desertvixen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
desertvixen) wrote2006-09-19 10:27 am
desertvixen) wrote2006-09-19 10:27 am
(no subject)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14903823/
Muslims say pope's apology not good enough
Groups in Turkey, Iraq, Palestinian territories demand 'clear' statement
Updated: 1 hour, 55 minutes ago
ANKARA, Turkey - Muslims in Turkey, Iraq and the Palestinian territories demanded Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI make a clear apology for his remarks on Islam, instead of saying only that he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims had taken offense.
The prime minister of Malaysia, which chairs the world’s biggest Muslim bloc, said that Benedict’s expression of regret was acceptable.
In Turkey, protesters said Benedict must make full amends before a planned November trip that would be his papacy’s first visit to a Muslim nation.
“Either apologize, or do not come,” read a banner carried by a group of demonstrators from a religious workers’ union.
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.
Apology 'insufficient'
The top Muslim clergyman in the Palestinian territories similarly demanded that Benedict offer a “clear apology.”
The mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, urged Palestinians to halt attacks on churches in the territories, but held the pontiff responsible for the outpouring of anger.
“So far, we consider the apology of the Vatican Pope insufficient,” Hussein told reporters. “We firmly ask the Vatican Pope to offer a personal, public and clear apology to the 1.5 billion Muslims in this world.”
In a speech last week, the pontiff cited a Medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith.”
Benedict said Sunday that he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims took offense, and stressed that the emperor’s words did not reflect his own opinion.
Malaysia, which chairs the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, had demanded that the pope offer a full apology and retract what he said.
“I think we can accept it and we hope there are no more statements that can anger the Muslims,” Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told Malaysian journalists late Monday in New York, where he is attending the U.N. General Assembly.
Abdullah’s comments, carried Tuesday by the national news agency Bernama, came after he met with President Bush, who told the Malaysian leader he believed that Benedict was sincere in apologizing.
Turks demand pope's arrest
Seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza were attacked following Benedict’s comments. Damage was minor and no one was hurt, but it unsettled the small Christian minority, which accounts for about 2 percent of the 3.4 million Palestinians.
In Ankara Tuesday, the protesters demanded that the Justice Ministry arrest the pope upon his arrival in Turkey, where he should be tried on charges of insulting Islam and causing hatred based on religious differences, local media reported.
Ilnur Cevik, editor-in-chief of The New Anatolian newspaper, said in a commentary that the pope must reach out to Muslims before visiting.
“How can the pope make amends and convince the masses with religious sensitivities in Turkey that he is not an enemy of Islam and that he wants to forge an atmosphere of coexistence?” Cevik wrote. “If he fails to do this, it will be very hard for the Turkish people to give him a warm welcome.”
In Turkey, the pope’s remarks strengthened the widespread view that he is hostile to the country’s campaign for membership in the European Union.
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope questioned whether the EU should open its doors to Turkey, saying it might be incompatible with European culture.
Secular Turkey’s ruling Islamic-rooted government accused the pope after his latest remarks of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades, and called on him to offer a sincere and personal apology.
Catholic bishops met in Istanbul on Monday and decided the pope’s visit to Turkey in November should go ahead, said Monsignor Georges Marovitch, the Vatican embassy spokesman in Turkey. The pope was invited by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunchly secular leader.
Benedict is scheduled to visit Turkey from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, where a focus of his visit will be meeting with the Istanbul-based leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I.
****
A couple of thoughts:
1. Granted, the apology was kind of wishy-washy - sort of an "I'm sorry you were offended", not "I'm sorry I offended you". I don't want to get into whether an apology should have been required at all, but where he says it wasn't reflective of his own opinion? Then why say it? Also, on a totally cynical note, maybe you should save speeches that might be inflammatory until after your visit to a Muslim nation. The Vatican plays in the political game as well as the religious one.
2. Is the Muslim world going to apologize for the violence they have committed? What about the churches that were damaged in this go-round? Are Muslim leaders going to apologize for anti-Christianity and anti-Western remarks?
3. Is it going to occur to SOMEONE that perhaps the best way to respond to statements that your religion/culture is violent is NOT to commit acts of violence?
I realize there are moderate voices in the Muslim world calling for restraint, but they're not being listened to very much.
DV
Muslims say pope's apology not good enough
Groups in Turkey, Iraq, Palestinian territories demand 'clear' statement
Updated: 1 hour, 55 minutes ago
ANKARA, Turkey - Muslims in Turkey, Iraq and the Palestinian territories demanded Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI make a clear apology for his remarks on Islam, instead of saying only that he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims had taken offense.
The prime minister of Malaysia, which chairs the world’s biggest Muslim bloc, said that Benedict’s expression of regret was acceptable.
In Turkey, protesters said Benedict must make full amends before a planned November trip that would be his papacy’s first visit to a Muslim nation.
“Either apologize, or do not come,” read a banner carried by a group of demonstrators from a religious workers’ union.
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.
Apology 'insufficient'
The top Muslim clergyman in the Palestinian territories similarly demanded that Benedict offer a “clear apology.”
The mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, urged Palestinians to halt attacks on churches in the territories, but held the pontiff responsible for the outpouring of anger.
“So far, we consider the apology of the Vatican Pope insufficient,” Hussein told reporters. “We firmly ask the Vatican Pope to offer a personal, public and clear apology to the 1.5 billion Muslims in this world.”
In a speech last week, the pontiff cited a Medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith.”
Benedict said Sunday that he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims took offense, and stressed that the emperor’s words did not reflect his own opinion.
Malaysia, which chairs the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, had demanded that the pope offer a full apology and retract what he said.
“I think we can accept it and we hope there are no more statements that can anger the Muslims,” Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told Malaysian journalists late Monday in New York, where he is attending the U.N. General Assembly.
Abdullah’s comments, carried Tuesday by the national news agency Bernama, came after he met with President Bush, who told the Malaysian leader he believed that Benedict was sincere in apologizing.
Turks demand pope's arrest
Seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza were attacked following Benedict’s comments. Damage was minor and no one was hurt, but it unsettled the small Christian minority, which accounts for about 2 percent of the 3.4 million Palestinians.
In Ankara Tuesday, the protesters demanded that the Justice Ministry arrest the pope upon his arrival in Turkey, where he should be tried on charges of insulting Islam and causing hatred based on religious differences, local media reported.
Ilnur Cevik, editor-in-chief of The New Anatolian newspaper, said in a commentary that the pope must reach out to Muslims before visiting.
“How can the pope make amends and convince the masses with religious sensitivities in Turkey that he is not an enemy of Islam and that he wants to forge an atmosphere of coexistence?” Cevik wrote. “If he fails to do this, it will be very hard for the Turkish people to give him a warm welcome.”
In Turkey, the pope’s remarks strengthened the widespread view that he is hostile to the country’s campaign for membership in the European Union.
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope questioned whether the EU should open its doors to Turkey, saying it might be incompatible with European culture.
Secular Turkey’s ruling Islamic-rooted government accused the pope after his latest remarks of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades, and called on him to offer a sincere and personal apology.
Catholic bishops met in Istanbul on Monday and decided the pope’s visit to Turkey in November should go ahead, said Monsignor Georges Marovitch, the Vatican embassy spokesman in Turkey. The pope was invited by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunchly secular leader.
Benedict is scheduled to visit Turkey from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, where a focus of his visit will be meeting with the Istanbul-based leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I.
****
A couple of thoughts:
1. Granted, the apology was kind of wishy-washy - sort of an "I'm sorry you were offended", not "I'm sorry I offended you". I don't want to get into whether an apology should have been required at all, but where he says it wasn't reflective of his own opinion? Then why say it? Also, on a totally cynical note, maybe you should save speeches that might be inflammatory until after your visit to a Muslim nation. The Vatican plays in the political game as well as the religious one.
2. Is the Muslim world going to apologize for the violence they have committed? What about the churches that were damaged in this go-round? Are Muslim leaders going to apologize for anti-Christianity and anti-Western remarks?
3. Is it going to occur to SOMEONE that perhaps the best way to respond to statements that your religion/culture is violent is NOT to commit acts of violence?
I realize there are moderate voices in the Muslim world calling for restraint, but they're not being listened to very much.
DV