Do you think the pope should have apologised to islam?

Question

Everyone up in arms about the quote from mohammed the pope made churches have been bombed in gazza , The pope has publically apologised but it doesnt seem enough for muslims ,i beleive the point the pope was trying to make was ,we cannot and should not associate god with violence. what do you all think , does the pope have the right of freedom of speech?

ps im not a catholic or connected with any orginised religion.

Last week, he told a gathering of Christian, Muslim and Jewish representatives in Italy that no one can "use the motive of religious difference as a reason or pretext for bellicose behavior toward other human beings

Answer 1

bah hum bug, you moslems are just looking for any damn excuse to bomb, rape, kill, pillage and plunder like your quran states.....
you moslems are the ones supposed to apologise to the world after 9-11, Bali, South Thailand, Chehnya, Iraq, Iran, and many many many other bombings killings, rapings, pillaging and plundering.
a2a

Answer 2

The Pope should not have apologised.

No religion should object to having the actions and motives of its founders examined and questioned. This is essential for an objective assessment of the validity of the claims of that religion.

Any religion whose original founders have indulged in violence or have advocated conversion by the sword is obviously a false religion.

If Muslims think this is wrong then let's have a sensible public debate on the issue.

Threats and violent protests only confirm that;

1.They are frightened of diologue on the issue, because they have no good argument.
2. There must be something very rotten at the root of a religion which engenders such an intolerant and aggressive reaction.

Just look at pictures of the faces of some of the demonstrators contorted with hate. This says more about a religion than a thousand words can.

Answer 3

I suspect someone is deliberately sitrring the pot here, inciting racial and religious hatred against Catholicism and Christianity, and this Pope in particular.

The Pope's made a totally unnecessary apology - but every time it cools down, someone deliberately blows on the embers of the argument to bring them roaring back to life, just the same as with the argument about Tony Blair's departure date.

And I believe I can quite happily point the finger at journalists, especially those journalists working in companies owned by certain well known media moghuls.

This isn't a religious problem. As with everything else that gets reported about the Middle East these days, it's a political problem, and dirty politics to boot.

It is ironic that the press should, for political reasons, strive to create a climate of fear whose ultimate aim is the suppression of free speech out of fear of its potential to cause offence.

But then, of course, since these people are probably busy writing the Newspeak Dictionary with their other hand, why should I feel the slightest surprise?

Answer 4

Yes he has a right to speak his mind, however he is the Pope and the Pope is supposed to set an example to how other catholics should behave generally. So maybe he should have thought twice before speaking about their religion that way. The only way to world peace is if we work together regardless of religion and we should be able to battle the extremists that are causing all these unnecessary bombings. So in a way he shouldn't have said what he said, we all have different beliefs that contradict one another lets not keep arguing about it because at the end of the day where would it get us?

Answer 5

I'm really puzzled by some of the answers. It seems that some people think that if you quote somebody, it means that you must agree with them. So, here's a quite from history - Hitler and his minions sent some 6000000 jews to the death camps.
Now, does that mean that I approve of those actions? I hope nobody thinks so because members of my family died there,

The point is that quoting something from history is anti mohommedanism simply because they don't want anybody to believe that they ever made any mistakes, that they were all "whiter than white", good, kind, generous people. Well, some of them may have been but not all. All religions have had their villains, their thugs and their terrorists. Let's just face facts that in the past people did some unpleasant things. Now let's learn from their behaviour. The mohommedans, by their current reaction are actually saying that it WAS right to terrorise and torture people in the past and that it is right for people (mohommedans only of course) to force people to join in their beliefs at gunpoint.
so, the Pope had a perfect right to quote from history (particularly the fact that it was a highly technical lecture and the ill-educated mass of mohommedans (or any other religion) wouldn't have understood it anyway). His point, as you've said was that violence and God are totally incompatible. The problem now is that some people think that violence and allah go together like ham and eggs.
These people will happily start a war just for the pleasure of it. I seem to remember that in the past, there were several deities worshipped at what is now the kabba in mecca who relished in war and destruction. Maybe they're not quite dead.

Answer 6

It is not Buddhists, Seiks, Hindus or Christians who right now in the 21st Centuary, go maiming and murdering hundreds and thousands of innocent people in the name of their religion. There is something seriously wrong with Islam, and it is up to Muslims to start facing up to the fact. The Muslim world needs to drop all this self-righteous indignation, and get down to some very serious self examination.

So No, the Pope should not apologise. He should be congratulated for having the courage to open the debate.

The people who should apologise are those who have organised all of the terrorist atrocities, in the name of Islam, including "9/11". They offend against the principles of all religion, even their own, and against every principle of humanity itself.

Answer 7

No, he should not have apologised for something he quoted. Whether or not he thinks lowly of Muslims is not an issue, as many believe (I couldn't care less), his comments were not his own.

I don't think you would have gotten that type of reaction from the Christians of the world, though, if a major Islamic cleric had said something in the same context about Jesus. But, I just think there are more fundie Muslims in the world than there are fundie xians.

And if the statement is true, why do they complain?

Answer 8

The Pope TOTALLY has a right to free speech... what is not clear is if he "really" believes his quotation was relevant to the point he was making or what he "really" believes...

By apologising, he's coming across as weak, which I think is sad...

I also don't think that "all" Muslims took offense to his remarks - only those who are looking for an excuse to incite racial and religious unrest....

EVERYONE is entitled to free speech and advocating violence as an alternitive to civilised debate or the right to having a different opinion is small minded, pathetic and weaker still!

Answer 9

YES I think he should ......... on the day they stop hijacking planes, bombing tube stations and stoning people for having affairs.

I'm still waiting to hear an apology from Islam's top dude regarding all of the above.

I've found out today (see my questions) that the 'Prophet' Mohammed was nothing more than an olden day Gary Glitter. Why do millions worship a paedophile? Does that not tell you they're twisted?

I rest my case your honour.

Answer 10

Yes he should apologize, though he wouldn't really mean it anyway.The pope has never apologized for what he said, he said he was sorry people were upset about what he said. Not quite an apology. I'm sure he has an agenda in stirring the pot the way he has, there is no reason to bring up such a quote from so many centuries ago, other than to get away with saying it, by saying I did not say that, I was just reading a quote. what a load of BS, it was meant to incite people and create violence. Historically the catholics seem to like violence, so he probably is getting off on it.

Answer 11

Those who kill in retaliation for the Pope's comments about Islam give Islam and all of its followers a worse reputation than they already have among many people in the world. This is not good for Islam or its followers if they want to get along with other humans on this earth. I wonder if they care about that. They probably do not.