Copenhagen - Pope Benedict XVI's comments linking Islam with violence have angered the Muslim world in a clash reminiscent of protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed printed in Denmark a year ago.
In a university lecture in Germany on Tuesday, the pope implicitly denounced connections between Islam and violence, particularly with regard to jihad, or "holy war".
Pakistan's parliament on Friday unanimously called on the pope to retract his remarks, which had "injured sentiments across the Muslim world", while in India the head of the minorities commission said the pope sounded like a medieval crusader.
Abdel Monem Aboul Foutouh, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition group, said he expected "an extreme reaction" to the pope's comments, which were "more offensive to Islam than the caricatures because they come from a leader representing millions of people and not a journalist."
Continues Below ↓
A grenade exploded on Friday near the oldest church in Gaza City, causing no casualties or damage. Palestinians were due to demonstrate later Friday in Gaza against the pope's remarks.
A year ago, on September 30, 2005, the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten printed 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, infuriating Muslims around the world and plunging Denmark into its worse crisis since World War 2.
Under Islamic conventions, any image of the founder of the Muslim faith is considered blasphemous.
Shortly after the publication, a delegation of Muslim ambassadors to Denmark asked Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for a meeting to discuss the cartoons, but he refused, citing freedom of the press.
In January and February 2006 the crisis reached its zenith, with the Scandinavian country portrayed around the globe as an enemy of Islam.
In countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Libya or Nigeria, demonstrators burned Danish flags and issued threats against Danes, and in some cases even attacked the country's embassies and consulates.
Dozens of protestors were killed in the clashes.
The Danish embassy in Damascus and its consulate in Beirut were attacked and their furnishings torched, while Scandinavian citizens were repatriated in emergency evacuations.
Several European newspapers reprinted the cartoons, either out of solidarity with Denmark or in the name of freedom of the press.
Faced with a worldwide crisis pitting Islam against the West, a number of world leaders intervened to try to cool tensions, including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Pope Benedict XVI, who held talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
Denmark also suffered a major economic blow due to the crisis, with its products boycotted in stores in many Muslim countries.
Last week, the Danish statistics office said the boycott cost Danish companies one billion kroner (R1,3-billion) from January to June.
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
