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Thousands of Palestinians held massive peaceful protests over the pope's offensive anti-Islam remarks. (Reuters) |
WORLD CAPITALS — A sea of Muslims worldwide demonstrated Friday, September 22, after Friday prayers over Pope Benedict XVI's anti-Islam jibe, demanding the pontiff to personally apologize for the offensive remarks.
At Egypt's 10th century Al-Azhar mosque, several hundreds of Muslim worshippers took part in the "Day of Anger" called by prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Reuters reported.
The pontiff has delivered a lecture at a German university quoting claims by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) brought only evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The remarks have sparked a widespread anger and condemnation in the Muslim world, with calls for an immediate apology from the pontiff.
But Benedict XVI insisted that worldwide Muslim anger over his speech was the result of an "unfortunate misunderstanding".
The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has declared an end to dialogue with the Vatican over Benedict's adamancy to retract his offensive anti-Islam remarks, urging Muslims worldwide to stage a one-hour sit-in inside mosques on Friday.
"It looks as if the Vatican is providing the religious justification for the wars waged in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Kamal Habib, a scholar who helped organize the protest in Cairo.
Speakers after the Friday prayers in Cairo linked the Pope to the invasion or occupation of Arab and Muslim countries by the United States, Israel and their allies.
"Wake Up Muslims! It's a conspiracy between the Pope and Bush!" said a banner strung between two pillars at al-Azhar mosque.
"The Pope's remarks are an extension of the Crusader wars and the Pope is known for his negative position on the Palestinian question. It's very clear," said Mohamed el-Beltagi, a member of parliament from the Muslim Brotherhood group.
The protestors also hailed Egypt's Catholics for rejecting Benedict's anti-Islam remarks.
The deputy patriarch of Egypt's Catholics on Saturday, September 16, faulted the pope's remarks, attributing them to his poor knowledge of Islam and Muslims.
"Grudges"
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| Pakistanis said they will only accept a full apology from the pope. |
In Mogadishu, similar massive protests were held after the Friday prayers, chanting anti-Pope slogans.
Sheikh Ahmed Taaso, chairman of the Muslim scholars society, said the pope's remarks reflected the grudge of the Catholic Church toward Islam, calling for a full apology.
In Malaysia, hundreds of Muslims held a peaceful rally after the weekly Friday prayers.
Waving anti-Pope banners, the demonstrators called for a full apology from the Pope.
"To us, it's an attempt to disparage Islam. It's something that we cannot accept," said Hatta Ramli, Treasurer of the opposition Islamic Party (PAS).
"We are not looking for enemies ... We will accept his (personal) apology," he added.
In the Pakistani capital Islamabad, hundreds chanted slogans against what they called enemies of Islam and denounced friends of the United States as traitors.
Smaller rallies were held in Karachi, Quetta, Multan and other cities.
Similar protests took place in the Afghan capital Kabul, coupled with criticism of the attitude of the government, which depends on military support from the United States and NATO.
In the occupied Palestinian territories, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the West Bank and Gaza, condemning the remarks and calling on the Pope to retract the offensive remarks.
In the Jordanian capital Amman, dozens of members of the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and the country's largest opposition party, took part in a sit-in to call on the Pope to give a clear apology.
"We demand that the Vatican and the Pope give a clear and direct apology," said the IAF head Zaki bin Irsheid.
He called on the Jordanian government to severe ties with the Vatican and urged Muslim peoples to continue protests until the pontiff apologize for the remarks.
In Tehran, up to 300 demonstrators filed into the capita's revolution square, burning US, British and Israeli flags that had been bound into a single cloth and chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".
"We want once again for the pope to officially apologize. He should debate with Iranian scholars so logic replaces his irrelevant comments," one of the leaders of the protest told the gathering.
"We strongly condemn his comments and we ask Muslims and Christians to be alert in the face of attempts to create tension and we ask him to correctly apologize to all Muslims."
Diplomatic Offensive
Pope Benedict XVI has invited Muslim envoys for talks, part of a diplomatic offensive to repair the rift.
The meeting on Monday at Castel Gandolfo, the pope's summer residence, was "a signal that the Holy Father's call for a dialogue between cultures and religion has been widely welcomed," said French cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, reported AFP.
The invitation came after the Vatican earlier this week instructed its ambassadors abroad to clarify the pope's comments.
"I am very happy that this meeting has been organised," Mohamed Nur Dachan, president of the Union of Muslim Communities and Organisations of Italy (UCOII) told AFP.
And Mario Scialoja, former Italian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said it was a good opportunity to "clarify things once and for all."
Iran and Turkey have said they will send representatives to Monday's meeting.
The presence of the Turkish ambassador at the meeting is significant as the pope is scheduled to visit Turkey on November 28-30 -- his first trip to a Muslim-majority country.
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