Muslims furious at speech by Pope
Muslims furious at speech by Pope
By FT reporters
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Published: September 16 2006 03:00 | Last updated: September 16 2006 03:00
The Pope was last night facing the mounting fury of the Muslim world for a speech that clerics said was ignorant of Islam and insulting to Mohammed.
Effigies of Pope Benedict XVI were burned in Pakistan and Muslim religious and political leaders demanded an apology for the speech, which repeated a 14th century quote that all Mohammed's innovations were "evil and inhuman".
At Friday prayers, Muslim clerics in Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran and elsewhere denounced the Pope's comments. The latest controversy comes six months after Muslim protests against a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Mohammed.
Last night, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, defended the Bavarian-born Pope, saying critics "misunderstood" his speech, which was "an invitation todialogue between religions".
The flare-up has raised fears in the Vatican about the Pope's safety and over his plans to visit mainly Muslim Turkey in November. The proposed trip was already controversial because of his opposition to Turkey joining the European Union.
"It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades," said Salih Kapusuz, a senior figure in Turkey's ruling Justice and Development party.
The Pope made his remarks on Tuesday evening at Regensburg university, where he was a theology professor in the late 1960s. He quoted from an account of a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar. "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.' "
The Vatican said the Pope had not intended to provide "an in-depth study of jihad and Muslim thinking" but wanted to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue towards other religions and cultures".
Reporting by Vincent Boland in Istanbul, Hugh Williamson in Berlin, John Thornhill in Paris, and William Wallis in Cairo
By FT reporters
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Published: September 16 2006 03:00 | Last updated: September 16 2006 03:00
The Pope was last night facing the mounting fury of the Muslim world for a speech that clerics said was ignorant of Islam and insulting to Mohammed.
Effigies of Pope Benedict XVI were burned in Pakistan and Muslim religious and political leaders demanded an apology for the speech, which repeated a 14th century quote that all Mohammed's innovations were "evil and inhuman".
At Friday prayers, Muslim clerics in Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran and elsewhere denounced the Pope's comments. The latest controversy comes six months after Muslim protests against a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Mohammed.
Last night, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, defended the Bavarian-born Pope, saying critics "misunderstood" his speech, which was "an invitation todialogue between religions".
The flare-up has raised fears in the Vatican about the Pope's safety and over his plans to visit mainly Muslim Turkey in November. The proposed trip was already controversial because of his opposition to Turkey joining the European Union.
"It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades," said Salih Kapusuz, a senior figure in Turkey's ruling Justice and Development party.
The Pope made his remarks on Tuesday evening at Regensburg university, where he was a theology professor in the late 1960s. He quoted from an account of a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar. "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.' "
The Vatican said the Pope had not intended to provide "an in-depth study of jihad and Muslim thinking" but wanted to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue towards other religions and cultures".
Reporting by Vincent Boland in Istanbul, Hugh Williamson in Berlin, John Thornhill in Paris, and William Wallis in Cairo
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 10:37 AM
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