September 16, 2006
Turkey on Pope's speech
Ali Bardakoglu (2nd R), president of the Turkey's religious affairs, attends the foundation-laying ceremony of a local religious affairs office building as he is flanked by officials in Duzce September 15, 2006. REUTERS/Anatolian/Tuncay Turkgulu (TURKEY)
Well, this is Turkish Islam. Turks deserve to be the most secular ones among the islamic countries, and they are probably less attentive of rituals then all others but when it comes "defend islam" they might be quite outspoken although Pope 'meant no offence' to Islam claims Vatican. I did not care much about his speech. Maybe I should have. Sorry for that. But I believe no religious leader should claim that the other religions are more violence-prone than his own. All religions have enough bad stuff in their histories. Man, how come the leader of Catholic Church can do that particularly? it is just laughable. Pope may not meant offence but he is already notarious of being less tolerant to Islam than his predecessor did. If he is really sincere, as a public figure he should more careful. But it seems that right wing (sometimes religious) European leaders have already chosen to be confrontative (i.e. Sarkozy)...
Turkish lawmaker Salih Kapusuz of the Justice and Development Party, with the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center rear, and his deputies Mehmet Ali Sahin , left, and Abdullah Gul, right, in the background, makes a speech at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, in this Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006 file photo. Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted party joined a wave of criticism of Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and saying he would go down in history in the same league as leaders like Hitler and Mussolini for remarks he made on Islam. The comments by Salih Kapusuz, a deputy leader of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, came a day after Turkey's top cleric asked Benedict to take back recent remarks, escalating tensions before the pontiff's November visit, his first to a Muslim country. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer, File)
Turkish men, supporters of the opposition True Path Party or DYP, hold a banner during a protest following Friday prayers at the Kocatepe mosque in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 15 , 2006. Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party joined a wave of criticism of Pope Benedict XVI, accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades with remarks he made about Islam. The Vatican said the pope did not intend the remarks, quoting a 14th century Christian emperor evil and inhuman, to be offensive. Turkey's opposition party demanded an apology before Pope Benedict's November visit. (AP Photo)
update: Time piece: The First Casualty of the Pope's Islam Speech By JEFF ISRAELY AND ANDREW PURVIS
Leaders across the Muslim world are furious over Benedict's provocative comments, and now his first trip to Muslim country, soon planned for Turkey, may be in jeopardy as a result
update 2: NYT piece: Muslim Leaders Assail Pope’s Speech on Islam By IAN FISHER
Posted to Casual analyses | Commentaries | News | Pope/Pope's Speech | Profiles/Agents
Although it is true that all religions have had their fair share of bloodshed and negativity, none can compare to Islam. There is no other religion that has spread through violence like islam. Unfortunaelly, it seems that Islam's only voices are those of the radicals as I have rarely heard a cry for peace from any Islamic groups.
Most Muslims retaliate whenever someone mentions something negative about their religion. Ususally, somebody is killed, tortured, or beheaded. Jost now, after Benedict XVI made his peach,one nun was killed and two priests were victim of violence by muslim people in Turkey.
Posted by: Rodrigo Fernandez at September 20, 2006 06:02 AM