Controversy rages about Pope's comments on Islam

[Al-khiyal]

VATICAN CITY (UCAN) -- Pope Benedict XVI has invited the accredited ambassadors of Muslim-majority countries that have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See to a meeting at his summer residence on Monday, September 25th.

The meeting at in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, is seen as a further step toward full reconciliation between the pope and Muslims worldwide in the wake of the controversy over the lecture he gave Sept. 12 on "Faith and Reason" at the University of Regensburg in Germany. In the lecture he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who expressed harsh judgments on Prophet Muhammad and jihad, a quotation that the pope has admitted "lent itself to misunderstanding."

News of the meeting was broken Sept. 22 by the Italian news agency ANSA and later confirmed by Vatican and Muslim sources.

The Muslim-majority states that have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See include, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgystan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Syria, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Islamic religious leaders resident in Italy, including the head of the mosque in Rome have been invited too, a Vatican official confirmed to UCA News.

Pope invites Ambassadors of Muslim-majority states to meeting on Monday

[Al-khiyal]

Rome, 22 Sept. (AKI) - Like the war in Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a controversial speech by Pope Benedict XVI has harmed relations between Western Christians and Muslims, says Algiers' archbishop Henri Teisser. "People had welcomed with enthusiasm Pope John Paul II and thought Christians and Muslims would face the challenges of the modern world together," Teisser told Adnkronos International (AKI) on Friday. With the speech last Tuesday in which the pontiff quoted a 14th century Christian emperor linking Islam to violence "people felt there was a distance between Christianity and Islam and therefore felt deceived."

The 77-year-old bishop, a graduate in Islamic studies, has lived in Algeria since 1958 and has a deep understanding of relations between Christians and Muslims in the Maghreb. He became an Algerian citizen in 1965.

The recent conflict between Shiite militias Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and the pope's speech create a division "in which we (Western Christians) are assimilated to the camp of [US president] Bush," he said.

Teisser was in Rome to address a conference on inter-religious dialogue in the Mediterranean promoted by the regional government of Lazio, the area surrounding Rome.

The bishop noted that right after the pontiff's address at Regensburg University last Tuesday "the Algerian press spoke about it in at least 200 articles, both in French and Arabic, in a very harsh, unaccepting way. Afterwards however analysts started debating the key issues of violence and religion and the relationship between reason and faith."

Teissier stressed that people were still open to dialogue and that he was the only Christian invited by the Algerian government to attend official celebrations of world peace day in Algiers on Thursday.

Still, the bishop said he was "extremely worried" over a new anti-conversion law which has just become effective in Algeria. "The punishments in that law are extremely harsh," he said, adding that he feared for the status of Christians in Algeria who mostly live in the Kabyle Berber region.

"Their status must be recognized and they must be allowed to pray in recognized places of worship."

Christians are the largest minority in Algeria but make up less than 1 percent of the population which is mostly Sunni Muslim.

The Algerian parliament approved a law in March, punishing anyone trying to convert a Muslim to another religions with up to five years in jail. The law states that anyone "attempting to call on a Muslim to embrace another religion" can be sentenced from two to five years in jail or is liable to pay a fine of up to 10,000 euros.

The law applies the same sanctions against anyone manufacturing, publishing or simply keeping publications or audio-visual materials threatening the Islamic faith. It also bans the practice of any religion other than Islam "outside buildings allocated for that purpose" which need a special licence from authorities.

Pope's speech a blow to Christian-Muslim ties says Algiers' archbishop

[Al-khiyal]

Vatican City (dpa) - Pope Benedict XVI was Monday expected to explain his controversial remarks on the Prophet Mohammed to the ambassadors to the Holy See of predominantly-Muslim countries in a meeting designed to defuse a row between the Church and the Islamic world.

Delegations from Iraq, Pakistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Iran and 15 other countries have announced plans to attend the meeting, which was taking place at the pope's summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

Top officials from the Vatican as well as Italian Muslim religious leaders were also taking part.

The meeting comes 13 days after a lecture at the German University of Regensburg in which Benedict quoted a 14th century Christian emperor as referring to elements of Islam as "evil and inhuman."

The speech sparked angry reactions in the Islamic world, prompting the pope to issue an unprecedented apology.

Pope meets Muslim ambassadors

[Al-khiyal]

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Vatican used the stage of the United Nations on Wednesday to try to make amends for remarks by Pope Benedict that drew fury from Muslims worldwide.

Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, governor of Vatican City, told the 192-member U.N. General Assembly that the pope had voiced sadness at the possible misinterpretation of quotes linking Muslims and violence.

"His real intention was to explain that 'not religion and violence, but religion and reason go together,' in the context of a critical vision of a society which seeks to exclude God from public life," Lajolo said.

The pope, 79, has faced persistent criticism despite four attempts to make amends, without actually apologizing directly, for a speech he gave on September 12 in his native Germany.

His last effort was in Italy on Monday when he spoke to diplomats from some 20 Muslim countries plus leaders of Italy's own Muslim community.

In New York, foreign ministers of the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, meeting on the sidelines of the General Assembly, had urged the pope to "retract or redress" the comments.

Benedict enraged Muslims two weeks ago by quoting 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything the Prophet Mohammad brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The Muslim foreign ministers said in a statement on Tuesday they feared the pope's language might engender tension between the Muslim world and the Vatican.

Lajolo, who only 12 days ago stepped down as Vatican foreign minister, said: "It falls to all interested parties - to civil society as well as to states - to promote religious freedom and a sane, social tolerance that will disarm extremists even before they can begin to corrupt others with their hatred of life and liberty."

The pope is facing the toughest international crisis since his election in April 2005 - and, despite praise from some prominent Muslims - the severity of some reactions has raised doubts about his planned trip to Turkey in November.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan again criticized the pope on Wednesday, saying even a politician would not have spoken in such a way.

Vatican tries to reassure Muslims from UN podium

[Al-khiyal]

A letter written by 38 Muslim scholars from around the world has been delivered to Pope Benedict, criticising his 'misreading' of the Quran and listing factual errors in his recent speech on Islam that provoked protests across the Muslim world.

The pope's lecture last month at a German university led to violent protests around the world and the killing of an Italian nun in Somalia.

In the open letter delivered on Sunday to the papal nuncio, the Vatican's envoy in Jordan, the signatories said: "We must point out some errors in the way you [the pope] mentioned Islam as a counterpoint to the proper use of reason, as well as some mistakes in the assertions you put forward in support of your arguments."

In particular the scholars focussed on perceptions of forced conversion, jihad versus holy war and the relationship between Christianity and Islam.

But those who signed the letter, including the Grand Muftis of Egypt, Russia, Kosovo, Oman and Istanbul, also said they appreciated the pope's personal expression of sorrow over his citing of anti-Islamic quotes by a 14th-century Byzantine emperor.

Islamica magazine, which published the letter on its website, said since signatories of all eight schools of thought and jurisprudence in Islam, including a woman scholar, are represented in the letter it "is unique in the history of interfaith relations".

Mohammed Samiullah Khan, manging editor of the magazine, said: "It was unprecedented that all these scholars came together.

"It took time, of course, to work out the text and get the right response. It obviously couldn't happen overnight. But we think it addresses the pope's speech in a very constructive way.

"The initiative was taken by the scholars themselves, there was a large group of scholars who felt a correct response needed to be made and collectively they formulated the letter. It must be emphasised that this was a collaborative effort."

The letter points out that "holy war", referred to in the speech, is a term that does not exist in Islamic languages.

It says it should be emphasised that Jihad means struggle, and specifically struggle in the ways of God. This struggle may take many forms, and although this includes the use of force, it does not necessarily mean war.

With regard to perceptions of "forced conversion", the scholars say that the argument that Muslims are commanded to spread their faith "by the sword", or that Islam was largely spread "by the sword", does not hold up to scrutiny.

It points out that while as a political entity Islam was spread partly as a result of conquest, the greater part of its expansion came as a result of preaching and missionary activity. Moreover, Islamic teaching did not prescribe that conquered populations be forced or coerced into converting.

In his speech the pope cited the emperor's assertion that "anything new" brought by the Prophet was "evil and inhuman", such as the alleged command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

The scholars state that what the emperor failed to realise, aside from the argument above that no such command existed anyway in Islam, "is that the Prophet never claimed to be bringing anything fundamentally new and that according to Islamic belief, all the true prophets, preached the same truth to different peoples at different times".

The laws may be different, says the letter, but the truth is unchanging.

The signatories said that they appreciated the pope's assurance that the words of the emperor cited did not reflect his personal opinion.

They said that by following the Quranic precept of debating 'in the fairest way" they hoped to reach out so as to increase mutual understanding, reestablish trust, calm the situation for the sake of peace and preserve Muslim dignity.

Following the handing in of the letter, Khan said: "The aim of this letter was to address the pope's speech in an appropriate manner.

"We haven't had any response from the Vatican yet ... they have to make their own deliberations and then respond to the letter in due course, the important thing is that a constructive dialogue has been started."

Scholars raise 'errors' in pope speech

[Al-khiyal]

Islamica magazine - press release and link to full text of letter

[Al-khiyal]

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Turkey next month, allaying fears the trip may have been cancelled after his recent remarks about Islam provoked protests around the world.

The Vatican press office said on Sunday that the visit, the pope's first to a Muslim country since taking office in April last year, would take place from November 28 to December 1.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, said in a religious television programme that "the desire of the pope, the holy see and the Catholic church is to continue dialogue", the Ansa news agency reported.

Catholics and Muslims can and should share values "which are essential for the fate and future of humanity", he said, adding that this was what should be read into the pope's address last month.

According to the published programme, the pope will arrive in Ankara, then go on to Izmir and Ephesus on November 29, ending up in Istanbul where he will stay until the end of his visit.

A furore erupted in the Muslim world when the pope quoted a medieval Christian emperor who equated Islam with violence in his September 12 speech at the University of Regensburg.

The pontiff later apologised for the offence he had called without explicitly retracting the comments themselves.

Bertone said the speech was "a call for cooperation between the Christian and Muslim faiths to share ... the common moral objectives which our modern world cannot renounce".

The pope's visit to Turkey would be "an occasion for dialogue and meetings with religious and political representatives", he added.

Pope confirms Turkey trip