 |
"The pontiff's words have surprised the Catholics in Egypt and the whole East, as a point of fact," Qalta said. |
CAIRO — The deputy patriarch of Egypt's Catholics on Saturday, September 16, attributed Pope Benedict XVI's anti-Islam jibe to his poor knowledge of Islam and Muslims, warning that the "surprising" remarks could play into the hands of extremists.
"Pope Benedict has not dealt enough with Muslims all through his life and does not have enough knowledge about Islam and Muslims," Father Youhana Qalta, told IslamOnline.net Saturday, September 16.
Speaking at the University of Regensburg 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's words have surprised the Catholics in Egypt and the whole East, as a point of fact," Qalta said.
The offensive remarks have stirred uproar in the Muslim world with Muslim scholars blaming the pontiff's words for his ignorance of Islam.
Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), said on Friday the pope's words reflected ignorance of the basic tenets of Islam.
Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, agreed.
"The Pope's statements reflect his lack of wisdom. It is obvious from the statements that the Pope doesn't have a correct understanding of Islam," Syamsuddin told Reuters.
"Gift for Bin Laden"
Qalta warned that the pope's word could play into the hands of extremists and potential terrorists.
"The pontiff's words are a gift for (Al-Qaeda leader) Osama bin Laden and his followers to carry out attacks against the Western interests.
"They would cite the pontiff's words brought to the surface the Catholic Church's view of Islam," he warned.
Qalta said the Pope's remarks have "confused" him.
"We as Catholics are not accustomed to such a manner," he said." What really perplexes me is that the Catholic Church has been at good terms with Muslims for a long time."
He cited a 1964 Vatican document that lauded Muslim piety and unshakable faith.
"The new pope has enhanced the role of the Vatican's inter-faith committees in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Morocco," he said.
Qalta, however, blamed Muslims for failing to highlight the true Islamic teachings.
"Muslims has not done enough to highlight the peaceful message of Islam to the West and the Vatican," he told IOL.
He further called on Muslim leaders worldwide to meet the pope in a bid to heal the rift and so that the pontiff could make his position clear.
A growing chorus of Muslim leaders worldwide were united Friday, September 15, in insisting on a personal apology from Pope Benedict over his comments.
They said that the pope should apologize personally and not through Vatican sources, to all Muslims for such a wrong interpretation.
|
