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Conflict between the Pope and Islam By Jim Gardner September 21, 2006 - The worsening clash between east and west has found a new arena of conflict, and that is the Vatican. _____ <http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=features&id=3527779> Click here to visit our podcast page to download Jim Gardner's World News Perspective _____ The second apology by Pope Benedict XVI this past weekend did little to blunt the outrage of Muslims in countries from Iraq to Indonesia to china. This all stems from a speech the Pope made last week in Germany, where he quoted the words of a 14th century emperor to the effect that Mohammed had brought the world only evil, and spread Islam thru violence. The Pope had tried to convince Muslims that those words do not reflect his personal view of Islam, and the Vatican has explained that the Pope was giving a rather academic speech, the intent of which was to create a more open dialogue between different religions. Instead, the speech has created a firestorm across the Muslim world. On Monday, an organization called the Mujahdeen Shura Council, which is a parent organization of Sunni extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda in Iraq, called the Pope a worshipper of the cross, and told him quote, "You and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the wine and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or the sword." On Sunday, Benedict apologized with these words, "I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect." So far, the apology has failed to stem the tide of Islamic anger. The shooting death of a 65-year-old nun on Sunday in Somalia may have been an act of retaliation for the Pope's comments. Meanwhile, the Pope is scheduled to visit Turkey in November, and so far, the Vatican says the visit to the Muslim country is on. The head of the Turkish law association has called on authorities to arrest the Pope when he enters the country on charges of obstruction of religious belief and inciting religious hatred. Back at the Vatican, one official who insists on remaining anonymous says this whole thing could be the result of the Curia's re-assignment of its top authority on Islam to a post in Cairo. In other words, nobody of sufficient academic training was available to vet the Pope's speech beforehand to make sure it wouldn't offend anyone. Nobody would be shocked to see that church official back at the Vatican real soon. Elsewhere, they may have to re-name french fries in the Senate dining room again, as once again, our allies in Paris are refusing to fall in line with American policies on Iran. French president, Jacques Chirac, says that he is against sanctions against Iran, and that the United Nations Security Council is not the place to try to resolve the issue over Iran's nuclear activities. Chirac says that dialogue is the best approach here and that negotiations are possible without the suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program as a precondition. And this is a quote from Chirac's interview with a European radio network that's guaranteed to attract attention in Washington: "I think Iran is a great nation and we can find solutions thru dialogue." On the other side of the coin, the foreign minister of Israel says this is the time for sanctions because she says the world only has a few months to avoid a nuclear Iran. Foreign minister Tzipi Livni says the moment of truth is not when Iran actually has a bomb, but the day when it masters the process of enriching uranium. Livni says that's why the world needs to impose sanctions against Iran. But the Arab network, Al-Jazeera, insists that Israel is thinking way beyond sanctions. It claims that Israel is in the final stages of planning a war against Iran, and that President Bush has promised Israel the U.S. won't stand in its way. The report quotes an Israeli defense insider that the war against Hezbollah convinced Israel that the Palestinians are no longer its number one security problem, but that Iran and Syria are. Meanwhile, one official in the Syrian government is making the charge that the U.S. arranged for the attack against its own embassy in Damascus to show that Syria is teeming with terrorists and that the Syrian government is incapable of protecting an embassy literally a hundred yards from the home of President Bashar Assad. If that sounds far fetched, or like a Baath Party official trying to come up with an excuse for terrorists being able to infiltrate a highly secured area, the U.S. government would probably agree. It's interesting to try to gauge the reaction of the Bush administration to the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Malaki to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two have signed trade agreements, and now, Ahmadinejad swore his cooperation in maintaining Iraq's security. In other words, Iran, a Shiite ruled country, promises not to provoke the Shiite majority in Iraq. The U.S. may be pleased with any country promising to help stabilize Iraq, but does it trust Iran when it says Iraq's security is Iran's security, and does it trust Ahmadinejad whatever he says. But it's fair to ask if Al-Malaki could go to Iran in the first place without America's blessing. And if the answer is yes, he could, then the next question is "What's going on here?" Next time, why Henry Kissinger says if the U.S. and Europe don't kiss and make-up following their disagreements over Iraq, we could be facing a worldwide catastrophe. 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