission."

To say: "Violence is incompatible with the nature of God" indicates that Mohammed, the high priest of violent jihad, was not "of God", which any sane analyst outside of Islam would have to admit was true. Since when did men of God kill civilians, indulge in genocide (against the Banu Qurayzah tribe in Medina) and have se= x with nine year old girls?

This issue will run and run, I fear, a= nd it will end in bloodshed of innocents. Such is always the way of Islam when= it feels "offended". The cartoon protests in February, when at least= 30 people died, are proof of that.

Co= ntinue reading "Vatican: The Speech That Made The = Muslims Mad". This contains a full reprint of the= speech