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When one cult is attacked by another, Jesus must sit back and laugh.
The entire knee-slapper is HERE.
The entire knee-slapper is HERE.
Pope Benedict Draws More Criticism for Islam Remarks
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Pope Benedict XVI attracted growing criticism from the Muslim world as Pakistan's parliament called on the pontiff to retract comments he made in a university lecture earlier this week linking Islam to violence.
The 342-member National Assembly in Islamabad today unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Benedict to withdraw the remarks, in order to avoid heightened conflict between Muslims and Christians, according to a faxed statement.
``The events after Sept. 11 have already created rifts among religions and there is a danger this objectionable statement will aggravate the conflict,'' the resolution read. Fazal Karim of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League, or Nawaz, wrote the resolution.
The pope delivered the Sept. 12 lecture, in which he cited a 14th-century text that describes Islam as ``evil and inhuman,'' at the University of Regensburg during a visit to Germany. The address wasn't meant to offend Islam or to analyze Muslim theology but was rather a call for faith in a secularized world, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement yesterday.
The Pakistani resolution followed criticism from Muslim groups worldwide, including in Turkey, where Benedict plans a papal visit in November. Ali Bardakoglu, head of Turkey's state- run religious affairs directorate, called the pope's comments on the Prophet Muhammad ``provocative, hostile, prejudiced and biased,'' NTV news channel said on its Web site yesterday.
The pope ``aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world and strengthened the argument of those who say the West is hostile to everything Islamic,'' Mohammad Mahdi Akef, head of the Cairo- based Muslim Brotherhood, said on the group's Web site.
Benedict began his address by quoting from a 14th-century dialogue between the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an ``educated Persian.'' The two debate the merits of reason in Christianity and the Muslim concept of holy war. Manuel, who champions faith embedded in reason, is quoted as criticizing Islam with what Benedict called ``a startling brusqueness.''
``Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,'' Benedict quoted the emperor as saying. There is no response from the interlocutor.
While Benedict goes on to discuss the Greek roots of reason in Christianity, which he contrasts with Islam's view that God is ``absolutely transcendent,'' including above reason, he doesn't address specifically the Byzantine emperor's perception of Islam.
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Pope Benedict XVI attracted growing criticism from the Muslim world as Pakistan's parliament called on the pontiff to retract comments he made in a university lecture earlier this week linking Islam to violence.
The 342-member National Assembly in Islamabad today unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Benedict to withdraw the remarks, in order to avoid heightened conflict between Muslims and Christians, according to a faxed statement.
``The events after Sept. 11 have already created rifts among religions and there is a danger this objectionable statement will aggravate the conflict,'' the resolution read. Fazal Karim of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League, or Nawaz, wrote the resolution.
The pope delivered the Sept. 12 lecture, in which he cited a 14th-century text that describes Islam as ``evil and inhuman,'' at the University of Regensburg during a visit to Germany. The address wasn't meant to offend Islam or to analyze Muslim theology but was rather a call for faith in a secularized world, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement yesterday.
The Pakistani resolution followed criticism from Muslim groups worldwide, including in Turkey, where Benedict plans a papal visit in November. Ali Bardakoglu, head of Turkey's state- run religious affairs directorate, called the pope's comments on the Prophet Muhammad ``provocative, hostile, prejudiced and biased,'' NTV news channel said on its Web site yesterday.
The pope ``aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world and strengthened the argument of those who say the West is hostile to everything Islamic,'' Mohammad Mahdi Akef, head of the Cairo- based Muslim Brotherhood, said on the group's Web site.
Benedict began his address by quoting from a 14th-century dialogue between the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an ``educated Persian.'' The two debate the merits of reason in Christianity and the Muslim concept of holy war. Manuel, who champions faith embedded in reason, is quoted as criticizing Islam with what Benedict called ``a startling brusqueness.''
``Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,'' Benedict quoted the emperor as saying. There is no response from the interlocutor.
While Benedict goes on to discuss the Greek roots of reason in Christianity, which he contrasts with Islam's view that God is ``absolutely transcendent,'' including above reason, he doesn't address specifically the Byzantine emperor's perception of Islam.
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