Just wondering about Pope's comments

[Horatio]

Gosh, it's hard to even comment on this without breaching the rules. I'll have a go, if I step over the mark at any point feel free to make it abundently clear.

I agree with Larry. It was wrong of the Pope to apologise. He said nothing wrong. He quoted a ruler from centuries ago, which was applicable to the current world climate. He mentioned Islam once in a very long speech, but due to global affairs being what they are this comment has been leapt upon. The remark was simply a preamble to develop the Pope's argument about rationalism and religion.

It actually angers me that some sections of the Islamic world have reacted in the way that they have over a remark that was not even a verbal criticism. In some parts of Pakistan and India, Christians have been persecuted for years, churches have been attacked and one man was even sentenced to execution for converting from Islam to Christianity.

A number of Muslim religious leaders have requested that Islamic customs and aspects of the Sharia law be implemented into British law by the Government. This from a minority of 2 million strong in a population of 60 million?

Islam states that God had no son, thereby totally destroying the central pillar of Christianity.

And yet when the Pope quotes a man centuries dead so as to enforce a point about rationalism, people are murdered and churches are bombed. Such vehemence does Islam no favours. No mosques were torched when a group of Muslim lads dressed up as suicide bombers and paraded around London. It's time for tolerence to reach all of Islam. I know quite a few Islamic people, and I can honestly say that they are some of the kindest, peaceful people I have ever known. Their empathy knows almost no bounds. These are the real Muslims - not cowards who shoot a nun in the back and simply do more damage to their faith.

[Kakero]

If the pope didn't appologizes, I can forsee more churches be bombed by the so called "non-violent" muslims. Now whether or not by appologizing will actually pacify them is another matter entirely.

[Memnoch]

From CNN. A number of Muslims and Muslim leaders are not happy with the Pope's apology because it apparently doesn't go far enough.

Al Qaeda threat over pope speech POSTED: 1:42 p.m. EDT, September 18, 2006 . CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- An al Qaeda-linked extremist group warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that he and the West were "doomed," as protesters raged across the Muslim world to demand more of an apology from the pontiff for his remarks about Islam and violence. . The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups that includes al Qaeda in Iraq, issued a statement on a Web forum vowing to continue its holy war against the West. The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified. . The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "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 liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword." . Islam forbids drinking alcohol and requires non-Muslims to pay a head tax to safeguard their lives if conquered by Muslims. They are exempt if they convert to Islam. . In Indian-controlled Kashmir, meanwhile, shops, businesses and schools shut down in response to a strike call by the head of a hard-line Muslim separatist leader to denounce Benedict. For the third day running, people burned tires and shouted "Down with the pope." . Protests also broke out in Iraq, where angry demonstrators burned an effigy of the pope in Basra, and in Indonesia, where more than 100 people rallied in front of the heavily guarded Vatican Embassy in Jakarta, waving banners that said the "Pope is building religion on hatred." . The pope on Sunday said he was "deeply sorry" about the angry reaction to his speech last week in which he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of Islam's Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman" and referred to spreading Islam "by the sword." . Benedict said the remarks came from a text that didn't reflect his own opinion. . "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," he said during his weekly appearance before pilgrims in Italy. . For full article click here

[ 09-18-2006, 11:42 PM: Message edited by: Memnoch ]

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

It would almost be funny, if it wasn't so sad...

[Luvian]

Now this is ridicullous, he should just come out and make another speech saying that he did not agree with the quote at first, but now seeing their reactions he changed his mind and actually agree.

He's being accused of building religion on hatred? I'm not a fan of any religions, but the irony here is... I don't even know how to describe how ridicullous this is.

[JrKASperov]

It would be funny if they would do that all over the world. They would be fulfilling one of the last prophecies of the Scriptures and guess what would happen after that. [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

[Harkoliar]

i dont even want to know [img]tongue.gif[/img] .. although i do suspect what it would be.

[shamrock_uk]

It's a particularly interesting situation because Pope Benedict knows what he's talking about. He's studied the Qu'ran for many years and is said to know every verse.

From several commentary articles I've read on this, the quote was in fact in line with his personal views. He shares Pope John Paul's emphasis on respect for Muslims, but strongly believes that spreading religion by violence is deeply immoral and should be confronted. This is where he differs from the previous Pope and was the focus of the speech.

In one sense, the Muslims are entitled to ask for a 'proper' apology, because the first one wasn't really an apology. He apologised for offending Muslim sensibilities, not for what he actually said - because he feels morally obliged to create a dialogue about this issue and say his thoughts.

And hey, he has my complete support really - speaking out about issues like these are absolutely central to his job description. Islam will have to get over itself and learn to take criticism.

[Melchior]

The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "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 liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword."

So they act exactly as described by Emperor Manuel, and they are insulted because...?

[johnny]

Originally posted by Melchior: quote: The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "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 liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword."

So they act exactly as described by Emperor Manuel, and they are insulted because...? [/QUOTE]They can't help it, they're retarded.