Pope Benedict XVI

[Rasputin]

Pope 'sorry' for offence to Islam

Pope Benedict XVI has said he is sorry that a speech in which he referred to Islam has offended Muslims.
In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he respected Islam and hoped Muslims would understand the true sense of his words.

In Tuesday's speech the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things.

The remarks prompted protests from Muslims around the world.

Political and religious leaders in Muslim countries criticised the remarks and called for the pontiff to make a personal apology.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says the speed with which the Vatican has reacted shows just how seriously it views the situation.

Reading the statement, new Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Pope's position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God".

"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," the statement said.

Turkey concerns

Our correspondent says the statement goes as far as it can towards an apology.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Pope Benedict probably should self-criticise Christianity's violent past before commenting on the other faith

John Lin, Illinois


Send us your comments
Key excerpts: Pope's speech
In quotes: Muslim reaction

But the Pope is known to have strong feelings about the relationship between religion and violence and is unlikely to retract the sentiment of his speech.

There will still be concerns about whether to go ahead with the Pope's planned visit to Turkey in November, our correspondent says.

Some commentators in Rome have suggested it may be useful for his lecture to be translated into Arabic, so that people can make their own judgement and see for themselves in what context the quote was made.

Reactions to the speech have come from such leaders as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who said efforts to link Islam and terrorism should be clearly opposed.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Pope should not underestimate the sense of outrage felt by Muslims.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to the pontiff's defence, saying the aim of the speech had been misunderstood.

Protests


In his speech at Regensburg University on Tuesday, the German-born Pope explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity, and the relationship between violence and faith.

Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul.



Protests have remained peaceful and small-scale
The emperor's words were, he 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."

Benedict said "I quote" twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

The speech provoked criticism from around the world, and there were street protests in Pakistan, India, Turkey and Gaza on Friday.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, two churches - one Anglican and one Orthodox - were attacked with firebombs on Saturday by assailants.

A group which said it carried out the attacks, calling itself the Lions of Monotheism, said they were protesting against the Pope's remarks.

[Rasputin]

Remarks by Pope Prompt Muslim Outrage, Protests

A medieval reference in an academic lecture by Pope Benedict XVI unleashed a wave of denunciations, outrage and frustration across the Muslim world Friday, with officials in Turkey and Pakistan condemning the pontiff, Islamic activist groups organizing protests and a leading religious figure in Lebanon demanding that he personally apologize.

The reception to the pope's speech in Germany on Tuesday was a reminder of the precarious, suspicious state of affairs between a West that often views Islam as a faith in need of reform and a Muslim world that feels besieged in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some of the criticism evoked the Crusades; others accused the Vatican of joining a Western-led war on Islam.

"We ask him to offer a personal apology -- not through his officials -- to Muslims for this false reading" of Islam, said Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of the world's leading Shiite Muslim clerics, who lives in Beirut.

The pope began his lecture at the University of Regensburg by quoting from a 14th-century dialogue between the Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologos, and a Persian scholar. In a passage on the concept of holy war, Benedict recited a passage of what he called "startling brusqueness," in which Manuel questioned the teachings of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.

"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," Benedict quoted the emperor as saying.

The pope neither explicitly endorsed nor denounced the emperor's words, but rather used them as a preface to a discussion of faith and reason. The Vatican said the pope did not intend the remarks to be offensive to Muslims.

"It was certainly not the intention of the Holy Father to undertake a comprehensive study of the jihad and of Muslim ideas on the subject, still less to offend the sensibilities of Muslim faithful," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio.

But the reaction was quick, and though it was largely peaceful, it evoked the storm of violent protests that erupted in most Muslim countries after a Danish newspaper published a series of cartoons a year ago that lampooned Muhammad. In some ways, the denunciations seemed even more pronounced, given the pope's stature and authority over the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.

Pakistan's parliament adopted a resolution Friday condemning the pope for what it called derogatory comments and seeking an apology. The Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican's ambassador to express regret over Benedict's remarks.

In Turkey, where Benedict planned to visit in November in his first trip as pope to a Muslim country, the deputy leader of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-inspired party called Benedict's remarks the result of ignorance or a provocation.

"He has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world," Salih Kapusuz told state media. "It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades."

Even the country's secularist opposition party demanded the pope apologize before his visit to Turkey, which has long been one of the least ostensibly religious of Muslim countries. News agencies reported that another party led a demonstration outside the largest mosque in the capital, Ankara, and about 50 people placed a black wreath outside the Vatican's diplomatic mission.

[Rasputin]

About 100 people protested in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, where demonstrators chanted, "Oh Crusaders, oh cowards! Down with the pope!" Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the sheik of al-Azhar University, a leading seat of religious scholarship, said the pope's remarks indicated "clear ignorance of Islam," and the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Middle East's largest and oldest Islamic groups, called on Muslim governments to sever relations with the Vatican if the pope does not apologize.

Thousands of Palestinians protested Friday night in Gaza City after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who belongs to the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, said the pope's lecture had offended Muslims everywhere.

"This is another Crusader war against the Arab and Muslim world," Ismail Radwan, a Hamas official, told the crowd.

The criticism of the pope's remarks was often twofold: at the reference of the prophet Muhammad's legacy as "evil and inhuman" and at the idea that Islam was spread by the sword. Much of the conversion that followed the prophet's life in the 7th century was a gradual, centuries-long process that left a remarkable degree of diversity -- albeit faded -- in parts of the Muslim world.

In Iraq, where religious differences have fueled much of the country's crippling violence, a Catholic representative warned that the pope's remarks were being distorted to "sow a crisis of chaos and enmity between the one family of Christians and Muslims."

A statement posted at mosques in Anbar province, a center of the insurgency, warned that a previously unknown group would begin killing Iraqi Christians in three days unless the pope apologized. In Basra, a bomb exploded at the Assyrian Catholic Church on Friday evening, causing damage but no injuries, according to a church leader who said the attack stemmed from the pope's remarks.

Across Iraq's sectarian Sunni-Shiite Muslim divide, clerics called the remarks another campaign against Islam. "Last year, and in the same month, the Danish cartoons assaulted Islam," Sheik Salah al-Ubaidi, a representative of Moqtada al-Sadr's radical Shiite movement, said in the group's stronghold of Kufa.

[Rasputin]

Lucknow: The recent statements by Pope Benedict XVI criticising Islam and the Prophet at a public function in Germany have evoked a severe backlash from Muslim clerics here.

Muslims also burnt an effigy of the Pope in Varanasi. Hundreds of Muslims gathered in the Saraiyyan locality in the heart of the city after the Friday prayers and raised slogans decrying the Pope. They later burnt the effigy. They were dispersed by the local police and there was no violence.

Meanwhile, in Lucknow, much revered Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad has asked the Pope to tender an unqualified apology for his statements in which he reportedly said, among other things, that Islam had been propagated through violent means.

“The Pope is himself supporting US-sponsored Christian terrorism,” the Maulana said while addressing a gathering of hundreds of Muslims after the ‘Juma ki namaz’ (Friday prayers) at the Asafi Imambara.

Later, talking to DNA, Maulana Jawwad said the clarification issued by the Vatican was not enough. “Pope apne bayaan ke liye maafi maange nahin to duniya bhar ke Mussalmaan unke virodh mein sadkon par utrenge,” he declared. (The Pope should apologise otherwise Muslims of the world will take to the streets in protest.)

Another respected Maulana, Khalid Rasheed, senior member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Imam of the Lucknow ‘idgah’, also lashed out at the Pope.

Speaking to reporters here, the Imam said: “The Pope talks about Islamic violence… what about the violence perpetrated by America against Afghanistan and Iraq?”
“America is the biggest terrorist today… it supports Israel when it (Israel) bombs Lebanon and Palestine, isn’t that Christian terrorism?” the Imam continued angrily.

He said that Muslims all over the world had been enraged by the Pope’s unprovoked comments against Islam. He said this could lead to “devastating results” if the Pope did not apologise.

“Unhein iska bada khaamiyaza bhugatna pad sakta hai,” he said, meaning to say that the Christian world may have to pay heavily for this indiscretion.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people, including lawyers, held angry protests in Jammu and Kashmir against the Pope’s statement, even as police placed two senior separatist leaders under house arrest.

Chairman of the hard line Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani and Shabir Ahmed Shah, chairman of the Democratic Freedom Party, were placed under house arrest here on Friday morning in the wake of tension in the city over the pontiff’s remarks.

The protesting lawyers, who were joined by many locals, termed the remarks of the pope as “highly irresponsible” and as “reflecting the hatred against Islam and Muslims”.

[Sepideh_UK]

Uffff!!!
Wat the hell man!!!

[donsaeid]

پاپ دوباره به اظهار تاسف اكتفا كرد

پاپ بنديكت شانزدهم در سخنراني امروز خود دوباره از بيان اظهاراتي كه باعث آزرده خاطر شدن مسلمانان جهان شده است اظهار تاسف كرد ولي سخنان خود را پس نگرفت.


به نقل از خبرگزاري فرانسه وي در كاستل گاندولفو در ايتاليا كه محل سكونت تابستاني پاپ است سخن مي گفت.
اين اولين حضور پاپ در بين مردم، پس از بيان اظهارات وي درباره اسلام در هفته گذشته بود.
اين در حالي است كه روز گذشته خبرگزاري فرانسه اظهار تاسف پاپ را به معناي عذرخواهي وي قلمداد كرده بود.
اظهار تاسف پاپ واكنشهاي متفاوتي را در سراسر جهان در پي داشته است به طوري كه براي مثال گروههاي اسلامي انگليس اين اظهار پشيماني پاپ را كافي دانستند ولي برخي گروههاي اسلامي ديگر مانند اخوان المسلمين مصر اعلام كرده بودند پاپ بايد به طور صريح عذرخواهي كند.

[Rasputin]

Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday he was "deeply sorry" about the angry reaction sparked by his speech about Islam and holy war and said the text did not reflect his personal opinion.

"These (words) were in fact a quotation from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought," Benedict told pilgrims at his summer palace outside Rome. He noted that the Vatican secretary of state on Saturday had issued a statement trying to explain his words which he delivered Tuesday in a speech during a pilgrimage in his native Germany.

"I hope that this serves 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."

Meanwhile, two more West Bank churches were set afire early Sunday as a wave of Muslim anger over Benedict's comments grew throughout the Palestinian areas.

In Tulkarm, a stone church built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and its entire inside was destroyed, local Christian officials said. In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christians said. Neither church is Catholic, the officials said.

On Saturday, Muslims hurled firebombs and opened fire at five churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to protest the Pope's comments, sparking concerns of a rift between Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

Christians are believed to number about 50,000 people in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, about two percent of the total Palestinian population. Relations are generally good and the Palestinian Authority has made considerable efforts to ensure their political representation, though tensions periodically flare up.

In Tulkarm, church official Daoud Firoba said Palestinian security had guarded the Greek Orthodox church until midnight, but then left. The entire inside of the sanctuary was burned, including furniture and an ornate wooden door, Firoba said. Books that are 500 years old survived, he said.

"This hurts my heart, this is against my God and my religion," Firoba said. "But I think that those who burned it don't understand that we are Palestinians and we are not related."

The church is used by three Christian families left in Tulkarm, Firoba said.

In the small village of Tubas, Christian resident Michel Sayer said that he smelled smoke at three in the morning.

"I came and saw the church was on fire and immediately we put it out," Sayer said. "We found two firebombs outside that were not thrown in and three inside that had been thrown."

About 100 Christians live in Tubas, Sayer said.

Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch, Michel Sabbah, planned to visit the city of Nablus in an effort to repair Christian-Muslim relations later Sunday. Sabbah is the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land.

[mike435]

from the antihumman racist zionist nation of israel


Sephardic chief rabbi criticizes pope's remarks

By Yair Ettinger and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies

The Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel on Sunday sent a letter criticizing the pope for his remarks on Islam to a leading Sunni Islamic legal scholar in Qatar.

In the letter, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar wrote to Sheikh Yusef Kardawi, "our way is to honor every religion and every nation according to their paths, as it is written in the book of prophets: 'because every nation will go in the name of its lord.'"

"Even when there is a struggle between nations" Amar added, "it cannot be turned into a war of religions."




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The letter, written in Arabic, was delivered to Kardawi by a leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Abdullah Naimar Darwish. Amar sent the letter first to Rabbi Menachem Froman, chief rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Tekoa, who is known as a champion of inter-religious reconciliation.

In his introduction to the letter, Froman added to Amar's remarks, saying "every Jew who learns the writings of the great sages - who, at the head of them all stands Maimonides - knows that our great thinkers wrote in the Arabic language, lived in Islamic states and participated with the great Muslim thinkers in the effort to explain the words of God, according to the paths of the sages and amidst the difficult bloody battles that we have had since the beginning of Zionism with the Muslims.

"We know... that the war between the Jews and the Muslims is the work of the cursed devil. We know that Islam is named after peace," wrote Froman.

Islamists: Pope has not yet made 'clear apology'
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday said Pope Benedict had not made a "clear apology" for remarks on Islam that sparked anger across the Muslim world.

Pope Benedict said on Sunday he was "deeply sorry" for the anger caused by his remarks on Islam and said a quote he used from a medieval text about holy wars did not reflect his personal thoughts.

Brotherhood deputy leader Mohammed Habib said the pope's apology "does not rise to the level of a clear apology and, based on this, we're calling on the Pope of the Vatican to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion."

Earlier Sunday, however, Habib had described the Pope's remarks as a "sufficient apology," and said the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition movement, would accept Benedict XVI's apology.

"We consider that the new statements represent a retreat from what went before. We can consider them a sufficient apology, even if we had wanted the Pope to outline his ideas and vision of Islam," Habib said earlier Sunday.

On Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood said a Vatican statement saying the Pope was sorry did not go far enough, and called for a personal apology from the pontiff.

A leading Israeli Arab Islamic group on Sunday said it refused to accept the papal apology, claiming it was still 'insufficient,' Israel Radio reported.

The statement, issued by the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, came two days after its leader, Sheik Ra'ad Salah, declared that Jerusalem was destined to become the capital of a pan-Islamic caliphate at a gathering in the northern city of Umm al-Fahm.

Two West Bank churches were set afire early Sunday as a wave of Muslim anger over comments by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam grew throughout the Palestinian areas and the Muslim world. The two arson cases followed Saturday attacks on five churches in the West Bank and Gaza.

Speaking to pilgrims at his Castelgandolfo summer residence, the Pope said he was "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 hope this serves 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 mutual respect," he said.

Wave of attacks on churches
In the West Bank town of Tul Karm Sunday, a stone church built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and its entire inside was destroyed, local Christian officials said. In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christians said. Neither church is Catholic, the officials said.

On Saturday, Muslims hurled firebombs and opened fire at five churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to protest the Pope's comments, sparking concerns of a rift between Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch, Michel Sabbah, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Landplanned to visit the city of Nablus in an effort to repair Christian-Muslim relations later Sunday.

Christians are believed to number about 50,000 people in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, about 2 percent of the total Palestinian population. Relations are generally good and the Palestinian Authority has made considerable efforts to ensure their political representation, though tensions periodically flare up.

The Pope last week, in a talk rejecting any religious motivation for violence, cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."

The pontiff did not endorse that description, but he did not question it, and his words set off a firestorm of protests across the Muslim world.

Army Radio reported Sunday that security had been stepped up for the Pontiff, for fear of attempts by extremists to harm him.

In Tul Karm, church official Daoud Firoba said Palestinian security had guarded the Greek Orthodox church until midnight, but then left. The entire inside of the sanctuary was burned, including furniture and an ornate wooden door, Firoba said. Books that are 500 years old survived, he said.

"This hurts my heart, this is against my God and my religion," Firoba said. "But I think that those who burned it don't understand that we are Palestinians and we are not related."

The church is used by three Christian families left in Tul Karm, Firoba said.

In the small village of Tubas, Christian resident Michel Sayer said that he smelled smoke at three in the morning. "I came and saw the church was on fire and immediately we put it out," Sayer said. "We found two firebombs outside that were not thrown in and three inside that had been thrown." About 100 Christians live in Tubas, Sayer said.

Five churches attacked on Saturday
The Saturday attacks on four of the 10 churches in the West Bank town of Nablus, and on the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City unsettled a relatively peaceful coexistence in the city.

The assaults began with fire bombings of Nablus' Anglican and Greek Orthodox churches, which left trails of black scorch marks in their wake. At least five firebombs were hurled at the Anglican church, whose door was later set ablaze in a separate attack. Smoke billowed from the church as firefighters put out the flames

In a phone call to The Associated Press, a group calling itself the "Lions of Monotheism" claimed responsibility, saying the attacks were meant to protest the pope's remarks about Islam.

Hours later, four masked gunmen doused the main doors of Nablus' Roman and Greek Catholic churches with lighter fluid, then set them ablaze. They also opened fire on the buildings, pocking their outer walls with bullet holes.

In Gaza City, militants opened fire from a car at a Greek Orthodox church, hitting the facade. A policeman at the scene said he saw a car escape with armed men inside. Explosive devices were set off at the same Gaza church on Friday, causing minor damage.

There were no claims of responsibility for the last three attacks. Said Siyam, the interior minister from Hamas, ordered extra protection for churches across the West Bank and Gaza.

"The atmosphere is charged already, and the wise should not accept such acts," said Father Yousef Saada, a Greek Catholic priest in Nablus.

Ayman Daraghmeh, a Hamas legislator, denounced the attacks, and urged Palestinian police to do more to protect Christian sites.

[Nutcase]

i am not surprised at the german pope's stance on islam, he is such a hypocrite, heck his haircut even reminds me of hitler, this is one of many outrageous remarks he will be making not just on this issue. it's the end of the world as we know it...

[Rasputin]

Pope protests 'show violence' in Islam

SYDNEY'S Catholic Archbishop has hit out at Muslims protesting over comments by the Pope, saying their reaction shows the link in Islam between religion and violence.

Cardinal George Pell has also labelled the response of some Australian Muslim leaders to the issue as "unhelpful".

A wave of protest has erupted among Muslims across the globe after comments by Pope Benedict XVI, in which he quoted an obscure medieval text that criticised some teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman".

The Pope has since said he is "deeply sorry" for the outrage sparked by his remarks and stressed they do not reflect his personal opinion.

But Cardinal Pell today backed Pope Benedict, saying the violent reaction to his comments on Islam and violence illustrated his fears.

"The violent reactions in many parts of the Islamic world justified one of Pope Benedict's main fears," Cardinal Pell said in a statement.

"They showed the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats and actual violence.

"Our major priority must be to maintain peace and harmony within the Australian community, but no lasting achievements can be grounded in fantasies and evasions."

Dr Pell said it was a "sign of hope" that no organised violence had flared in Australia following Pope Benedict's comments.

But he said the responses of Australia's mufti, Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali, and of Dr Ameer Ali, of the prime minister's Muslim reference group, were "unfortunately typical and unhelpful".

"It is always someone else's fault and issues touching on the nature of Islam are ignored.

"Sheik Alhilali often responds to criticism by questioning the intelligence and competence of the questioner or critic," Dr Pell said.

Later, on ABC radio, he added of Sheik Alhilali: "I'm tempted to say almost never does he address the criticism of Islam but diverts the question away from it and I think resorts to evasions."

Dr Ali said yesterday Muslims in Australia were disappointed by the Pope's comments.

"We expect the Pope to follow (in) the footsteps of his predecessor who had been a great builder among communities for the last so many years and not a pope of the crusades," Dr Ali said.

Dr Pell said Dr Ali had called on Pope Benedict to be more like Pope John Paul II than Pope Urban II, who called the First Crusade.

"In fact the Pope's long speech was more about the weaknesses of the Western world, its irreligion and disdain for religion and he explicitly rejected linking religion and violence," Dr Pell said.

"He won't be calling any crusade."

Dr Pell sought to draw a distinction between Westerners and Muslims.

"Today Westerners often link genuine religious expression with peace and tolerance.

"Today most Muslims identify genuine religion with submission (Islam) to the commands of the Koran.

"They are proud of the spectacular military expansion across continents, especially in the decades after the Prophet's death. This is seen as a sign of God's blessing."

Dr Pell said while he was grateful for the contributions of moderate Muslims, "evil acts done falsely in the name of Islam around the world need to be addressed, not swept under the carpet".

Dr Pell has repeatedly said Islam is more warlike than Christianity.

In June this year he told the National Catholic Reporter in the US: "It's difficult to find periods of tolerance in Islam."

[Rasputin]

دو دليل سخنان ضد اسلامی پاپ
پاپ روی ديگر سكه ای شد
كه حاكميت ج.ا يك روی آنست




پاپ "بنديكت" كه جانشين "جان پل دوم" شده، درجريان سفر چند روزه اش به جنوب آلمان و شهر مونيخ، شهر و منطقه ای كه هيتلر از آن برخاست، پس از يك سلسله مذاكرات مهم سياسی با رهبران آلمان، طی سخنانی درباره ماهيت؛ تاريخ و آينده اسلام نيز سخن گفت. سخنان او مستقيما همان اسلامی را هدف گرفته بود كه دولت كنونی در جمهوری اسلامی آن را نمايندگی می كند. در واقع او كه در جوانی خود از فعالان جوانان نازی بوده، اكنون برای دفع و رفع هر گونه شبهه ای مواضع بوش را تائيد و سياست دولت كنونی آلمان در نزديكی به امريكا را تائيد كرد.



پاپ غير مستقيم و به نقل از امپراتور امانوئل دوم امپراطور بيزانس حرف خودش را اينگونه زد: "به من نشان بده كه محمد [پيامبر اسلام] چه چيز تازه ای به ارمغان آورده، به جز شرارت و اعمال غيرانسانی و دستور او برای گستراندن دين با زبان شمشير. خشونت با ذات پروردگار و طبيعت انسان ناسازگار است."

بدين ترتيب، پاپ روی ديگر سكه ای شد كه اخوان المسلمين، القاعده و حاكميت كنونی ايران يك روی آنست و دولت احمدی نژاد نماينده آن.

با آنكه موجی از حيرت نسبت به اين اظهار نظر برخاسته و قطعا رهبران جمهوری اسلامی در روزهای آينده بيشتر به آن خواهند پرداخت، اما هيچكس تاكنون تفسيری درباره انگيزه اصلی وی در ارتباط با اين سخنرانی ارائه نداده است. درحاليكه اين سخنان دو رويكرد داشته است. نخست در داخل آلمان و تقويت راست حاكم دراين كشور و رويكرد خارجی آن زمينه سازی فكری حمله به ايران می تواند باشد. حمله به كشوری كه حاكميت و دولت آن بی وقفه خود را نماد همان اسلامی معرفی می كند كه پاپ می گويد!

درباره رويكرد داخلی (آلمان) سخنان پاپ به اطلاعات تفسيری كه درباره وضع سياسی در آلمان و در همين شماره منتشر شده مراجعه كنيد.

درباره سابقه پاپ نيز اطلاعات زير را به نقل از آرشيو پيك نت بخوانيد:



پاپ جديد
عضو سازمان جوانان هيتلری

(پيك 12فروردين 84 . )

" ژوزف راتزينگر" كاردينال محافظه كار آلمانی، عضو سابق سازمان جوانان هيتلری و مخالف سرسخت الهيات رهايی بخش در امريكای لاتين، بعنوان پاپ برگزيده شد. راتزينگر كه توسط پاپ سابق ژان پل دوم به واتيكان راه يافت نظريه پرداز الهيات محافظه كار و راستگرا محسوب میشود. راتزينگر در شرايطی بعنوان پاپ جديد انتخاب شد كه مطبوعات غرب بيشترين بخت گزينش پاپ آينده را به كاردينالهايی از جهان سوم، هند، برزيل ، پرتقال و حتی فرانسه نسبت میدادند. پيك نت در شماره 16 فروردين خود ضمن اشاره به نقش راتزينگر در مبارزه برعليه الهيات رهايی بخش- به نقل از روزنامه اومانيته- در پايان تاكيد كرد:" جانشين پاپ ژان پل دوم، از دل مسائلی كه در مطبوعات و رسانههای عمده جهانی راه ندارد بيرون خواهد آمد."( مراجعه كنيد به مقاله " جدال پنهان الهيات مافيايی واتيكان با الهيات رهايی بخش" در پيك نت 16 فروردين)

حضور راتزينگر در واتيكان اكنون به معنای ادامه قرار گرفتن قدرت كليسای كاتوليك در پشت ارتجاعی ترين و راستگراترين بخش قدرتهای سياسی و نظامی بويژه در امريكای لاتين است. انديشههای پاپ جديد بگونهای است كه حتی خبرگزاری رويتر انتخاب او را بعنوان "پيروزی راست دگماتيك" ارزيابی كرده است. خبرگزاری فرانسه نيز گزينش راتزينگر، كه نام "بنوای شانزدهم" را برخود نهاده، بعنوان "تدوام ژان پل دوم" ارزيابی كرده و معتقد است كه خطوط دگماتيك و جزم گرايی كه پاپ سابق درباره مسايل اجتماعی و مذهبی اتخاذ كرده بود با اين گزينش ادامه خواهد يافت. در واقع میتوان گفت از چند سال قبل با شدت گرفتن بيماری پاپ ژان پل دوم، رهبری واتيكان عملا در دست راتزينگر قرار داشت و به همين دليل عليرغم سوابق و مخالفتهايی كه نسبت به او وجود داشت جانشين پاپ شد. ضمن آنكه راتزينگر هم اكنون 78 سال دارد و زمان زيادی بعنوان پاپ باقی نخواهد ماند و دوره تغيير پاپ و احتمالا تغيير سياستها، با توجه به اوضاع جهانی بزودی بار ديگر فراخواهد رسيد.

خبرگزاری رويتر درباره سوابق پاپ جديد مینويسد كه او با شدت تمام برضد الهيات رهايی بخش مبارزه كرد، جنبش كاتوليكی كه رويتر آن را دارای "گرايشهای ماركسيستی” مینامد كه در دهههای هفتاد و هشتاد در امريكای لاتين برعليهبیعدالتی اجتماعی و رژيمهای نظامی مبارزه میكرد. گرايشهای پاپ جديد بسود ديكتاتوریهای نظامی البته چندان عجيب نيست چنان كه راتزينگر خود روز گذشته پذيرفت در جوانی "عضو سازمان جوانان هيتلری” بوده است، اما اين عضويت را اجباری و ناخواسته اعلام كرد.

"روبن دری” الهی دان آرژانتينی و استاد دانشگاه بوينس آيرس معتقد است كه انتخاب راتزينگر ضربهای ديگر به كاتوليكهايی است كه اميدوار بودند كليسا در مسير اصلاحات حركت كند. به گفته وی راتزينگر" بدترين انتخاب ممكن بود. او نماينده بدترين جنبههای شخصيت ژان پل دوم است، بدون آنكه جنبههای مثبت او را داشته باشد."

"لئونارد بوف" كشيش و نظريه پرداز الهيات رهايی بخش كه در سال 1992 زير فشار كليسا و شخص راتزينگر ناگزير شد لباس كشيشی را از تن خارج كند، با اين حال معتقد است راتزينگر هر عقيده شخصی كه داشته باشد و هر نقشی كه به او داده شده باشد ناگزير خواهد بود به مسايل امريكای لاتين توجه كند. بنظر بوف "راتزينگر همواره نگران وضعيت كليسا در امريكای لاتين خواهد بود چرا كه اينده مسيحيت به امريكای لاتين بستگی خواهد داشت."



پيك 15 فروردين سال 84 ـ 4 آوريل 2005

پايان يك ماموريت 20 ساله
چهره واقعی
"پاپ"
در آنسوی ديوارهای واتيكان

پاپ جان پل دوم، سرانجام پس از چند بار انتقال به بيمارستان و بازگشت به واتيكان درگذشت. با آنكه بموجب همه شواهد او جمعه شب و يا صبح شنبه درگذشته بود، واتيكان برای بهره گيری مذهبی و بازی با احساسات مردم، اين خبر را برای روز يكشنبه ذخيره كرد. يعنی اولين يكشنبه پس از رستاخير مسيح!

مراسم آرام وبیجنجالی كه به مناسبت مرگ وی در ميدان يكشنبههای واتيكان برپا شد، تفاوتی بنيادين با نمايشهای توام با سينه زنی و قمه زنی بمناسبتهای مشابه در كشورهای مسلمان و بويژه شيعه داشت، اما در عوام فريبی مذهبی و بازی با احساسات مردم شيوهها يكسان بود. با تاريخ درگذشت آيت الله خمينی نيز در جمهوری اسلامی همينگونه بازی شد و با آنكه او روز 12 خرداد درگذشته بود، خبر را 14 خرداد اعلام كردند تا مقارن شود با 15 خرداد و يا درجريان انفجار مقر حزب جمهوری اسلامی با آنكه رقم واقعی قربانيان اين انفجار درابتدا 78 تن و بعدا به 84 تن رسيد، برای تداعی شمار شهدای واقعه كربلا، شمار قربانيان اين انفجار را 72 تن اعلام كردند.
انتخاب پاپ جان پل دوم شايد سياسی ترين انتخاب در تاريخ واتيكان بود. او از دوستان "رونالد ريگان" رئيس جمهور اسبق امريكا بود و در آغاز كشاكشهای لهستان كه زمينههای فروپاشی اردوگاه سوسياليسم را میتوانست و توانست فراهم كند به اين سمت انتخاب شد. به گفته "ياروزلسكي» آخرين رئيس دولت سوسياليستی لهستان و از قهرمانان جنگ دوم اين كشور، گماردن يك لهستانی در راس واتيكان بزرگترين اقدام تقويت كننده "لخ والسا" رهبر اپوزيسيون ضد دولتی لهستان بود. او دراين نقش با تمام نيرو ايفای نقش كرد، چنان كه بعدها خود را در مسكو به گرباچف رساند و كليساهای ارتدكس و كاتوليك روسيه را ترغيب به ايفای نقش اپوزيسيون دولتی كرد. گرباچف، در نخستين ديدار و مذاكره اش با وی گفت:"او سياسی ترين كشيش بود و اگر او نبود ديوار برلين به اين آسانی و زودی فرونمی ريخت!"

آن چهره به ظاهرا مهربان و مردم دوستی كه پاپ در سالهای پس از فروپاشی اتحاد شوروی به خود گرفت، مربوط به دوران پايان ماموريتی بود كه بخوبی از عهده آن برآمد. او حتی در اوج پيری و ناتوانی جسمی، پس از گشتی در امريكای لاتين خود را به كوبا رساند بلكه درآنجا نيز بتواند زمينههای سقوط كاسترو را فراهم سازد، كه ناموفق و نا اميد به واتيكان بازگشت!
خبر درگذشت پاپ را با همين صراحت بايد نوشت و انتشار داد، تا نسبت به انتخاب جانشين او هوشيار بود و نقش پاپ جديد را همسو با سياستهای امريكا دريافت. حضور برلسكونی، متحد جورج بوش در راس دولت ايتاليا قطعا جاده را برای تامين نظر امريكا برای انتخاب جانشين پاپ هموارترخواهد كرد.

گردش به چپ در امريكا لاتين كه اكنون در هر انتخاباتی در اين منطقه جهان خود را نشان ميدهد، میتواند انگيزه ای جدی برای يافتن كشيش ديگری برای ايفای نقشی مشابه پاپ جان پل دوم در دوران فروپاشی اردوگاه سوسياليسم، در امريكای لاتين باشد.

[donsaeid]

[mike435]

man people take religion seriously

muslims need to take a chill pill
i mean what the pop said is bad even thogh he tried to justify it by saying he was quoating someone else but wow man extremist muslims divert attention from there cause when they go crazy like this. there are better ways to defend your religion and protest a negative comment than burning an effagy, burning churchus, and destroying property hopefully no one has died yet. lets hope it stays that way to.

also there is no excuse for the pop he could have just as well quoted somthing good about momad but he chose what he chose

so in protest why not some people here post some nice qoutes about mohamad. i lack knowledge in islam so i cant.

[donsaeid]

we have a thread about the Prophet

[Rasputin]

Pope comment 'linked to crusade'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said recent remarks by the Pope on Islam were in line with what he called a "crusade" against Muslims.
The background to the controversy, he said, was the "wish of powers whose survival depends on creating crises".

The row began last week, when the Pope repeated criticism of the Prophet Muhammad by a medieval scholar.

The speech sparked worldwide protests by Muslims. The Pope has apologised and said the views quoted were not his own.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the remarks by Pope Benedict XVI last Tuesday were the "latest link" in "the chain of a conspiracy to set in train a crusade".

Other links, he added, included the cartoon satirising Muhammad and "the insulting remarks of some American and European politicians and newspapers about Islam".



European clerics used to say these things about Islam - we imagined that these kinds of utterances had ended in recent times

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei


Text of Pope's statement
In pictures: Muslim protests
Iran's supreme leader also said: "We do not expect anything from [US President George W] Bush, because he works for global, plundering companies and powers.

"But these remarks are very much a cause for regret and surprise from a senior Christian official."

Ayatollah Khamenei is the latest Muslim leader to condemn Pope Benedict's comments.

Influential Qatari Muslim scholar, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, called for a day of anger on Friday.

He also dismissed the Pope's expression of regret on Sunday, saying that the pontiff should retract his speech.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, which controls the Palestinian parliament, said: "We do not view the statement attributed to the Pope as an apology."

Strike

Activists held more protests against the Pope in various Muslim areas on Monday.

In Indian-administered Kashmir many schools and shops remained closed.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Pope Benedict probably should self-criticise Christianity's violent past before commenting on the other faith

John Lin, Illinois


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Islamic press split
Demonstrators took to the streets in Iraq and Indonesia. In Syria, a rally was held at a mosque in Damascus.

The Pope on Sunday expressed regret for causing offence in last week's speech - delivered during a visit to his native Germany.

He said the medieval text he quoted, which said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only evil, did not in any way express his personal opinion.

"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," he told pilgrims.

"These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.

"I hope this serves 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 mutual respect."

Turkish visit

Although some Muslims have rejected the apology, others have welcomed it.

The Council of Muslims in Germany said the Pope had taken an important step towards calming the unrest of the past few days.

The Muslim Council of Britain said the Pope's expression of regret was "exactly the reassurance many Muslims were looking for".

In Turkey, the most senior Muslim religious figure, Ali Bardakoglu, said the Pope's stated respect for Islam was a civilised position.

The government said the Pope was still expected to go ahead with a visit to Turkey in November.