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The Pope said fell short of explicitly apologizing for the quotes he mentioned. |
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict told Muslims on Saturday, September 16, he was sorry they had found his speech on Islam offensive, expressing his respect for their faith and hoping they would understand the "true sense" of his words.
"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement carried by Reuters.
Speaking at a German University on Tuesday, Benedict quoted criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Muhammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The pontiff fell short of explicitly apologizing for the quotes he mentioned.
(Click to read the pope's statement in full).
Not Enough
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| "We want a personal apology (from the Pope). We feel that he has committed a grave error against us," Habib said. |
In the first Muslim response to the pope's statement, the Muslim Brotherhood said the missive did not go far enough.
"We want a personal apology (from the Pope). We feel that he has committed a grave error against us and that this mistake will only be removed through a personal apology," Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Leader Mohammed Habib told Reuters.
"Has he presented a personal apology for statements by which he clearly is convinced? No," he said.
The tide of the Muslim anger over the pope's anti-Islam remarks has swelled on Saturday, September 16.
Egypt's Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi said the pontiff's comments "betray a clear ignorance of Islam and attribute to the faith things which have nothing to do with it".
Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh became the first head of state publicly to denounce the Vatican pope, threatening to review ties with the Vatican unless Benedict personally apologized for the derogatory remarks.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also called on the pope to apologize in person.
"The pope must not take lightly the spread of outrage that has been created," Abdullah said.
"The Vatican must now take full responsibility over the matter and carry out the necessary steps to rectify the mistake."
Religious Cover
Muslim scholars have also assailed the remarks as a bid to put a "religious cover" to injustice against Muslims.
"How can (the Pope) imply that Muslims are the creators of terrorism in the world while it is the followers of Christianity who have aggressed against every country of the Islamic world?" prominent Saudi scholar Salman al-Odeh said.
"Who attacked Afghanistan and who invaded Iraq? ... The Pope's statements are an attempt to put a religious cover on injustice and political aggression practiced by the American administration against Muslims."
Benedict's remarks have also stirred furor among non-Muslims.
Egypt's Coptic Church has rejected the Pope's anti-Islam remarks, saying Christianity taught respect to other faiths, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP.
"The Church categorically rejects the comments of the Vatican pope," said a spokesman for Pope Shenouda III.
"The Christian religion commands us to love other people whatever their faith," the spokesman said.
"We must respect the Muslim faithful and their prophet as we respect the followers of Jesus Christ and it is unacceptable to offend their religious beliefs.
"We utterly reject any offence to Islamic values or the Prophet."
Speaking to IOL on Saturday, September 16, the deputy patriarch of Egypt's Catholics attributed the Pope's anti-Islam jibe to his poor knowledge of Islam and Muslims.
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