A radical Muslim group threatened a suicide attack on the Vatican yesterday even as the Holy See said Pope Benedict regretted that some Muslims were offended by his comments about the role of violence in the spread of Islam.
The pontiff “sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful, and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement.
Benedict sparked the outrage when he gave a speech
last week in which he quoted the criticism of the Prophet Muhammed by
14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said
everything Muhammed brought was “evil and inhuman, such as his command
to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
“We swear to God to send you people who adore death as much as you adore life,” said the message posted in the name of the Mujahedeen Army on a Web site frequently used by militant groups.
The message’s authenticity could not be independently verified.
The statement was addressed to “you dog of Rome” and threatens to “shake your thrones and break your crosses in your home.”
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/15944/threats-of-an-attack-on-vatican
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To give you a little background about what the Pope was talking about we have some excerpts from my book: “The Plain Truth About God!”
After Muhammad’s death, Islam also got off to a rocky
start when warfare was used to spread the faith, and three of the first
four Caliphs died by violence.
The fourth Caliph, Ali, was a cousin of Muhammad and his followers then tore the community in two by claiming that Ali should have been the first caliph by virtue of his blood ties to Muhammad.
These people came to be known as the Shi’a or Shiite sect, while the great majority of the followers of Muhammad, who claim that succession does not rely on blood ties, are known today as the Sunni.
The fourth Caliph, Ali, was a cousin of Muhammad and his followers then tore the community in two by claiming that Ali should have been the first caliph by virtue of his blood ties to Muhammad.
These people came to be known as the Shi’a or Shiite sect, while the great majority of the followers of Muhammad, who claim that succession does not rely on blood ties, are known today as the Sunni.
Add to this the fact that Islam was spread through war and conflict as opposed to the philosophy of “love thy neighbour” that was the foundation of Christianity, and we have a religion that is ripe for dissension and conflict.
One of the facts that we have to consider is that the main driving force behind Islam is that it was bound up in war and aggression from its very inception. As a result, no matter how close or far from the intended message of the Koran it was, portions of it were always used to justify an Arab extremist and expansionist view.
History has now given us an almost unbroken string of militant Islamic movements from the “Assassins” of the 11th-12th century to the Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers.
(Even if he was technically a Persian and not Arab.)
The crusades were the first catalyst that got Islam to “rally round the flag” in Middle East terms, and the second was the Mongol invasion shortly after that.
Arab society became full of hatred to both Eastern and Western invaders and the early result of this was the emergence of Ibn-Taymeyah as one of the first Arab extremists.
He was born in 1263 C. E. during the Mongol invasions and died in jail for his extremist views in 1328 C.E.
(During his lifetime, almost all of the main Islamic schools of theology, to their credit, rejected his extremist views. He was constantly at odds with the authorities, but had a great and loyal following among the masses.)
This seems to have set the tone for the following centuries, with constant upheaval among theologians and clergy (Much the same as in the early Christian Church.)
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MEANWHILE, back in the Middle-East.
According to latest reports coming out of Egypt, the country will not admit that there is such a thing as a “homosexual,” but they have no trouble throwing them in jail!
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