As security was beefed up around Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday night, the Mujahideen's Army movement in Iraq threatened to carry out a suicide attack against the Pope in revenge for his comments about Islam and jihad.
On a website used by rebel movements in Iraq, a message posted by the Mujahideen's Army said members of the organization would "smash the crosses in the house of the dog from Rome."
European religious and political leaders have backed the Pope in the wake of the Muslim protests over his academic lecture at Regensburg University Tuesday, saying the pope's words had been misinterpreted.
"Rather than criticizing Islam, the pope is actually offering it a helping hand by suggesting that it do away with the cycle of violence," Fr. Samir K. Samir, SJ one of the Vatican's leading experts on Islam wrote in the Catholic newspaper Asia News.
The pope's academic lecture "was trying to show how Western society-including the Church-has become secularized by removing from the concept of Reason its spiritual dimension and origins which are in God," Fr. Samir stated.
While European Muslims were quick to attack the pope's words, the continent's political leaders declined to follow. "Whoever criticizes the pope misunderstood the aim of his speech," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview with the German newspaper, Bild.
"It was an invitation to dialogue between religions," she said on Friday. Benedict "expressly spoke in favor of this dialogue, which is something I also support and consider urgent and necessary." "What Benedict XVI emphasized was a decisive and uncompromising renunciation of all forms of violence in the name of religion," Merkel noted.
This is a "storm in a tea cup" the former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey told The Jerusalem Post. "Anything Pope Benedict says should be weighed carefully. He is not given to slight or idle remarks," he added, dismissing Muslim charges the Pope had "rubbished" Islam.
"If he quoted something said 600 years ago, we should not assume that this represents the Pope's beliefs about Islam today," he said.
Lord Carey, who chairs the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East has long been active in Christian-Muslim dialogue, and in 2002 signed an accord in Alexandria with the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo and the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel calling for an end to violence, suicide bombings and a resumption of the peace process in the Middle East.
"Muslims, as well as Christians, must learn to enter into dialogue without crying 'foul'," Lord Carey said. "We live in perilous times, and we must not only separate religion from violence but also not give religious legitimacy to violence in any shape or form." Italian European parliament vice president Mario Mauro condemned as "monstrous" the manipulation of the pope's remarks by Islamic leaders which he claimed were used to "hit out at Christians and the West."
The controversy was evidence of the "gravity of the danger we are facing" he told the ANSA press agency on September 15, and urged Europeans to "defend reason" against the onslaught of "Islamist-Nazi ideology that permeates fundamentalist thought."
The Western press was divided over the pope's remarks. The New York Times editorialized on Saturday that the pope must give a "deep and persuasive" apology for his remarks as "the world listens carefully to the words of any pope. And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either deliberately or carelessly," it said.
However, the Guardian commented that the pope was "innocent of the charges of stirring up hatred against Islam being made against him." "It is difficult to believe that those making the claims," the Guardian's religious affairs correspondent, Stephen Bates, noted, "can possibly have read the remarks in full or in their proper context." Muslim concerns were "exaggerated and misplaced," Fr. Samir, a professor at the Universit Saint Joseph in Beirut, the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and the Centre de Th ologie S vres in Paris, wrote. "Initial reactions in the Muslim world show that the Pope was misunderstood," he said, and some "comments made by Western Muslims were superficial and fed the circus-like criticism" of "emotional outbursts in response to hearsay." Benedict's quote from the Koran, "There is no compulsion in religion," (Sura 2,256), was offered in the context of a medieval dialogue between a Byzantine emperor and a Persian Muslim. "The Holy Father chose this text because it contained a 'key sentence' in which the Emperor criticizes the Muslim for Islam's violence as exemplified by the command to spread the faith by the sword," Fr. Samir said. However, the argument being proffered by the pope was that "anyone who engages in violence ceases being a believer; anyone, Christian or Muslim, who goes along with violence goes against Reason and God, who is the source of Reason," he stated. "Sadly, some people cannot avoid seeing the conflict between the West and Islam except in political terms. Since the Pope is a Westerner, it must logically follow that he is 'against' us. And having failed to understand what the pope says, all that they can say is that he criticized jihad and for this reason he certainly 'must' be an enemy," Fr. Samir said. The tragedy in this controversy, Fr. Samir suggested was that "only by listening to the Pope's suggestions, and those of a few Muslim intellectuals, can Islam's chances for renewal become real." "It is high time that Islam deal with modernity; not to be swallowed up by it, but rather to take what good it has to offer and improve on it," he said.
However, the Guardian commented that the pope was "innocent of the charges of stirring up hatred against Islam being made against him."
"It is difficult to believe that those making the claims," the Guardian's religious affairs correspondent, Stephen Bates, noted, "can possibly have read the remarks in full or in their proper context." Muslim concerns were "exaggerated and misplaced," Fr. Samir, a professor at the Universit Saint Joseph in Beirut, the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and the Centre de Th ologie S vres in Paris, wrote.
"Initial reactions in the Muslim world show that the Pope was misunderstood," he said, and some "comments made by Western Muslims were superficial and fed the circus-like criticism" of "emotional outbursts in response to hearsay."
Benedict's quote from the Koran, "There is no compulsion in religion," (Sura 2,256), was offered in the context of a medieval dialogue between a Byzantine emperor and a Persian Muslim.
"The Holy Father chose this text because it contained a 'key sentence' in which the Emperor criticizes the Muslim for Islam's violence as exemplified by the command to spread the faith by the sword," Fr. Samir said.
However, the argument being proffered by the pope was that "anyone who engages in violence ceases being a believer; anyone, Christian or Muslim, who goes along with violence goes against Reason and God, who is the source of Reason," he stated.
"Sadly, some people cannot avoid seeing the conflict between the West and Islam except in political terms. Since the Pope is a Westerner, it must logically follow that he is 'against' us. And having failed to understand what the pope says, all that they can say is that he criticized jihad and for this reason he certainly 'must' be an enemy," Fr. Samir said.
The tragedy in this controversy, Fr. Samir suggested was that "only by listening to the Pope's suggestions, and those of a few Muslim intellectuals, can Islam's chances for renewal become real."
"It is high time that Islam deal with modernity; not to be swallowed up by it, but rather to take what good it has to offer and improve on it," he said.
it a repeat of the old days now we will have a war of religion
this will be the worse war we ever had
Italian Nun Shot Dead by Somali Gunmen
MOGADISHU, Somalia ??? An Italian nun was shot dead at a hospital by Somali gunmen Sunday, hours after a leading Muslim cleric condemned Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks on Islam and violence.
The nun, who was not immediately identified, was shot in the back at S.O.S. Hospital in northern Mogadishu by two gunmen, said Mohamed Yusuf, a doctor at the facility, which serves mothers and children. The nun's bodyguard and a hospital worker were also killed, doctors said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and it was not clear if it was directly linked to the pope's comments. Two people had been arrested, said Yusuf Mohamed Siad, head of security for the Islamic militia that controls Mogadishu.
Earlier Sunday, a Somali cleric criticized the comments the pope made in a speech last week for offending Muslims. The pope had cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's founder, as"evil and inhuman."
"The pope's statement at this time was not only wrong but irresponsible as well,"said Sheik Nor Barud, deputy leader of the Somali Muslim Scholars Association.
"Both the Pope and the Byzantine Emperor he quoted are ignorant of Islam and it is noble Prophet,"he told journalists at a news conference in the capital Mogadishu.
In Rome, Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi called the nun's slaying"a horrible episode,"the Italian news agency ANSA said."Let's hope that it will be an isolated fact."
Lombardi indicated the shooting could be related to the uproar over the pope's remarks.
"We are following with concern the consequences of this wave of hate, hoping that it does not lead to grave consequences for the church in the world,"he was quoted as saying.
Benedict apologized earlier Sunday for the angry reaction to his remarks, which he said came from a text that didn't reflect his personal opinion.
Witnesses also said the shooting and the pope's comments appeared to be linked.
"These gunmen always look for white people to kill, and now the pope gave them the reason to do their worst,"said Mohamud Durguf Derow, who was at the scene when the nun was killed.
The nun, who spoke fluent Somali, was believed to be around 60 and had been working at the hospital since 2002, said witnesses at the hospital on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords overthrew it's longtime dictator in 1991 and divided the nation into fiefdoms. The Islamic fundamentalists have stepped into the vacuum as an alternative military and political power.
The current interim government was established two years ago with the support of the United Nations, but has failed to assert any power outside its base in Baidoa, 150 miles from Mogadishu.
The Islamic group, which seized the capital and much of southern Somalia this summer, is credited with bringing a semblance of order to the country after years of anarchy, but some of its leaders have been linked to al-Qaida and there are fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime.
The way in which the purported ???religion of peace??? handles its detractors becomes more incredible each and every day. The latest Muslim ???outrage??? is over Pope Benedict XVI quoting a 14th century potentate.
Advising his audience that reason must prevail for religious dialogue to be relevant, during a 12 September lecture given at Germany???s University of Regensburg, Pope Benedict is now being threatened by Islamists for daring to comment negatively on jihad [Muslim holy war]. From the Muslim point of view, this appears to be as ???horrific??? as the published Muhammad cartoons. Islamists are now telling us in ???the world of infidels??? that no mention of jihad may ever again be made???if it carries a negative connotation.
Note: Jihad IS a negative thing! But, it appears that the Islamic's are attempting to redefine terminology. I???m surmising that they will now tell us ???jihad??? is a ???holy??? part of their religion. So, we ???infidels??? can no longer use the word. Just to show us that Islam won???t take the truth lying down, at least one angry Muslim threw a grenade exploded in front of a Christian Church in the Gaza on Friday.
What is the ???horrific??? statement Pope Benedict made about Islam? To reiterate, during his lecture the pope quoted someone else???14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus. The emperor said: ???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.??? Emperor Manuel II didn???t like Islam. Quite frankly and in consideration of its reaction to virtually anything and everything it doesn???t like, who in their right mind currently does? These fascist purveyors of the ???religion of peace??? behead ???infidels???, hang and murder other Muslims, implement real torture, deny any and all basic human rights and have said they will destroy the Western world???this mean civilization. What Islamo-fascists recommend and are working toward is that which all despots throughout history have desired???world control for the rulers and slave states and populations for their own perverted pleasure.
Note: The problem, this time, is that with the world???s clueless and freedom-hating Left in their camp???this new crop of tormenting terrorists just might achieve it. Even the Pakistani Parliament condemned Pope Benedict for quoting the 14th century Persian emperor!
Jihadists are now, also, calling for massive numbers of Muslim rioters to pose as Hindus and attack Muslim mosques throughout India. Although this has nothing to do with the pope, they may still be able to invent some connection.
Another ???unforgivable??? comment Pope Benedict made was that violence goes against God???s nature, was contrary to reason and ???that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions [are] so urgently needed today.??? That really ticked off a number of the Islamic clerics! Stating once again that the pope has no right to comment on terrorists, President of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazyek commented: ???I don???t think the church should point a finger at extremist activities in other religions!??? Huh??? So, now we cannot comment on Islamic terrorism???at all? In its plan to take over the world, by whatever means necessary, Islam has told and is telling us what to expect from it:
??? We may no longer comment on anything that is not authorized by the (or any) Islamic state, cleric or terrorist
??? Jihad, beheadings, murder and Burkas for women are ???good???
??? No independent thought is allowed (the jihadists will have help from the Left on this???that is until the Left is no longer needed. Then, their own beheadings will be implemented)
??? New word definitions will be forthcoming. Note: The Left has already begun this one
??? New revised history will be forthcoming. Note: The Left has already begun this one too!
??? All will convert to the Muslim religion or die
??? Riots will be arranged on a regular basis and you will be expected to participate???schedules will be delivered to your homes. Don???t forget, we know where you live. If you do not choose to participate, you and your family will be eliminated
??? Government will now be subject to Shari???a Law
??? You have now been briefed. Heed all the rules, and those to come, or die
Don???t think it will happen? If not, all you need do is look to the countries that have been conquered by the Islamic fundamentalists. The above Islamic ???commandments??? have been implemented in each one of them.
But, today, all we need do is wait???and see???if this new truth-telling by the pope will result in more worldwide Muslim riots. I???ve already placed my bet.
One last thing, if you don???t plan to fight it, all you have to do is wait. They will come for you and probably sooner than you think.
...as Sheik Yerbouti would say to Sheikh Abubukar, "you're an a$$hole!"
Zappa fans will get that. ;)
AN Iraqi armed group has threatened to carry out attacks against Rome and the Vatican in retaliation for Pope Benedict XVI's remarks on Islam, according to a statement posted on the internet today.
"We swear that we will destroy their cross in the heart of Rome ... and that their Vatican will be hit and wept over by the Pope," said Jaish al-Mujahideen (the Mujahideen's Army) in the statement, whose authenticity could not be confirmed.
The statement lashed out at "Zionised Christians and loathsome crusaders" and was accompanied by six films showing attacks against US military targets in Iraq, which it said were "dedicated to the dog of the crusaders (an apparent reference to the Pope) in retaliation for his remarks".
"We will not rest until your thrones and your crosses have been destroyed on your own territory," said the group, which has claimed many attacks against US and government forces in Iraq.
The statement came just before the Vatican said the pontiff was "extremely sorry" for offending Muslims in a speech he delivered in his German homeland on Tuesday.
Benedict's reference to Islam and jihad, or holy war, in a comment on the relationship between religion and violence during his Germany visit, caused a wave of anger across the Muslim world.
Sheikh Abubukar Hassan Malin urged Muslims to find the pontiff and punish him for insulting the Prophet Mohammed and Allah in a speech that he said was as offensive as author Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. "We urge you Muslims wherever you are to hunt down the Pope for his barbaric statements as you have pursued Salman Rushdie, the enemy of Allah who offended our religion," he said in Friday evening prayers. "Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim," Malin, a prominent cleric in the Somali capital, told worshippers at a mosque in southern Mogadishu. "We call on all Islamic Communities across the world to take revenge on the baseless critic called the pope," he said.
"We urge you Muslims wherever you are to hunt down the Pope for his barbaric statements as you have pursued Salman Rushdie, the enemy of Allah who offended our religion," he said in Friday evening prayers.
"Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim," Malin, a prominent cleric in the Somali capital, told worshippers at a mosque in southern Mogadishu.
"We call on all Islamic Communities across the world to take revenge on the baseless critic called the pope," he said.
notme wrote:here we go it going to be the HOLY WAR
I really believe that some of them were just waiting and looking for a moment like this...
i think it is written in the bible that we will have a holy war
wwjd will let us know if i am right
notme wrote:i think it is written in the bible that we will have a holy war wwjd will let us know if i am right
oops holy war is in their religion
http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/jehad.htm
it about the jehad , holy war
and created by islams