Pope Benedict XVI

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  • Rasputin
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2005
    • 63906

    #46
    در خبرها آمد بود که پاپ بنديک در سخنان اخيرش ازواقعه اي تاريخي ياد کرده که درديالوگ بين امپراطور بيزانس و انديشمند ايراني مسلمان، پيامبر اسلام به خشونت متهم شده بوده است. اين سخنان واکنش هاي تندي را در ميان رهبران مسلمان، برخي رهبران سياسي و بويژه بنيادگرايان اسلامي در سراسر جهان برانگيخت. حال آنکه بجا بود تا ساير رهبران مذهبي جهان نيزعليه خشونت مذهبي در جهان، که معضل اصلي و روبه گسترش دوران ماست، بطور جدّي موضع گرفته و از تهديد بنيادگرايان نهراسند.

    در اين شکي نيست که متوليان رسمي دين، دشمن ترين دشمنان عقل و خرد و اصلي ترين عاملان عقب ماندگي جوامع انساني، از انقلاب کشاورزي تا به امروز بوده اند. روحانيون رسمي مذاهب، هر زمان پايشان به قدرت سياسي کشيده شده، غل و زنجير ها را بر فکر و روح و دست و پاي مردمان تنيده و با تفتيش عقيده و کشتار و سرکوب پيشاهنگان جوامع خود، بطور مستمر با هرگونه نوآوري علمي و عقلي مبارزه کرده اند. دوران سياه و طولاني قرون وسطاي اروپا و عقب ماندگي مسلمانان هر دو مايه شرم و سرافکندي ابدي رهبران مذهبي تا هميشهً تاريخ باقي خواهند ماند.

    شکوفايي تمدن اسلامي در گذشته و مسيحيت بعد از رنسانس، هر دوناشي از تأثيرات عقل گرايي يونانيان و خرد گرايي ايرانيان بوده است. آنچه اسلام را ديني جهاني ساخت غلبه بر امپراطوري ايرانيان بود و آنچه اسلام را به ديني جهاني و ماندگار بدل کرد آشنايي باً آثار يونانيان بوده است. اگر ايراني ها را از اسلام و يوناني ها را از مسلمانان بگيريد، ميراثي جز همان آداب و سنن بدوي عشيرتي و قبيلگي، باقي نمي ماند. ميراثي که با بربريت بيرحم و خون محور، جزتبعيض قبيلگي و مذهبي و سنگسار(رجم) و قصاص (خونريزي) و تعذير(شکنجه) مرسوم در زندگي بدوي قبايل صحرا نشين عرب، هيچ افتخاري براي بشريت گذشته و حال بدست نمي دهد. استنادات بنيادگرايان اسلامي به آيهً آخر سورهً فتح " محمد رسول الله و الذين معه اشداء على الكفار رحماء بينهم..." که انسانها را نخست به دو دستهً مسلمان و غير مسلمان و بر همين سياق "خودي و غير خودي" تقسيم کرده و آنگاه شديد ترين رفتارها(تعدي و تجاوز به جان ومال و نواميس) غير خودي ها را مجاز مي شمرند، نمونه اي از خروارها دستورات و تعاليم مذهبي است که سرمشق اخلاقي بنيادگرايان اسلامي قرار گرفته است.

    بر همين سياق، درس آموختگان و سخنگويان اصلي جهان اسلام، در روزگار ما، بنيادگرايان مذهبي اند. آموزه هاي سنتي مدارس اسلامي اکثراً مشوّق و حامي تبعيض و خشونت هستند که تفکيک عشيرتي و قبيلگي، و بدنبالش تبعيض نژادي و جنسي را گسترش مي دهند. مبلغين مساجد مسلمانان در غرب و شرق عالم عموماً در سوداي تشکيل حکومت جهاني و خلافت اسلامي، در علن و خفا، مروج خشونت و حامي تروريسم اند. در دوران جهاني شدن، با فراگيرشدن ارزشهاي جهانشمول انساني و گسترش دموکراسي درسراسر جهان، رهبران سنتي و بنيادگراي اسلام به واکنشي فرصت طلبانه برخواسته اند. اين متوليان رسمي مذاهب گوناگون اسلامي، استقبال مردم جهان از انتخابات آزاد، عرفي شدن قوانين و رفع تبعيضات قومي، مذهبي، جنسي و نژادي، را مغاير با منافع و جايگاه تاريخي خود يافته، زالوصفتانه مانع گسستن زنجيرهاي اسارت قرون و آزادشدن انرژي پتانسيل مسلمانان جهت رشد و شکوفايي جوامع مسلمان شده اند. مقابلهً علني بنيادگرايان مذهبي با دستاوردهاي تمدن انسان امروز، که در نهادهاي مدني مدرن، اعم از سوسياليستي، ليبرال، سکولار، فيمينيست و غيره حاصل شده، حاکي از اين رويکرد قرون وسطايي بنيادگرايان مي باشد. ميدان دار شدن بنيادگرايي مذهبي، اصلي ترين عامل عقب نگهداشتن ملت ها و چالش جدي صلح، ثبات و امنيت منطقه اي و بين المللي، در دوران ما مي باشد.

    ناگفته نماند که بعد از جنگ سرد، رويکرد نومحافظه کاران آمريکا به مذهب، به اين موج بنيادگرايي مذهبي در جهان دامن زده است. رئيس جمهور آمريکا هم خود را ناجي مذهبي مي پندارد، رواج اصطلاحاتي مانند: "خدا به آمريکا زير سايهً صليب برکت بده، تحت فرمان خدا، به خدايي که ما توکل مي کنيم":
    Common expressions in the US: “The God we trust”, “under the God”, “God bless America”
    نمونه هايي از ترويج مذهبي کردن سياست (در مقابله با بنيادگرايان اسلامي) بويژه بعد از حملهً تروريستي ٩/١١ است.

    امروزه رهبران رسمي اسلام، با فاصلهً زيادي از کليساي کاتوليک عقب مانده اند. کليساي کاتوليک با برسميت شناختن آزادي مذهب در کنگره دوم شوراي واتيکان، بطور آشکاري از دوران سياه تفتيش عقايد قرون وسطي فاصله گرفته است. برسميت شناختن آزادي مذهبي توسط کليساي کاتوليک، عامل تعيين کننده و آغاز گر موج سوم دموکراسي در کشورهاي عمدتاً کاتوليک جهان در اروپاي مرکزي و آمريکاي لاتين بوده است. ولي متقابلاً اکثرمبلغين و رهبران مذهبي اسلام در مدارس، منابر و مساجدشان مويّد تبعيض و مشوّق خشونت عليه غير خودي ها (اعم از مسلمان و غير مسلمان) هستند. آنها نه تنها پيروان ساير اديان، بلکه مخالفين و منتقدين مسلمان خود را نيز تحمل نمي کنند. رهبران جهان اسلام، هنوزدر مراکز عمدهً علمي مذهبي از الازهر درمصر، تا مدارس علميهً نجف و قم، نه تنها به فکراجتهاد و نوآوري مذهبي در برسميت شناختن آزادي مذهبي بر نيامده اند، بلکه بطور رسمي و غير رسمي خشونت مذهبي عليه گرايشهاي مذهبي که بطور روز افزوني از ايدئولوژي هاي مدرن سکولار، ليبرال، سوسياليست، و فمينيست تأثير مي پذيرند را تبليغ، تشويق و تا آنجا که بتوانند، حمايت مي کنند. ولايت مطلقهً فقيه و پيروانش در ايران، خود را تنها نظام برحق (با توجيهات شرعي) بر روي کرهً خاکي مي پندارند و احمدي نژاد براي گسترش دامنهً قدرت آن حاضر است منطقه و جهاني را بکام بلوا، آشوب وآتش بکشد. بدليل کثرت جمعيتي مسلماناني که رهبران آن هنوز بفکر اجتهاد و انطباق اسلام با مباني زندگي امروزنيافتاده اند؛ بنيادگرايي و خشونت مذهبي، دست آوردهاي مثبت تمدن بشر، از رنسانس تا به امروز را بطور جدي تهديد مي کند. براي غلبه بر اين موج افراط گرايي و خشونت مذهبي (اعم از يهودي، مسيحي و مسلمان) بجاست تا:

    ١. رهبران مذهبي جهان بطور قاطع و هم صدا عليه خشونت مذهبي، از هرنوع، بويژه تروريسم اسلامي، موضع گرفته، مانع گسترش نفرت و قهر و خشونت، بنام مذهب، بين شهروندان جامعهً جهاني گردند. چنين موضعگيري صريح و قاطعي عليه بنيادگرايان مذهبي مي تواند مانع گسترش تبعيض و خونريزي تحت نام مذهب گردد.اين رهبران با ديالوگ بين خودشان، مي توانند به اجتهاد و نوآوري ديني دست زده، با تأکيد بروجه انسانگرايانه و مشترک اديان، به برقراري صلح، امنيت، ثبات و همزيستي مسالمت آميزبين شهروندان دهکدهً جهاني در دوران جهاني شدن کمک کنند. اجتهاد و نوآوري مذهبي مي تواند رسوبات اعتقادي تبعيض آميز و خشونت برانگيز، بارث رسيده از دوران هاي گذشته را از چهرهً اديان بزدايد؛ امري که نه تنها درمبارزه با ناامني و تروريسم، بلکه در برقراري صلح، آزادي و دموکراسي در جوامع مسلمان لازم و ضروري مي باشد. بي شک چنين حرکتي، قدمي بزرگ و موثر درراستاي ابهام زدايي از چهرهً اوليا و رهبران دين ، منجمله پيامبر اسلام (ص)، نيز محسوب خواهد شد.

    ٢. رهبران سياسي مخالف بنيادگرايي مذهبي نيز بايد ضمن پرهيز از مذهبي کردن سياست، در مبارزهً ريشه اي با تروريسم و خشونت مذهبي، سياست هاي خود را هماهنگ کنند. دولت هاي مهاجر پذير، که پيش از اين بنيادگرايان مذهبي را تنها براي ديگران، مثلا مردم خاورميانه، مي خواستند، حالا لازم ديده اند تا از پناه دادن به فعالان و رهبران بنيادگراي مذهبي که به قانون عرفي اعتقادي ندارند، پرهيز کرده و از گرايشات سکولار، مترقي و ميانه رو مذهبي حمايت کنند.

    ٣. تبليغات رسانه هاي جهاني در مبارزه با تروريسم اسلامي تصويري دوقطبي و منحرف کننده را از شرايط بدست داده است که گويي ابتکار عمل آن بدست افراطيون مذهبي است. بنيادگراياني که هرکدام، براي توجيه مواضع خود عليه ديگري، به مذهب متوسل شده اند. در چنين فضايي، روشنفکران و احزاب و فعالان سياسي، در چگونگي تنظيم رابطه با اين دوقطب بنيادگرا ( حاميان دولت مذهبي از طرف بنيادگرايان اسلامي، و مذهبي کردن سياست توسط نومحافظه کاران آمريکا) دچار سردرگمي شده و اي بسا به دام حمايت از يکي، در مخالفت با ديگري، مي افتند. حال آنکه هر چند سياست هاي اسرائيل و آمريکا در منطقهً خاورميانه قابل دفاع نيست، ولي حمايت از تروريسم و فاشيسم مذهبي نيز منجر به وخيم تر شدن اوضاع در منطقه و جهان مي گردد. بهمين دليل، سياستمداران و روشنفکران چپ جهاني که در مخالفت با آمريکا از بنيادگرايان مذهبي دفاع مي کنند، مانند حمايت چاوز از احمدي نژاد، اشتباه استراتژيک فاجعه باري مرتکب مي شوند. متقابلاً، روشنفکران ليبرالي که در مخالفت با بنيادگرايان مذهبي به حمايت تمام عيار از نومحافظه کاران آمريکايي مي رسند نيزاشتباه مي کنند. آکادميسن ها، روشنفکران، احزاب و فعالان سياسي لازم است تا از هردو شق گسترش بنيادگرايي (اسلامي کردن دولتها در کشورهاي مسلمان و نيزمذهبي کردن سياست در اسرائيل و آمريکا) تبري جسته وشقّ سومي را انتخاب کنند. راه حل سومي که از طرف اپوزيسيون ملاهاي حاکم بر ايران ارائه شده، مبني بر سياست نه جنگ با ايران و نه سازش با رژيم ملاها، بلکه حمايت از نيروهاي جبههً سوم، راه حلي مسئولانه و درست است که بايد مورد حمايت و سرمشق ديگران نيز قرار گيرد

    iran

    Comment

    • Rasputin
      Senior Member
      • Jan 2005
      • 63906

      #47
      Proving the Pope right

      Muslims wear their religion on their sleeves and the slightest contrary wind disturbs its cozy sanctified perch

      Pope Benedict XVI in his speech of September 12 at the University of Regensburg, Germany, perhaps unintentionally provided the Muslims with a golden opportunity: the opportunity to prove to all enemies of Islam that Muhammad indeed gave the world magnificent new teachings.

      The Pope, in the course of his speech alluded to a 1391 comment of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus in a debate with an educated Persian: "Show me just what Mohammad brought that was new, and there you find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

      No sooner the Muslims learned of this comment than, once again, rage engulfed them. They became indignant, hysterical and ready to war. Not long ago, there was the report, published by a rag seeking to boost its sacking circulation, that American military personnel have flushed the Quran down the toilet: A physical impossibility that turned out to be baseless, upon investigation. Yet, Muslim Street bellowed with anger, attacks on non-Muslims and their properties were unleashed and lives were lost in the violence.

      Before long, we had the imbroglio of the Danish cartoons insulting Muhammad, as the Muslim saw it. Embassies were torched, boycotts were enacted and all kinds of threats were hurled at the tiny nation for one of its newspapers printing cartoons that Muslims felt were offensive.

      Before the dust could settle, the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, dared to call "Islamic fascists," Islamic fascists. Truth is not always welcomed in all quarters. Islamic centers and their well-paid highly vocal lobbying hires launched a furious attack on the President for the use of the term "fascist" in connection with the rarified name of Islam. Opportunists such as to the left of the left Democratic Senator from Wisconsin, Russ Feingold found the President's usage so unacceptable that he took it upon himself to write a letter to the President and lecturing him.

      And now the Head of the Catholic Church has greatly offended the sensibilities of Muslims by quoting a long ago statement of an emperor in a debate.

      Muslims wear their religion on their sleeves and the slightest contrary wind disturbs its cozy sanctified perch. Yet, these very people of great religious fervor have no problem in inflicting all kinds of verbal and physical abuse on non-Muslims. Why the double standards? Read the Quran.

      The Islamic world is once again in uproar. Why should the Muslims be outraged? Why should they react by torching churches, shooting a nun in the back, and retaliating by calling Pope and Christians all kinds of names? What happened to reason and dialogue? Their "Dialogue-man," the smiling fake Mullah Khatami, is presently touring the West to promote dialogues. Apparently the snake-oil salesman Mullah means a different thing by "dialogue." His side can say and do whatever they want, and the other sides should simply acquiesce˜a great Islamic offer.

      The Muslims missed a golden opportunity. Their greatly-pampered legions of high clerics should have put their medieval heads together and made the case for Islam, if they could. If successful, not only they would have humiliated the Pontiff but impressed the rank-and-file Christians of the marvelous good teachings that Muhammad brought for mankind, for the first time. An added benefit could have been the conversion of the disbelievers to Islam.

      Yet, the way the Islamic leaders are responding to the Pontiff's speech is indeed a great embarrassment to Islam at a time the world is repeatedly shocked by the many barbarities Muslims commit. The Supreme Spiritual Guide of Iran's Muslims, Mullah Khamenei, for instance, has urged the close-minded faithful to hold huge protest demonstrations.

      It appears that the call of the Mullah for demonstrations is an attempt at intimidation, the best he can do since he does not have a rational defensible response and he is not able to send his assassins all the way to Rome to carry out the Islamic favorite way of supplying answers.

      Also, who knows, perhaps some of his rabid followers, the three Fs: fools, fanatics and frauds will find a nun to shoot in the back during the hoped-for hysterical gatherings. If not, there are a few churches in the country that can be looted first and then burned to the ground.

      Question: How in the world a huge demonstration is the appropriate answer to the perceived affront allegedly committed by the Pontiff's speech? With great spiritual guides like Khamenei, Islam does not need non-Muslims to go to the trouble of defaming it. Islam's teachings and Muslims' actions are more than convincing proof to any impartial person to second the Pontiff's speech.

      Islamic web sites and newspapers have supplied their own form of rebuttal to the Pontiff's statement. They proudly, some contend shamelessly, wave the sword and promise the end of all infidels, people of the cross and the Zionists.

      Only three days after the Pope's speech, Iraq's Mujahidin Shura Council issued its own very Islamic response, inadvertently substantiating the Pontiff's comment. Here is a part of what the Council posted:

      "After the stupid and obeyed bearer of the cross flag, Bush, declared a few years back the start of a new crusade on Islam and its people and launched his crusade with the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the servant of the cross, the Vatican Pope, appears before us, orbiting around Bush, to continue in Bush's footsteps with his flagrant assault on Islam and its prophet, Muhammad, may God's peace and blessings be upon him, especially with his remarks on 'the duty of jihad in the name of God' -- a duty that flowed through the body of the nation and terrified crusaders the world over."

      The self-appointed custodian of the religion of "peace" continues with its superb logical reasoning by warning the "worshippers of the cross": "You and the Romans are on a date with the defeat you see every day in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and elsewhere." The Council promises to "Break the cross, spill the wine, and enforce the al-jizyah (tax levied on non-Muslims in return for protection), leaving people with a choice between Islam and the sword." The statement vows, "For we will press forth with our jihad and will not stop until Allah enables us to cut your throats, and until the banner of monotheism is raised and Allah's law prevails over all lands and all people."

      You be the judge. Did these defenders of the one and only true religion of Allah say anything that in any way falsifies the quotation the Pontiff used?

      "There is not a truth existing which I fear [...] or would wish unknown to the whole world," said Thomas Jefferson.

      This is truth. The barbarians are at the gate. This time around, the people of the sword have their collaborator Useful Idiots inside busily doing all they can to dismantle our secular democratic system and replace it with the tyrannical Islam.

      By A Imani

      iran

      Comment

      • Rasputin
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2005
        • 63906

        #48
        تحليلگران مي‌گويند پاپ بنديكت شانزدهم بايد از سفر ماه نوامبر خود به تركيه براي احياي مناسبات با جهان اسلام كه پس از اظهارات اخيرش به شدت تخريب شده، استفاده كند.

        به گزارش خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران (ايسنا) به نقل از خبرگزاري رويتر، برخي تحليلگران مي‌گويند: پاپ بنديكت شانزدهم، رهبر كاتوليك‌هاي جهان حتي بايد در مورد مخالف خود با عضويت تركيه در اتحاديه اروپا تجديد نظر كند تا بتواند شكاف موجود بين غرب و جهان اسلام و خطر بروز برخورد تمدن‌ها را كاهش دهد.

        بنديكت قرار است اولين سفر رسمي‌اش به يك كشور اسلامي به عنوان پاپ را در روزهاي 28 الي 30 نوامبر (هفتم الي نهم آذر) انجام دهد.

        آنكارا اعلام كرده كه به رغم خشم مسلمانان كه با توجه به ابراز تاسف پاپ تنها تا حدودي كاهش يافته خواستار اين است كه سفر پاپ طبق برنامه صورت بگيرد.

        مهمت دلگر، رييس كميته‌ي امور خارجي پارلمان تركيه گفت: بهتر است كه وي بيايد. اين مي‌تواند به بهبود روابط كمك كند. حضور وي در تركيه مي‌تواند به مسلمانان كمك كند كه حسن نيت وي را ببينند.

        دوگو ارگيل از دانشگاه آنكارا با تكرار اين نظرات گفت، سفر وي فرصتي خواهد بود تا اظهارات خود را اصلاح كند و نشان دهد كه مطالب كليشه‌يي را كه در غرب درباره‌ي اسلام عنوان مي‌شود، قبول ندارد.

        مردم تركيه حتي قبل از اظهارات اخير پاپ در مورد اسلام نسبت به وي بي‌اعتماد بودند؛ زيرا وي قبل از پاپ شدن گفته بود كه تركيه به عنوان يك كشور غير مسيحي، شايستگي عضويت در اتحاديه اروپا را ندارد.

        چنگيز اختر از دانشگاه استانبول، گفت‌: پاپ بايد به تركيه بيايد ولي در عين حال بايد اعلام كند كه اكنون حامي تلاش‌هاي تركيه براي پيوستن به اتحاديه اروپا است.

        وي با اشاره به كتاب پرفروش ساموئل هانتينگتون متفكر آمريكايي افزود: پاپ بايد صراحتا بگويد كه تلاش‌هاي تركيه بخشي از راه‌حل جلوگيري از برخورد تمدن‌ها است.

        وي در عين حال افزود كه نسبت به اين كه پاپ چنين موضعي اتخاذ كند، خوشبين نيست.

        اما انتظار مي‌رود سفر پاپ بنديكت شانزدهم به تركيه باعث بروز تظاهرات از سوي ملي‌گرايان و مسلمانان ترك شود.

        اين گروه‌ها كه براي مدت‌ها نسبت به واتيكان بي‌اعتماد بودند، حال نگران اين هستند كه سخنان اخير پاپ به معناي يك جنگ صليبي جديد از سوي مسيحيت باشد.

        ارگيل از دانشگاه آنكارا گفت: دولت تركيه نمي‌تواند دعوت از پاپ را پس بگيرد؛ اما دولت همچنين نمي‌تواند مانع تظاهرات مردمي شود كه مي‌خواهند نشان دهند تفكرات پاپ درباره‌ي اسلام در اين بخش از جهان اسلام (تركيه)‌ غير قابل قبول است.

        پاپ در سخنان چند روز پيش خود به نقل از يكي از امپراطوري‌هاي دوره‌ي بيزانس مطالبي موهن را به اسلام نسبت داده بود.

        خبرگزاري آناتولي تركيه با تاكيد بر خشم مردم تركيه گزارش داد: يك تبعه‌ي تركيه‌يي در شهر غربي بورسا خواستار اين شده كه دادستان‌هاي دولتي درباره‌ي سخنان پاپ تحقيق و احتمالا عليه او شكايت كنند.

        امين سيرين، عضو ملي‌گراي مستقل مجلس تركيه به خبرگزاري رويتر گفت: بي‌شك پاپ بايد سفرش را لغو كند.


        iran

        Comment

        • donsaeid
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2005
          • 28300

          #49

          ارامنه تهران فردا در محكوميت اظهارات موهن پاپ تجمع مي‌كنند

          در اعتراض به اظهارات موهن پاپ بنديكت شانزدهم به دين اسلام، فردا چهارشنبه ارامنه و اقشار مختلف مردم تهران در حسينيه ارشاد تجمع مي‌كنند.


          ،اين تجمع اعتراض آميز مردمي بنا به درخواست بنياد حفظ آثار و ارزشهاي دفاع مقدس رآس ساعت 16 چهارشنبه در حسينيه ارشاد برگزار خواهد شد.
          نه غزه نه لبنان جانم فدای ایران


          «در زندگی زخم*هايی هست که مثل خوره روح را آهسته در انزوا می*خورد و می*تراشد.»
          صادق هدايت؛ بوف کور

          Comment

          • Rasputin
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2005
            • 63906

            #50
            Muslim Anger at Pope Shows Signs of Easing

            ROME, Sept. 19 — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran suggested today that Pope Benedict XVI had satisfactorily “modified” his remarks on Islam, one sign of an apparent easing of anger since the pope issued an apology on Sunday for the reaction to his words.

            “We respect the pope and all those interested in peace and justice,” Mr. Ahmadinejad, a devout Muslim and hardliner against the West, told reporters before leaving Venezuela. “I understand that he has modified the remarks he made.”

            On Sunday, Pope Benedict said he was “very sorry” for the anger and protests that erupted around the Muslim world since he gave a speech a week ago, citing a medieval text describing Islam as “evil and inhuman.” Several churches were attacked the West Bank and Gaza, and a Catholic nun was killed in Somalia, although it is not certain the slaying came in reaction to the pope’s remarks.

            Since the pope issued his apology on Sunday, some Muslims have said he did not go far enough: While he did say that he did not agree with the description of Islam, he did not apologize for having using the quotes. Today, some Muslims continued to demand a fuller apology.

            “Either apologize or don’t come,” read banners at a protest today in Turkey, where the pope’s scheduled trip in November has come under criticism since he made the speech. Officials from both the Turkish government and the Vatican said they expected the trip still to go forward.

            In Libya on Monday, a son of the nation’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, said he did not accept the apology and suggested instead that that pope convert to Islam.

            “If this person were really someone reasonable, he would not agree to remain at his post one minute but would convert to Islam immediately,” the son, Mohammed Qaddafi, said at an awards ceremony, according to news agencies.

            But today, many more Muslims echoed the sentiments of the top imam in Rome, who said the pope had “stepped back” from his original comments.

            “We are always ready for dialogue, always ready for co habitation, anywhere, even in those moments when we are wounded,” the imam, Sami Salem, said after an inter-religious meeting here which also Jews and Catholics.

            But he said: “Dialogue is not an empty word, it should be a fact. The word is not enough.”

            Also at the meeting, which had been planned before the pope’s speech, was the Vatican’s top official on inter-religious dialogue, Cardinal Paul Poupard. He echoed the imam’s call for greater dialogue among religions, although Benedict has been more skeptical about talk for its own sake and has not yet sketched out practical vision for dialogue.

            “The alternative road other than terrorism and violence is dialogue and this road passes through the recognition of differences in this difficult moment our presence here means an invitation to an authentic dialogue between those who believe in one God,” he said.

            Today, the pope issued condolences to the nun, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, shot to death in Somalia with her bodyguard. He did so through his new secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who said the nun was killed “barbarically.”

            “In repeating a firm condemnation of all forms of violence, his holiness the pope hopes that the blood shed by such a faithful follower of the Gospel will become a seed of hope to build an authentic brotherhood between peoples, in a spirit of mutual respect for each other’s religious convictions,” a Vatican statement said.

            iran

            Comment

            • Rasputin
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2005
              • 63906

              #51
              I read Pope Benedict’s apology to Muslims and other offended persons today for his controversial choice of words last week at Regensburg. Evidently, he did not mean to imply that he, in any way, shape or form, stood by the offending quote that he had chosen to include in his speech. The quote included the opinion that the prophet Mohammad had brought only “evil and inhuman” things with the faith that he preached. Pope Benedict’s apology:

              “... I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.”

              I see. Well, I have to wonder then, Pope Benedict... if those words did not express your personal thought, then why did you say them? I know that there are already a lot of answers to that question, from the Vatican, the Muslim Brotherhood, and from the rest of the world. To satisfy myself, I read a small amount of the context surrounding his quote (the full text link is on this webpage, if you’re interested).

              In the end, I decided for myself -- and I cannot emphasize enough that I only speak for myself -- that although he was addressing a broader issue about the incompatibility of true religion and violence, he justified the quote by not contradicting or criticizing it. Yes, he did point out the blunt nature of the Emperor’s words -- not to contradict, but just to say that it was brusque. Then, he built upon those words towards making his point about violence and religion. It was a smooth, almost unnoticeable way to criticize Islam -- almost.

              That’s what I think. Am I offended? Not really. I do not disagree with the fact that historically, Islam has brought a lot of violence and oppression to a lot of different people. It has done no less, in fact, than Christianity has done throughout its nearly 2000 years of existence, in Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. What do you think it took for them to become the two most significant global religions today? It was certainly not persuasive reasoning.

              Both Christianity and Islam have been invoked as the justification for millions of deaths and uncountable lifelong subjugations of peoples throughout history. Both religious institutions have profited financially and grown in terms of geography and population from killing, intimidating, raping, taxing, and subjugating others, and today flourish over lands and peoples who at one point in history, if they wanted to continue to live as equals or at all, were forced to accept Deus or Allah (often times they had to switch from one to the other). These two faiths would not be as widespread or as culturally significant as they are today if it wasn’t for the heinous crimes that were committed in their names throughout history.

              Am I saying that Christianity and Islam are bad? No. I’m just saying that Christianity does not have a clean slate, and neither does Islam; nor does Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, or any other longstanding, government-backed, institutionalized religion, for that matter. I’ll stand by my word on that.

              What bothers me, however, is that it seems that it is a little unrealistic to expect God’s representative on Earth to stand by his words as well. Like I said, I don’t particularly care whether the Pope does or does not think that the prophet Mohammad brought only evil to the world. He is the PR man for Christianity; it’s his job to make other religions look bad, err, to illuminate why the paths of other faiths are not quite as straight as the path of Christ.

              And honestly, I don’t think that Muslims should be all that outraged either; I do not say this because I do not think that his words couldn’t easily be taken as an affront to Islam, but because this type of monologue happens on both sides, up and down the chain of leadership, all the time. Is it really that surprising for the spiritual competition to take pot shots at the other side’s beliefs? Does it not say numerous times in the Qur’an and in the Bible that hell awaits the unbelievers?



              Is Pope Benedict’s choice of quote surprising, given the institutionalized discrimination against religious minorities (including many Christians) that takes place today in so many predominantly Muslim countries, or on the other hand, would a response in kind about Christianity from a Grand Mufti or an Ayatollah shock anyone, given the (often church-backed) discrimination against Muslims that has boiled over in France and justified centuries of continuing imperialism in the Middle East? None of this should be earth-shattering for anyone, Christian or Muslim.

              So forget the fact that the Pope is-- along with the Bush administration, Muslim and Christian fundamentalists and others-- effectively perpetuating a worldview that portrays the conflicts between the governments of Christian White people and Muslim Brown people as a clash of civilizations. Forget that his calling out Islam on violent conversion is an example par excellence of the pot calling the kettle black, a legitimatization of blind, one-way criticism to hypocrites everywhere. Again, at this point, it should not come as a surprise to many.

              There is one additional thing, however, that I expect should bother people, in addition to all the things previously mentioned. Pope Benedict said what he said, then went on to retract it by saying that the words that he chose to voice “do not in any way express my personal thought”. That’s like saying, “Your girlfriend is ugly” to some dude, and when you realize that he’s going to kick your ***, saying “that’s what my friend thinks, not me!” Politicians, juiced-up baseball players, your ex -- these people all end up dropping responsibility for the words they speak at some point. They shouldn’t, of course, but they do, because they say ignorant and false things that (hopefully) have consequences.

              The Pope’s words have consequences too, except that he personally doesn’t have to answer to them. However, what does happen is that a lot of people, countless millions of them, all over the world, take his words as the closest thing to the gospel itself. Many of those same people will see through his apology as a noble attempt to protect Christians everywhere from vengeful, church-burning and nun-slaying Muslims, not as a sign that the Pope really believes that Islam is not an evil and inhuman faith.

              Barring ignorance unfit for the likes of a pope, he had to have known that his remarks would be inflammatory. Knowing this, I think that he should have either stuck by his quote as something he agrees with, or kept the quote to himself. Instead, he played to the crowd, throwing in a quick punch and starting a fight for others to finish while he extricated himself from the conflict, aborting responsibility for what he had said after the damage had been done.

              These days, politicians love to start trouble, and it’s so easy to do it. One can start a fight with people from six different continents without ever leaving their base of operation, be it Washington, Greenville, Tehran, Cairo, or Regensburg. The sad but true reality is that almost none of the people who start shit are directly affected by any of the consequences. No, the aftershocks are for the anonymous masses, not for the politicians and figureheads. Perhaps we should, for a change, make popes, ministers, presidents and ayatollahs of the world own their words and their cost as well, because unfortunately, people take them seriously.

              iran

              Comment

              • golgol85
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2006
                • 4957

                #52
                well ahmadinezhad seems to say the pope's appology is good enough. I dont like how the pope used a quote and then he says he didnt feel the quote expressed his beliefs. when using quotes, the point is to strengthen the arguement or idea being discussed. who is the pope to deem islam as an "inhuman and evil" faith? a man who is so religious shouldnt be saying such things, at the risk that his own religion might be classified in the same manner. I am not one to go pointing fingers, but at this point i dont think there exists a humane and good faith, as we can see that people of all faiths are busy killing eachother. but we cant blame the faith, we have to blame the people practicing the faith. so to ammend what i said, although there are many faith abiding people who are good and humane, there are those who are inhumane and evil, and thus give the name of the religion they practice a bad rap (whether it be islam, christianity, or judiasm).

                Comment

                • Rasputin
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2005
                  • 63906

                  #53
                  Pope: Islam Quote Not My Views

                  Pope Benedict XVI used his weekly audience in St Peter’s Square Wednesday to try once again to extinguish the firestorm ignited by his quote a week ago that characterised Islam as a violent religion.

                  In an apparent effort to make light of the security threats, he arrived in a sun-drenched St. Peter's Square in an open vehicle, and did an extended tour of the crowd of tens of thousands before he spoke.

                  The pope has already issued an unprecedented public and personal apology for what he called his “misunderstood” remarks.

                  He stopped short of repeating that Wednesday, but did stress that the quote from a fourteenth century discussion that he made during a speech to his old university in the city of Regensburg, Germany last week did not represent his own views.

                  “In no way did I wish to make my own the words of the medieval emperor,” the pope said. “I wished to explain that not religion and violence but religion and reason go together.”

                  Speaking in English at one point, Benedict said: “I hope that my profound respect for world religions and for Muslims who worship the one God and who help promote peace, liberties and justice and moral values for the benefit of all humanity is clear.”

                  In what may be an indication of how seriously Benedict is taking the situation, the normal practice of providing an advance copy of the speech online for journalists accredited to the Vatican was dispensed with Wednesday, and transcripts were not available until after the pontiff spoke.

                  An Italian journalist with close ties to the Vatican said Benedict had written it personally.

                  The pope said his intention in Regensburg had been to encourage dialogue between religions.

                  The problem, according to some Vatican analysts, is that Benedict may be too much of an academic to realise just how his remarks are going to be interpreted by those outside the church.

                  Many in the audience Wednesday, however, were convinced the pope had made his feelings and meaning clear enough.

                  Carol Norberg, a visitor from Stevensville, Michigan, said she did not believe the pope had been expressing any ill-will towards Muslims. “I don’t think he should have apologized more,” she said, “because I don’t think his intent was to offend.”

                  Convincing the hardliners of the Muslim world of that, however, remains a problem no matter how often Benedict claims he was misunderstood.

                  Certainly dialogue is not on the agenda right now. To the contrary, the Vatican seemed to be surrounding the pontiff with an added layer of insulation from the outside world, in the form of increased security.

                  Parking was banned near side entrances to Vatican City, and there were reports of police sharpshooters positioned on nearby rooftops.

                  iran

                  Comment

                  • Rasputin
                    Senior Member
                    • Jan 2005
                    • 63906

                    #54
                    Pope strife touches campus

                    As the fallout from Pope Benedict XVI's controversial remarks on the Islamic faith last week continues to worry world leaders, students on campus expressed regret for the rift created between the Catholic and Muslim faiths.

                    During a speech at a German university last week, the pope quoted Manuel II Palaeologus, a 14th century Byzantine Emperor, who said the Prophet Mohammad spread the religion of Islam "by the sword."

                    The remarks have sparked outrage and violence throughout the Muslim world.

                    On Sunday, the pope apologized that his remarks were misunderstood, but did not retract them. Some in the Muslim community have called for additional apologies.

                    Yesterday, the pope issued a statement urging mutual respect for religious beliefs and also denounced the killing of a nun in Somalia, which may have been connected to his remarks.

                    History Prof. Brian Porter, an expert on the Catholic Church, said the pope's apology is unprecedented.

                    "To many outside observers, the apology may appear half-hearted, and in some sense it was, because he said in essence, 'I'm sorry you misunderstood me,' " Porter said. "But in the context of the Roman Catholic Church, (the apology) is really quite significant."

                    Unlike previous popes, who have used staff and consultants to write sermons and speeches, Porter said Benedict prides himself on writing all of his remarks himself.

                    "I think he recognized very quickly he made a very significant error," Porter said. "But there are some words that are very difficult to unsay."

                    Porter said that the pope could have chosen to use many different examples from within the Christian faith, such as the crusades, to illustrate his point.

                    "Why he chose that example, I'm truly bewildered," Porter said.

                    LSA senior Ellen Michaels, who is Catholic, said an apology was necessary.

                    "From what I've read he was severely repentant," Michaels said.

                    Michaels said the best way to mend the rift created between Catholicism and Islam would be for Catholics and Muslims to step back and respect each other's convictions.

                    "Both religions teach forgiveness and tolerance, and I think the best way to speak up is to exemplify those values," she said.

                    Rackham student Christopher Blauvelt, who is the coordinator of the Muslim Graduate Students' Association, said the remarks came as a shock, given that Pope John Paul II had been active in dialogue with Islamic leaders.

                    "(Benedict) has much more rigid and conservative agenda when it comes to other faiths, which is really concerning for a lot of Muslims I know," Blauvelt said.

                    Porter said Benedict does not believe in indifferentism - the belief that all religions are equal paths to God.

                    Porter said that as a cardinal, Benedict expressed concern that John Paul was too aggressive in his gestures to pursue interfaith dialogues.

                    Benedict felt those gestures diminished the Roman Catholic Church's status, Porter said.

                    Zaib Rasool, political chair of the Muslim Students' Association, said the pope's comments were troubling.

                    "I was deeply disheartened by the choice of words of Pope Benedict XVI," she said. "Being that he is an influential religious leader of and for a huge civilization, it is saddening that he chose to cite and rely on erroneous interpretations of Islam from a 14th Century text, especially in such volatile times."

                    Rasool said the Muslim Students' Association does not have any plans to specifically address the Pope's remarks. She added that the group's annual Islam Awareness Week this November will include events to dispel stereotypes surrounding Islam.

                    Blauvelt said he believed the reaction in the Muslim community is a result of "built-up frustration from repeated disrespect."

                    "History proves that Islam has peaceful origins," he said. "It gets frustrating to keep hearing negative things about Islam."

                    LSA senior Azmat Khan, who is a Muslim, said the pope's remarks were incorrect and derogatory.

                    But Khan said the reaction by some Muslims, like burning the pope in effigy were "equally intolerant."

                    "If Muslims expect some sort of acceptance, they can't be involved in that type of behavior," Khan said.

                    It is unclear whether the pope's scheduled visit next month to Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, will be canceled.

                    Rasool said the Turkish government should not cancel the visit.

                    "Canceling such plans would lessen the chance for dialogue," she said.

                    On his blog Informed Comment, Middle Eastern and South Asian History Prof. Juan Cole wrote that the pope was mistaken to try to oversimplify and separate religious traditions.

                    "Religious traditions are complex and multiple and often self-contradictory," Cole wrote. "Trying to play politics with them by putting down the founder of a religion with false accusations will always cause trouble, of course. But what is worse is that the allegation causing the trouble is simply inaccurate."

                    Cole said the pope could have communicated the virtues of the Roman Catholic Church without demeaning others.

                    "If Christianity is superior, that can be perceived without it being necessary to brand Islam inferior," Cole wrote.

                    iran

                    Comment

                    • Rasputin
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2005
                      • 63906

                      #55
                      Short of religious wars

                      After the scandal of Muhammad’s cartoons, this time, Pope Benedict XVI, during his pilgrimage in Germany, by offending Islamic sensibilities with remarks about jihad, poured oil on the existing fire and ignited a new anger in the Islamic world,

                      The Pope made his remarks about Islam in a speech in which he quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and an educated Persian on the truths of Christianity and Islam. "The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said. "He said, I quote, '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,"' he quoted the emperor as saying.

                      The Pope did not however demand a deep examination of jihad which ruined many civilisations, advanced cultures and killed many millions “non-believers” in the course of history. Actually, no religious personality from the main conventional religions can do so without having the ball back in his own field. Most religions have periods of atrocities against humanity. The Inquisition courts of early Christianity or the Zionist expansionism have no better records than Islamic jihadist killers. Condemning jihad is in fact a task of seculars who reject all religions as means of crimes and repressions in the course of history.

                      Although the Pope reflects some animosity in the West to whatever is Islamic, clearly he is aware of the delicacy of the issue. He was not reflecting the judgment of most western people over the depth of crimes committed by Islamists. Benedict is careful not to mention about many crimes of political Islam, including many thousand executions of the IRI. As a religious leader of his stature, he knows that religious crimes are not only due to Islam, but also to the past Christianity.

                      Benedict XVI is a defender of traditional Catholic values and has always emphasized their importance in the survival of Western civilisation. For Europeans, especially for his compatriot Germans, he is considered to be a right-wing conservative and even a fundamentalist Pope. His controversial Nazi background shows his conscious ideological background -- the pontiff was voluntarily enrolled in the Hitler Youth in 1941 when the Catholic Church was still approving Nazi ideology.

                      Benedict's views at least in one point are fundamentally different from his predecessor, John Paul II who was more focused on reflecting a western policy of anti-communism during the Cold War. Instead Benedict is more affected by the appearance of political Islam which is partially a result of the same Cold War.

                      The reactions to Benedict’s statement in the Islamic world are different: most Islamic leaders demand that the Pope make a public apology to help bring an end to animosity -- what actually he did later to get rid of the problem. Some harsh critics have accused him of lowering his stature by giving Bush-like statements.

                      While many Islamic countries and Islamic societies show protests against the Benedict’s offence on Islam, the IRI, the main cradle of world’s political Islam, has not yet mobilised popular demonstrations. IRI’s officials, also high-ranking clergymen, hesitated to react. The hesitation was not only because of German role in their current atom conflict or any international political game, but mainly because of the domestic fact that most Iranians are not willing to protest against claims condemning jihad.

                      It is clear that the Iranian Mullahs who preach jihad, but at the same time are involved in a nuclear programme for their jihadist strategy, are not in a position to immediately condemn the Pope’s statement on jihad. The “calumnious” statement was not very reflected by the state-owned press. Unlike during earlier years of the revolution, the regime cannot mobilise protest demonstrations.

                      The IRI knows that anger among Iranians is running high. The reason behind such feelings is that the whole IRI -- ruling and Islamic opposition -- is not yet prepared for a peaceful transfer of power. In such an atmosphere of instability, the supreme Leader, Khamenei, with a few days’ delay, took the chance to release a declaration condemning the Pope’s “anti Islamic” remarks.

                      As the main victims of political Islam, Iranians know better than others that jihad is a religiously justified tool for invasion and Islamo-colonisation. Iranians know much better than the Pope what Islam and its concept of jihad really mean. People in Iran experimentally know what the Pope was citing a 14th-century Christian emperor who said that Prophet Muhammad had brought the world "evil and inhuman" things.

                      "Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul," Benedict recently said in an address in Germany, such phrases are repeated and repeated by Mullahs too. But neither the Pope nor any Mullah is honest enough to respectively mention some11 millions female “witches”, among many victims, burned by the Inquisition courts or many millions of victims of Islam’s sword in the course of religious expansion.

                      In some perspective, Benedict should cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue towards other religions, and obviously towards Islam too. Benedict’s attitude ultimately approaches the Khatami’s “Dialogue of Civilisations” and both of them show that their common enemy is the world of secularism and modern civilisation. Benedict’s dream of revival a new Christian Inquisition is fortunately impossible, if not, we could witness the same atrocities which reigned during the Inquisition in Europe and now under political Islam in Iran.

                      It is understandable to note that what is in the Pope's mind is only a refusal of the Islamic violence. His speech might lead to some tensions, but never leads to a war of religions. The Pope's statement is not of course irresponsible; he forcibly reflects the fact that if the concept of jihad was to spread Islam with sword, today it is to spread political Islam with many Islamic crimes around the world.

                      This sudden offence does not reflect a new trend for the Vatican policy towards the Islamic religion, but it was a political reaction to the wave of Islamist crimes in the West since the revival of Islamic terrors after the creation of the IRI.

                      In Cologne, Germany, last year the Pope urged Islamic leaders to take responsibility for their communities and teach their young to abhor violence. But the pope's statements would not amount to the pursuit of the Crusades because he knows that a great majority of civilised western people are not interested in such bloody events.

                      Although, Benedict’s statements are the clear attack on Islamists, but he has never contradicted his call for dialogue between religions. In fact, contrary to aggressive political Islam, Christianity is after the Renaissance in a defensive position and has no ability to open the way to animosity between communities. The Pope cannot challenge Islam or its framework of political legitimacy.

                      Regarding the facts, the views of the international community about the role of Sharia, Islamic misogyny and jihad are much more at variance with Islam, but Pope’s views are only some censured reflections. A semi-consensus between the Pope and western values is not enough to push the Pope at the brink of war of religions. Despite the call by all freedom-loving people, the Pope is still looking for dialogue with Islam and cannot consequently attack political Islam at its core.

                      The Pope's statement was not an attempt to jeopardise a necessary unity displayed by the main conventional religions against the world of secularism and modernity. He knows that the time is not for a new war of the Crusade; therefore he had to apologize the Islamic world for his controversial statement.

                      Today, thanks to secularism, the civilised people would not accept a war of religions. People’s interests are not in saving this or that religion, but to push all of them further back.

                      iran

                      Comment

                      • Rasputin
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2005
                        • 63906

                        #56
                        Rome prosecutors probe threats against the pope

                        Rome- Prosecutors in Rome are probing a series of threats targeting Pope Benedict XVI in the aftermath of his controversial speech on Islam, the Ansa news agency reported Wednesday. A pool of anti-terror magistrates headed by prosecutor Franco Ionta is to look into death threats against the pope posted on the Internet by Islamic extremists, including an Iraqi cell of al-Qaeda.

                        Italian police have stepped up security around the Vatican and other potential terrorist targets, including churches, but have ruled out receiving any specific threat.

                        Pope Benedict appeared in public during his traditional mid-week audience in St. Peter's, arriving at the packed square on an open-top "popemobile".

                        The pope has said he is sorry that his speech at a German university last week, in which he quoted a 14th century Christian emperor as referring to elements of Islam as "evil and inhuman", may have offended Muslims.

                        iran

                        Comment

                        • Rasputin
                          Senior Member
                          • Jan 2005
                          • 63906

                          #57
                          پاپ بنديکت شانزدهم، رهبر کاتوليک های جهان، گفته است که خشم مسلمانان جهان از نطق هفته گذشته وی در آلمان ناشی از يک سوءتفاهم تاسف بار بوده است.
                          پاپ در سخنانی خطاب به زائران واتيکان بار ديگر تصريح کرد که نقل قول وی از يک متن قرون وسطايی در انتقاد از اسلام، منعکس کننده باورهای شخصی وی نبوده است.

                          وی همچنين ضمن ابراز احترام به مسلمانان گفت اميدوار است که اظهارات وی بتواند منجر به "گفتگويی انتقادی در ميان اديان" شود. پاپ گفت او می خواسته با سخنان خود در دانشگاهی در آلمان توضيح دهد که مذهب با منطق دمساز است نه با خشونت.

                          گروه های مختلف از مسلمانان در گوشه و کنار جهان از پاپ خواستند تا به خاطر نقل قول از يک امپراتور دوره بيزانس که بنابر متون تاريخی گفته بود احکام پيامبر اسلام "چيزی جز خشونت برای جهان به ارمغان نياورده است" ، عذرخواهی کند. اما پاپ فقط به اين گفته اکتفا کرده که از اين که اظهاراتش موجب توهين به مسلمانان شده پشيمان است.

                          واکنش جهان اسلام

                          جوامع اسلامی نسبت به ابراز "تأسف عميق" پاپ به خاطر اظهارات هفته گذشته اش واکنشهای متفاوتی نشان دادند.

                          شماری از کشورهای مسلمان به توضیحات پاپ درباره سخنرانی هفته گذشته اش واکنش مثبت نشان داده اند.

                          شورای مسلمانان بريتانيا در اطلاعيه ای گفت: "اظهار تأسف پاپ دقيقا همان چيزی بود که مسلمانان انتظار داشتند."

                          در مصر اخوان المسلمین، گروه مخالف دولت، از اظهارات اخیر پاپ استقبال کرده و آن را عقب نشنی پاپ از سخنان چند روز قبلش دانسته است. اما اخوان المسلمين در اظهاريه ای ديگر گفت که اظهار تأسف کافی نيست و پاپ بايد از مسلمانان عذرخواهی کند.

                          برخی از مقامات دينی و دولتی در ترکيه همچنان از اظهارات پاپ خشمگين هستند، اما عبدالله گل، وزیر خارجه ترکیه گفته است انتظار می رود سفر پاپ به ترکیه در ماه نوامبر، صورت گیرد.

                          در سرزمين های اشغالی، گروه حماس که دولت خودگردان فلسطينی را رهبری می کند گفته است که "اظهار تأسف پاپ را به مثابه عذرخواهی از مسلمانان" تلقی نمی کند.

                          در مناطق اشغالی از زمان سخنرانی پاپ تا کنون به حد اقل هفت کليسا حملاتی صورت گرفته است.

                          در ايران در شهر مذهبی قم چند صد نفر در اعتراض به اظهارات پاپ راهپيمايی کردند.

                          در نيويورک حيا راشد آل خليفه، رئيس مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل متحد، که اولين زن مسلمانی است که به اين مقام رسيده، رهبران مذهبی را به آشتی جويی دعوت کرد.

                          وی بدون آنکه به سخنان پاپ اشاره کند، گفت که نيروهای مذهبی بايد به مردم در راه صلح و آشتی ياری دهند.

                          رهبر کاتوليک های جهان، روز سه شنبه 12 سپتامبر، در سخنانی به نقل از يک امپراتور روم در قرن چهاردهم، گفته بود پيامبر اسلام به جز خشونت، چيزی برای جهان به ارمغان نياورده است.


                          iran

                          Comment

                          • Rasputin
                            Senior Member
                            • Jan 2005
                            • 63906

                            #58
                            Pope invites Muslim envoys to meeting

                            Pope Benedict XVI has invited ambassadors from Muslim nations to meet him on Monday in a bid to calm anger over his use of a medieval text saying their religion was spread by violence.

                            The pontiff will open the doors of his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, to the ambassadors and members of the Italian Islam Consulta, according to ANSA, an Italian news agency. The Islam Cosulta is a council of the various Muslim community leaders in Italy who meet periodically with Italian government officials.

                            "The purpose of this meeting is to relaunch dialogue with the Islamic world," a senior Vatican official said on Friday.

                            Islamic diplomats accredited to the Holy See said they hoped the meeting would help restore trust between the Roman Catholic Church and Muslims angered by the pope's speech last week in Germany.

                            "We welcome it and are definitely going to participate," Iran's deputy ambassador to the Holy See, Ahmad Faihma, told Reuters.

                            "This is a positive signal from the Vatican. I know that this will improve relations with the Islamic world."

                            "This meeting will be very important, especially in these days, to try to stop every action that is not good," Fathi Abuabed, head of international relations at the Arab League's Vatican mission, told the agency.

                            Since making his controversial speech last week in his native country, quoting a 14th-century emperor's thoughts about Islam, the pontiff has made a series of increasingly apologetic statements.

                            On Wednesday, Benedict said the now controversial quotes regarding Muslims that he made were "able to perhaps be misunderstood" and for the "attentive reader they would be clear," he told an audience in St. Peter's Square.

                            The medieval emperor's "negative words" did not "express my personal convictions," Benedict said.

                            During the speech to professors last Tuesday, the 79-year-old pontiff quoted Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus when he said, "Show me just what Mohammed 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."

                            Global reaction from Muslims has been strong, prompting Italian police to raise the alert level around the Vatican and Castel Gandolfo, a police spokesman said. Protests have been staged worldwide.

                            The pope, who on Sunday said he was "deeply sorry" for the reaction to comments he made, said Wednesday the emperor's words did not reflect how he himself felt. He said the intent of his remarks were to call for a dialogue on the role of religions in modern life.

                            "I hope that in several occasions during the visit ... my deep respect for great religions, in particular for Muslims -- who worship the one God and with whom we are engaged in defending and promoting together social justice, moral values, peace and freedom for all men -- has emerged clearly," Benedict said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.

                            "I trust that after the initial reaction, my words at the university of Regensburg can constitute an impulse and encouragement toward positive, even self-critical dialogue both among religions and between modern reason and Christian faith," the pope told thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square.

                            On Sunday the pope said he hoped his remarks and the Vatican's explanation Saturday were enough 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."

                            But an al Qaeda linked militant group this week vowed a war against the "worshippers of the cross" in response to the pope's speech.

                            "We tell the worshipper of the cross (the pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said an Internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaeda, according to the Reuters news agency.

                            "We shall break the cross and spill the wine. ... God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome. ... God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen," said the statement.

                            iran

                            Comment

                            • donsaeid
                              Senior Member
                              • Nov 2005
                              • 28300

                              #59
                              پاپ فاقد صلاحيت رهبري كاتوليك‌هاي جهان است

                              امام جمعه تبريز گفت:پاپ فاقد صلاحيت براي رهبري كاتوليك‌هاي جهان است.


                              ،محسن محتهد شبستري امروز در خطبه‌هاي نماز جمعه اين هفته در مصلاي امام خميني (ره ) تبريز با اشاره به سخنان اخير پاپ و فريب خوردگي وي از سوي شيطان بزرگ افزود:پاپ معتقد به تمدن ليبرال غرب است و با جرج بوش همنوايي مي‌كند و سخنان وي رنگ و بوي مطرح كردن جنگ‌هاي صليبي را دارد.
                              وي اضافه كرد:غرب سعي دارد تا با در مقابل هم قرار دادن اسلام و مسيحيت و مطرح كردن حرف‌هاي نابخردانه و غيرمنطقي در قبال اسلام و مسلمين به صهيونيست فرصت وجود و شيطنت بدهد.
                              شبستري از پاپ خواست با توجه به اينكه اظهاراتش قلوب بيش از يك ميليارد مسلمان را آزرده است، به صورت رسمي و با صراحت كامل از مسلمانان جهان عذرخواهي كند.
                              امام جمعه تبريز در ادامه با اشاره عقب‌نشيني اخير غربي‌ها در موضوع هسته‌اي ايران،آن را نشانه حقانيت مردم و پاداش مقاومت آن‌ها در مقابل فشارها و تهديدهاي استكبار دانست.
                              وي با بيان اينكه در مسئله هسته‌اي تنها راه چاره كشورهاي غربي پذيرفتن موضع به حق ايران است،تصريح كرد : هيچ قدرتي نمي‌تواند حقوق اين ملت را ناديده بگيرد.
                              امام جمعه تبريز خاطر نشان كرد: ملت غيرتمند ايران و دولت جمهوري اسلامي تاكيد دارند كه اين ملت هرگز از حقوق قانوني خود صرف‌نظر نخواهد كرد و به هيچ‌وجه فعاليت‌هاي هسته‌اي و غني‌سازي اورانيوم را به حالت تعليق و تعطيل در نخواهد آورد.
                              شبستري با تاكيد بر حل و فصل مسئله هسته‌اي ايران از طريق مذاكره و گفت‌وگو خاطر نشان كرد:دشمنان ايران و اسلام بايد بدانند كه ملت ايران در دستيابي به انرژي هسته‌اي يكپارچه است و هرگز از حق خود كوتاه نخواهد آمد.
                              نماينده ولي فقيه در استان آذربايجان شرقي گفت:ملت ايران عزت و عظمت خود را مرهون رشادت‌هاي شهداء، ايثارگران، جانبازان، آزادگان، بسيجيان و رزمندگان اسلام مي‌داند و دوران دفاع مقدس، مقطعي سرنوشت‌ساز براي اين امت بود كه هرگز نبايد به دست فراموشي سپرده شود.
                              وي اضافه كرد:حديث دوران دفاع مقدس، بيانگر فداكاري،مقاومت و مظلوميت ملتي است كه قله‌هاي عزت،حماسه و شرف را در راه دفاع از كيان اسلامي درنورديد لذا بايد سعي شود فرهنگ ايثار و از خودگشتگي دوران دفاع مقدس ماندگار شود.
                              شبستري تصريح كرد:مردم و مسئولان بايد در اين هفته با يادآوري حماسه‌آفريني‌هاي رزمندگان اسلام، اهميت جهاد و دفاع مقدس را براي نسل جوان تبيين كنند تا آمادگي لازم براي پاسداري از كيان اسلام و ميهن اسلامي را داشته باشند.
                              نماينده ولي فقيه در استان آذربايجان شرقي همچنين با تجليل از ايثار و رشادت رزمندگان اسلام و ايستادگي ملت ايران در هشت سال دفاع مقدس،اين ايام را يكي از حساس‌ترين دوران حيات كشور خواند و اظهار داشت:حماسه‌اي كه در آن ايام آفريده شد چون نگيني بر تارك ايران اسلامي خواهد درخشيد.
                              شبستري با تبريك آغاز سال تحصيلي، تقارن آن را با هفته دفاع مقدس عبرت‌آموز برشمرد و اضافه كرد: عزت امروز ايرانيان در عرصه بين‌المللي نزد جهانيان به بركت مقاومت و خون شهداي هشت سال دوران دفاع مقدس است.
                              خطيب جمعه تبريز در ادامه خطبه‌ها با تبريك سال تحصيلي جديد به دانش‌آموزان و دانشجويان و همه دست اندركاران امر تعليم و تربيت تصريح كرد: آموزش و پرورش، ركن ركين توسعه و مهد پرورش نيروهاي خلاق است.
                              وي اضافه كرد:مسئولان تلاش كنند جوانان اين كشور علاوه بر ارتقاي علمي در تعليم و تربيت نيز حائز مراتب كمال شوند و در كنار علم آموزي، پرورش هم بيابند.
                              شبستري با بيان اينكه اسلام دين علم ،هنر،صنعت و تكنيك است،خاطر نشان كرد:دين مقدس اسلام بشريت را دعوت به تفكر و علم كرده و علم منهاي ايمان فايده ندارد.
                              امام جمعه تبريز در ادامه با اشاره به نزديك شدن ماه مبارك رمضان گفت:ماه مبارك رمضان، نعمت بزرگ الهي و فرصت گرانبهايي براي تعالي امت اسلامي است.
                              وي تصريح كرد: اين ماه پرفيض، فرصتي است تا همه مسلمانان با انجام فريضه‌هاي ديني و خلوص نيت به خداي بزرگ نزديك شده و نقصان در اعمال گذشته خود را جبران كنند.
                              شبستري از ماه مبارك رمضان به عنوان تقرب به درگاه باري‌تعالي ياد كرد و بر ضرورت انجام فريضه‌هاي ديني در اين ماه پرفضيلت تأكيد كرد.
                              نه غزه نه لبنان جانم فدای ایران


                              «در زندگی زخم*هايی هست که مثل خوره روح را آهسته در انزوا می*خورد و می*تراشد.»
                              صادق هدايت؛ بوف کور

                              Comment

                              • Rasputin
                                Senior Member
                                • Jan 2005
                                • 63906

                                #60
                                Pope to meet Muslim ambassadors

                                Pope Benedict XVI has invited envoys of Muslim nations for talks on Monday to try to smooth relations following a speech that offended the Islamic world.
                                The talks at his summer residence near Rome will be aimed at explaining that the pontiff's recent speech in Germany was misunderstood, the Vatican said.

                                The Pope has said three times that he regrets the offence caused, expressing "deep respect" for Islam.

                                Muslim leaders have been demanding an unequivocal apology from the Pope.

                                Iran's deputy ambassador to the Vatican, Ahmad Faihma, described the Pope's invitation as "a positive signal".

                                "I know that this [the talks] will improve relations with the Islamic world," Mr Faihma told Reuters news agency.

                                'Misunderstood'

                                The Pope invited Muslim ambassadors and leaders of Italy's Muslim community to his residence at Castelgandolfo, the Vatican said.

                                I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address... which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims

                                Pope Benedict XVI


                                Text of Pope's apology
                                Excerpts from original speech

                                On Sunday, the pontiff said he was "deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg" in Germany.

                                On Wednesday, he told pilgrims at the Vatican that his remarks in Bavaria last week had been "misunderstood".

                                He said his use of medieval quotes from 14th Century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologos, which criticised some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman", did not reflect his personal opinion.

                                The Pope said his real intention had been to "explain that religion and violence do not go together, but religion and reason do".

                                iran

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