Pope Meets Muslims in
Bid to Defuse Anger
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, September 25, 2006
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Reuters TV
Pope
Benedict XVI greeting Muslim representatives at the Vatican today. |
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy -- Pope
Benedict XVI told Muslim diplomats Monday that Christians and Muslims must work
together to guard against intolerance and violence as he sought to soothe anger
over his recent remarks about Islam.
The pontiff also quoted from his predecessor, John Paul II, who had close
relations with the Muslim world, calling for ''reciprocity in all fields,''
including religious freedom. Benedict spoke in French to diplomats from 21
countries and the Arab League in his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near
Rome.
''The circumstances which have given risen to our gathering are well known,''
Benedict said, referring to his remarks on Islam in a Sept. 12 speech at
Regensburg University, Germany, which set off protests around the Muslim world.
He did not dwell on the contested remarks, in which he had quoted the words of a
Byzantine emperor thusly: ''Show me just what Mohammed 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's five-minute speech on Monday touched on religion and violence only
briefly. He said that Christians and Muslims ''must learn to work together
... to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations
of violence.''
After his speech, in a salon in the papal palace in the Alban Hills, Benedict,
greeted each envoy one by one. He clasped their hands warmly and chatted
for a few moments with each of the diplomats.
Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See said Benedict's address to the envoys should
end the anger over the university address.
''The Holy Father stated his profound respect for Islam. This is what we
were expecting,'' Iraqi envoy Albert Edward Ismail Yelda said as he left the 30
minute meeting. ''It is now time to put what happened behind and build
bridges.''
Al-Jazeera, the Arab-language broadcaster, carried the pope's speech live.
Nearly all the other ambassadors drove away without stopping to speak to
reporters outside the papal palace.
The embassies of Egypt and Turkey said their ambassadors would have no comment.
The Iranian, Indonesian, Lebanese and Libyan embassies did not answer their
phones.
When the protests started flaring, Benedict offered deep regrets for offense
felt by Muslims and insisted his remarks did not reflect his own opinion and
were misunderstood. He stopped short of a full apology that some Muslim
leaders demanded.
Benedict said he invited the diplomats to ''strengthen the bonds of friendship''
between both sides, but he did offer any analysis of the controversial passage,
which came in a speech exploring faith and reason.
Benedict said dialogue between Christians and Muslims ''cannot be reduced to an
optional extra. It is, in fact, a vital necessity on which in large
measure our future depends,'' he said, quoting from a speech he gave to Muslims
in Germany in 2005.
Benedict also cited John Paul II as saying ''respect and dialogue require
reciprocity in all spheres,'' particularly religious freedom. This is a major
issue for the Vatican in Saudi Arabia and several other countries where
non-Muslims cannot worship openly.
Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
Among predominantly Muslim nations with diplomatic relations to the Vatican,
only Sudan did not participate in the meeting.
Among those attending was a diplomat from Indonesia, where Christian-Muslim
tensions were further heightened last week by the execution of three Catholic
militants. Benedict last month had appealed for the men's lives to be
spared.
Turkey also participated. Benedict has said he hopes to go in November to
that predominantly Muslim but officially secular country, whose officials were
among the first to vigorously protest the Regensburg remarks.
Last week, the Holy See's ambassadors stationed in Muslim countries met with
officials to assure them that the pope respects Islam and to urge a complete
reading of the speech.
The Vatican and much of the Muslim world share some important goals for each
side, including the battle against legalized abortion. Benedict also was
among the first to urge Israel to use restraint and turn to dialogue in its
battle in Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas over the summer.
The pope also invited leaders of Italy's small Muslim community to the meeting.
Benedict gave ''a very clear, very intelligent speech,'' said Mohamed Nour
Dachan, an Italian of Syrian origin who heads the Union of Islamic Communities,
or UCOII, one of the more radical Italian Muslim groups. ''In a few words,
the dialogue goes on. The dialogue is a priority for both Muslims and
Christians.''
In a departure from usual practice, the Vatican press office included a
translation of the speech in Arabic.
Associated Press writers Victor L. Simpson and Frances
D'Emilio contributed to this report from Vatican City.
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