The Pope steps in it

MrBishop

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Pope 'meant no offence' to Islam
The Vatican has denied that Pope Benedict XVI intended any offence to the Muslim religion, after a speech touching on the concept of holy war.
Speaking in Germany, the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things.

The remarks have angered clerics and commentators around the Muslim world.

However, the Vatican said the Pope had wanted to make clear that he rejected violence motivated by religion.

The pontiff had not intended to offend Muslims, the Vatican said.


"It certainly wasn't the intention of the Pope to carry out a deep examination of jihad (holy war) and of Muslim thought on it, much less to offend the sensibility of Muslim believers," said chief Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi in a statement.

"It is clear that the Holy Father's intention is to cultivate a position of respect and dialogue towards other religions and cultures, and that clearly includes Islam."

But the statement has failed to quell criticism. In developments around the world:



Pakistan summoned the Vatican's ambassador to express regret over the remarks, as parliament passed a resolution condemning the comments

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said the remarks "aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world"

In Iraq, the comments were condemned at Friday prayers by followers of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr

The "hostile" remarks drew a demand for an apology from a top religious official in Turkey

The 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference also said it regretted the Pope's remarks
Violence and faith

The controversy comes on an important day for the Vatican, with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, former Archbishop of Genoa, taking over as secretary of state.


The remarks do not express correct understanding of Islam
Mohammed Mahdi Akef
Muslim Brotherhood
Correspondents say Pope Benedict, who has been closeted with his chief advisers at his summer residence near Rome, is upset at the way in which his remarks have been interpreted.

But there is no sense of panic at the Vatican, he says, and preparation for the Pope's forthcoming visit to Turkey, a predominantly Muslim secular nation, next November, are going ahead as planned.

In his speech at Regensburg University, the German-born Pope 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 Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul.


READ THE SPEECH

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The emperor's 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."

Benedict said "I quote" twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

"The intention here is not one of retrenchment or negative criticism, but of broadening our concept of reason and its application," he added in the concluding part of his speech.

"Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today."



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/5349578.stm

Published: 2006/09/15 15:25:49 GMT

© BBC MMVI
 
The mad people are buring flags & effigies because they don't like free speech. Does that mean they don't like freedom?
 
If this don't beat everything

By unwittingly angering Muslims with his comments on Islam, Pope Benedict XVI has shown that he has yet to shake off his academic theological roots and master the global media machine with the same deftness as his predecessor.

In clinging to theology and orthodoxy, the bookish Benedict has shown little regard for media management in getting his message across, unlike the communications-savvy John Paul II.
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So, the media thinks that in order for the media to portray your side correctly, you must abandon your very essence of belief to play the media game by their rules.

Bravo Pope Benedict.

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The muslim leadership has been screeching death and submission since 79 to little admonishment. Now the Catho-pope says one mediocre half-truth and its 'Off with 'is head!'.
 
Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things.
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Yeah, he brought that goddamned religion to the world and screwed the arab people. People who were by far the most proficient mathematicians at the time.

I wonder where would we be if the arabs had continued to work on science rather than on jihads.
 
Gonz said:
So, the media thinks that in order for the media to portray your side correctly, you must abandon your very essence of belief to play the media game by their rules.
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When didn't they? "Tell us what we want you to say."
 
Might as well ask where the Germans would be if not for WW1 and WW2 sending all their brightest minds to russia or the US (or the hereafter)
 
Ask where would they be if they had won the 2nd WW. One country almost by itself conquered most of Europe, lost the war ended up in ruins. Now that same country has one of the most powerful economies in the world with a population of only 80 million.

Now the arabs are still living in the 4th world, except for the oil owners.
 
Pope Benedict XVI "sincerely regrets" offending Muslims with his reference to an obscure medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman," the Vatican said Saturday.
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Escalate
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said a Vatican statement on Saturday saying Pope Benedict was sorry for upsetting Muslims with his comments on Islam did not go far enough.

"We want a personal apology (from the Pope). We feel that he has committed a grave error against us and that this mistake will only be removed through a personal apology,"
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Escalates
The recent remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam are threatening to ignite the entire Muslim world.

Op-Eds published in the Arab newspapers slammed the pope even after the Vatican’s apology.

The most extreme opinion was voiced by Hani Pahas in the London-based Arabic-language daily newspaper Al-Hayat, who wrote “the pope’s comments may lead to war; we fear that the pope’s statements may lead to a war that we, Muslims and Christians alike, are trying to prevent through dialogue between East and West.
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Steps taken
5 churches attacked in Palestinian areas following Pope's comments on Islam ALI DARAGHMEH NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, following remarks by Pope Benedict that angered many Muslims.
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Using the actions, on top of their words, is what has led me to my beliefs about these people. They've threatened to annihilate the west. Then they start. Little battles will eventually escalate to madness & mayhem. Wasshishamejihad, the leader of Iran, has threatened to remove Israel from the map. From burning the Pope to nuking the Jews. It's coming. If you choose to disregard the warnings (deja vu) & take them at their word it's only going to prolong the war. If you decide to end it before we're into end times (as said by Wassisnamejihad), it would be helpful to shut up & jump on board. The train is leaving the station, with or without you.
 
The pope was in no way condemning Islam as a whole. His statement was miscontrued - he apologized for that unintenional reaction. He also explained that the emperor's quote he quoted was not his personal opinion.

That does not make him a coward for clarifying what he had said.

What the pope did say was taken out of context. So let's take a closer look:

In the seventh conversation (διάλεξις - controversy) edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to the experts, this is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness which leaves us astounded, on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "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 emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".
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The pope was speaking out against violence to be used to spread the Muslim faith or to get their point across. He did not agree that Mohammed only brought evil and inhumane things.

Then there is the Muslim overreaction (which is baseless):

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The above picture is showing Muslims burning an effigy of the pope.

It is actions like this that support the emperor's quote. Especially, attacking churches and killing nuns. But I think it is wrong to just generalize that all Muslims are "evil" and "terrorists" - or that most are and hate our way of life. But some just have their Western jeans on a bit too tight.
 
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