| Muslim anger grows at Pope speech | |||||
Speaking in Germany, the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things. Pakistan's
parliament passed a resolution on Friday criticising the Pope for making "derogatory" comments. The Vatican said the Pope had not intended to offend Muslims. "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," said chief Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi in a statement. But in spite of the statement, the pontiff returned to Rome to face a barrage of criticism, reports the BBC's David Willey in Rome. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said the Pope's remarks "aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world". Violence and faith 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 Manual II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in
what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul. 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". 'Angry and hurt' Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution demanding that the Pope retract his remarks "in the interest of harmony between religions".
"The derogatory remarks of the Pope about the philosophy of jihad and Prophet Mohammed have injured sentiments across the Muslim world and pose the danger of spreading acrimony among the religions," the AFP news agency quoted the resolution by the country's national assembly as saying. In India, which has a sizeable Muslim population, Minority Commission Chairman Hamid Ansari said: "The language used by the Pope sounds like that of his 12th-Century counterpart who ordered the crusades... "It surprises me because the Vatican has
a very comprehensive relationship with the Muslim world." The remarks prompted fears of unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir, as a result of which two separatist leaders were put under house arrest. Meanwhile, the "hostile" remarks drew a demand for an apology from a top religious official in Turkey - where the Pope is due in November on his first papal visit to a Muslim country. Ali Bardakoglu recalled atrocities committed by Roman Catholic Crusaders against Orthodox Christians and Jews, as well as Muslims, in the Middle Ages. In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood head Mohammed Mahdi Akef said the Pope's words "do not express correct understanding of Islam and are merely wrong and distorted beliefs being repeated in the West". In a statement, he was "astonished that such remarks come from someone who sits on top of the Catholic Church which has its influence on the public opinion in the West". Sheikh Youssef al-Qardawi, a prominent Muslim
cleric in Qatar, rejected the Pope's comments, in remarks reported by Reuters. "Muslims have the right to be angry and hurt by these comments from the highest cleric in Christianity," Mr Qardawi reportedly said. "We ask the Pope to apologise to the Muslim nation for insulting its religion, its Prophet and its beliefs." The 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference also said it regretted the Pope's remarks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5024324.stm | |||||
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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