FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: The Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Azhar University want to shake hands with the new Pope Francis. One of the first pledges he has made is to embrace interfaith dialogue with the Muslim world. Will he become the latest dupe of the “moderate” Islamists?
Pope Francis is a critic of Pope Benedict’s 2006 speech in Germany where he quoted a Byzantine Emperor that said “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.”
It caused a rupture in relations between Muslim authorities and the Vatican, with almost 40 Muslim scholars signing a letter of protest. Five churches were attacked in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, reinforcing the negative depiction of their religion that they were so offended by.
Pope Benedict said he was “deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims” and “These were in fact a quotation from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought.” It fell short of the direct apology that was demanded.
He tried to make amends by praying inside Turkey’s Blue Mosque and visiting Jordan in 2009, where he reflected upon the “common history” of the Abrahamic religions. He visited more mosques than any other pope, entering twice as many as his predecessor. » | Ryan Mauro | Wednesday, March 27, 2013
