Saturday,2006 September 16, 8:12 PM ,Pope apologises
for offending Muslims
Pope Benedict XVI apologised for causing any offence to Muslims
amid growing fury across the Islamic world over a speech he made
implicitly linking Islam and violence.
"The Holy Father is extremely sorry that certain passages of his
speech appeared offensive to Muslim believers and were interpreted
in a way that does not correspond in any way to his intentions,"
said the Vatican's new secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone.
"The pope is unequivocally in favour of dialogue between religions
and cultures," Bertone said Saturday, in his first official
statement since taking office on Friday.
Anger with Pope Benedict XVI had intensified across the Muslim
world Saturday, uniting Sunni Islam's leading authority, Malaysia's
moderate premier and Afghanistan's extremist Taliban militia.
The Vatican said the pope's comments on Thursday linking Islam and
violence had been misinterpreted, but Muslim leaders described them
as offensive with many demanding an immediate apology.
Protests were held Friday after weekly prayers, as the pontiff's
remarks drew condemnation from lawmakers, politicans, lawyers,
clerics and community leaders in many Muslim and some Western
countries.
The head of Cairo's Al-Azhar university Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed
Tantawi said Saturday the pontiff's comments "betray a clear
ignorance of Islam and attribute to the faith things which have
nothing to do with it".
Sheikh Mohammed, Sunni Islam's top authority, said the pope's
remarks "do nothing to further dialogue between world religions and
civilizations".
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, an Islamic scholar
who chairs the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference,
said the pope should apologise.
"The pope must not take lightly the spread of outrage that has been
created," Abdullah said. "The Vatican must now take full
responsibility over the matter and carry out the necessary steps to
rectify the mistake."
Afghanistan's Taliban militia, which sheltered the Al-Qaeda network
before the September 11 attacks, said the pope's comments showed
the Christian West was waging war against Muslims.
"We strongly condemn it," Taliban spokesman Mohammed Hanif told
AFP.
In Germany last week, the German-born leader of more than one
billion Roman Catholics implicitly denounced links between Islam
and violence, particularly with reference to jihad, or "holy
war".
The pope also quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said
innovations introduced by the Prophet Mohammed were "evil and
inhuman".
Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi said Benedict had meant no
offence with his speech which was a rejection of violence motivated
by religion. The explanation, however, failed to quell Muslim
anger.
In Somalia, a hardline Muslim cleric linked to the country's
powerful Islamist movement went so far as to call on Muslims to
"hunt down" and kill the pontiff for his "barbaric"
statement.
Palestinian security officials said Molotov cocktails were thrown
at two churches in the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday, a day
after four small makeshift bombs exploded near the oldest Christian
church in Gaza City.
The president of the central council of Muslims in Germany, Ayyub
Axel Koehler, warned of further outbreaks of violence and urged the
pope to issue a clarification.
"I have a high opinion of the pope but I cannot believe that this
was just a blunder," Koehler said.
Iran joined the calls for a papal apology, saying his remarks could
only serve to ignite religious discord.
"These comments are at odds with his position as a leader of one of
the divine religions... and are a great mistake," said foreign
ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini.
The Pakistani parliament unanimously passed a resolution demanding
the pope retract his remarks, while in neighbouring India the
chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Hamid Ansari,
said the pope's language resembled that of his 12th century
counterpart "who ordered the Crusades".
The Muslim Brotherhood, the leading opposition force in the
Egyptian parliament, said the pope's speech was more serious than
cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, whose publication in
European newspapers sparked Muslim anger and violent protests this
year.
"I foresee an extreme reaction to the pope's words, which harm
Islam more than the cartoons because they come from a leader who
represents millions of people," said a senior official from the
group, Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh.
The pope's speech also caused anger in Turkey, the destination of
his next foreign trip in November.
The head of Turkey's state-run religious affairs directorate, Ali
Bardakoglu, described the remarks as "full of enmity" and said he
the trip should be cancelled.
The pope has received some support in the West notably from German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, but an editorial in the New York Times
was highly critical.
"The world listens carefully to the words of any pope," The Times
said. "And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either
deliberately or carelessly. He needs to offer a deep and persuasive
apology, demonstrating that words can also heal."
Lombardi said it was not yet clear if the pope would address the
controversy when he leads the Angelus blessing from his summer
residence in Castel Gandolfo on Sunday.
2.Oh,Father,give me more wisdoms in this crazy world.
