09-16-2006, 05:37 PM
What did the Pope say? What were his exact comments? Comments from other faiths and governments?
Pope a 'medieval crusader' in India- The Times of India
http://timesofindia http://timeshttp ://timesofinhttp ://times
headline=Pope~ headline= Popheadline= headline=
NEW DELHI: Pope Benedict XVI's attack on Islam has stirred anger in India
with the head of the National Commission for Minorities saying he sounded like
a medieval crusader.
Pope Benedict provoked worldwide outcry with comments Tuesday during a visit
to his native Germany in which he talked about the "issue of jihad, holy
war", a term used by Islamic extremists to justify acts of terror.
"The language used by the pope sounds like that of his 12th-century
counterpart who ordered the crusades," said Hamid Ansari, chairman of the National
Commission for Minorities.
The commission's role includes maintaining harmony between officially
secular India's majority Hindu population and Muslims who number 130 million in the
country of 1.1 billion.
In Kashmir, dozens of lawyers wearing black court robes marched Friday
through the streets of the summer capital Srinagar, shouting, "Those who dare to
target Islam and the Prophet will be finished."
Police were also deployed around churches and dozens of Christian missionary
schools in Kashmir to prevent any violence against Christians, but no
trouble was reported.
"What he said was nothing but blasphemy," said Kamal Farooqi, a member of
the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, but he also called on Muslims to
"exercise restraint and not lose their cool."
Pope Benedict's speech explored the historical and philosophical differences
between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and
faith.
In Mumbai, the Roman Catholic's official spokesman Father Anthony Charanghat
insisted the pontiff was only seeking to explain how Islamic terrorists use
the concept of jihad or holy war as a theological justification for violence.
But Father Julian Saldhana, a theology professor at Saint Pius Seminary in
Mumbai, said the pope had "reproduced a quotation which is derogatory of the
Prophet Mohammed ... without showing he disagrees with it."
"It would be good if he now told us what he appreciated about the Prophet."
Christians make up 2.3 percent of India's population.
Pope a 'medieval crusader' in India- The Times of India
http://timesofindia http://timeshttp ://timesofinhttp ://times
headline=Pope~ headline= Popheadline= headline=
NEW DELHI: Pope Benedict XVI's attack on Islam has stirred anger in India
with the head of the National Commission for Minorities saying he sounded like
a medieval crusader.
Pope Benedict provoked worldwide outcry with comments Tuesday during a visit
to his native Germany in which he talked about the "issue of jihad, holy
war", a term used by Islamic extremists to justify acts of terror.
"The language used by the pope sounds like that of his 12th-century
counterpart who ordered the crusades," said Hamid Ansari, chairman of the National
Commission for Minorities.
The commission's role includes maintaining harmony between officially
secular India's majority Hindu population and Muslims who number 130 million in the
country of 1.1 billion.
In Kashmir, dozens of lawyers wearing black court robes marched Friday
through the streets of the summer capital Srinagar, shouting, "Those who dare to
target Islam and the Prophet will be finished."
Police were also deployed around churches and dozens of Christian missionary
schools in Kashmir to prevent any violence against Christians, but no
trouble was reported.
"What he said was nothing but blasphemy," said Kamal Farooqi, a member of
the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, but he also called on Muslims to
"exercise restraint and not lose their cool."
Pope Benedict's speech explored the historical and philosophical differences
between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and
faith.
In Mumbai, the Roman Catholic's official spokesman Father Anthony Charanghat
insisted the pontiff was only seeking to explain how Islamic terrorists use
the concept of jihad or holy war as a theological justification for violence.
But Father Julian Saldhana, a theology professor at Saint Pius Seminary in
Mumbai, said the pope had "reproduced a quotation which is derogatory of the
Prophet Mohammed ... without showing he disagrees with it."
"It would be good if he now told us what he appreciated about the Prophet."
Christians make up 2.3 percent of India's population.