Benedict "should be removed from his position immediately for encouraging war and fanning hostility between various faiths" and "making insulting remarks" against Islam, said a joint statement issued by the clerics and scholars at the end of their one-day convention.Encouraging war.
"Under Sharia law, anyone who even indirectly implies that Islam is anything less than 'peachy keen' can only be forgiven once they've been decapitated, disemboweled, and then trampled to death by a herd of unwashed goats. The Pope is probably too much of a bigot to accept such an olive branch, but there is an alternative. He could convert to Islam."--BlameBush.typepad.com, Sept. 17Technorati Tags: Pope Benedict and Islam
I hope that on different occasions during my visit – for instance, in Munich when I stressed how important it is to respect that which is sacred to others – my profound respect for the great religions, and in particular for the Moslems, who "adore the one God" and with whom we are engaged in "defending and promoting together, for all men, social justice, moral values, peace and freedom" (Nostra Aetate, 3) was clearly apparent.So now Islam is a Religion of Peace?
But the attacks against the pope are especially grotesque. The severe criticism -- often coupled with threats of violence -- directed at the speech held last Tuesday by Benedict XVI is not just an attack on the head of the Catholic Church. The malicious twisting of the pope's words and the absurd allegations made by representatives of Islam represent a frontal attack on open religious and philosophical dialogue.Maybe somehow people could justify the reaction to the cartoons.
Iraq's parliament also rejected Benedict's explanation of his remarks, saying it was insufficiently clear. The parliament "demands the pope take practical steps to restore respect to the Islamic world and its religion, and a clear-cut apology for what he said," lawmakers said in a statement read at a press conference.OK, but if the Moslems themselvses cannot restore Islam's lost respect, how do they expect the Pope to?
"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."Here is a rundown by Peter Robinson:
Manuel II Paleologus reigned as emperor of Byzantium from 1391, the year in which he is believed to have composed the text from which the Pope quoted last week, until his death in 1425. A brief overview of his experience of Islam:Now where do the Imams get the authority to speak about Christianity or Judaism?
1390: Manuel is sent as a hostage to the court of Sultan Bayezid I. As his writings demonstrate, he reads widely in Muslim texts and engages in repeated debates with Muslim scholars. He is also forced to participate in an attack on his own people, the siege of Philadelphia, which eliminated the last Byzantine settlement in Anatolia.
1394-1402: The Ottomans besiege Constantinople. For some five years, Manuel directs the defense of the city in person. Then he entrusts Constantinople to his nephew and embarks on a tour of the West, seeking assistance.
1422: The Ottomans attack Manuel in Constantinople once again.
By the time of his death in 1425, Manuel had spent virtually his entire adult life in the struggle against an armed and expansionist Islam—and in 1453, just over a quarter of a century later, the Ottomans would finally conquer the empire he had defended.
The point? One may certainly argue that Islam had no monopoly on fourteenth and fifteenth century violence—Manuel himself had to resist several attempts by members of his own family to deny him the throne. What one may not, argue, I think, is that Manuel lacked the authority or knowledge to speak about Islam. When he described efforts “to spread by the sword the faith [the Prophet] preached,” he wasn't mouthing some sort of ignorant medieval prejudice. He knew exactly what he was talking about.
An influential Iranian cleric, Ahmad Khatami, warned that if the Pope did not apologise, the "outcry will continue until he fully regrets his remarks". He suggested "the Pope should fall on his knees in front of a senior Muslim cleric and try to understand Islam".But while trying to appease the Moslems, the Pope:
...appeared to risk causing fresh controversy during his speech yesterday when he cited a passage from St Paul that risked being interpreted as hostile - not by Muslims, but by Jews. It described the crucifixion of Jesus as a "scandal for the Jews".When this incident first started, some saw it as a major representative of the West taking a stand.
This is funny on so many levels that I hardly know where to start. But let me begin by saying WHAT THE HELL ARE CHURCHES DOING IN THE WEST BANK?????????Taranto parries:
Hmm, churches in the place of Jesus' birth. Now that is a puzzlement.Adams' error is sad on so many levels it is hard to know where to start--especially since he is obviously not alone.
So far, since Friday, there have been ten different attacks against six churches in the Palestinian Arab territoriesThe last line of the Pope's address was about the need for dialogue.
But it's not just the Martyrs Brigade exploding (figuratively) in spontaneous, peaceful-ish demonstrations of their anger at the Pope. Even the moderate Islamist organization Hamas -- they're moderates now, right? -- even they're violently peeved with the Pope about this. Peeved enough to shout peaceful, non-violent slogans proclaiming Islam's distaste for any violence perpetrated in its name -- or at least distaste for having such violence criticizedGlad to hear that Christian-Moslem dialogue thing is working for well for them.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a political Islamist group founded in Egypt which has inspired movements across the Arab world.And what kind of movements have the Moslem Brotherhood inspired?
As stated on its charter and its website, the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to install an Islamic totalitarian empire and a worldwide Caliphate, through stages designed to Islamize targeted nations by whatever means available. Although the Brotherhood itself renounced violence in the 1970s, many of its branches continue to practice violence through terrorism and assassination.Ah, those kinds of movements.
