Pope Disappoints Muslim Leaders
AFP: AMMAN — Pope Benedict XVI urged inter-faith reconciliation on the second day of a Holy Land tour but disappointed Muslim clerics by failing to offer a new apology for remarks seen as targeting Islam.

The pontiff in a keynote address to Muslim leaders in Amman's huge Al-Hussein Mosque bemoaned "ideological manipulation of religion" and urged Muslims and Christians to unite as "worshippers of God."

"Certainly, the contradiction of tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied," the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics told his audience.

"However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society?"

Some clerics expressed disappointment however that the pontiff in his wide-ranging speech had made no new apology for a 2006 address in which he quoted a medieval Christian emperor who criticised some teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman." >>> Copyright © 2009 AFP | Saturday, May 9, 2009

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The Archdhimmi of Canterbury to Join Christian and Muslim Scholars in Cambridge for the Promotion of Peace!
SUNDAY EXPRESS: The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is to join Christian and Muslim scholars for the start of a conference aimed at promoting understanding between the two faiths.

Dr Williams and the Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomaa will be among those addressing A Common Word, a conference at Cambridge University involving academics from around the world.



The event coincides with the first anniversary of the publication of A Common Word Between Us and You, a letter from 138 Islamic scholars, clerics and intellectuals.



Addressed to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders, the letter warned that the survival of the world could be at stake if Muslims and Christians could not make peace with each other. 



"If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world - with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before - no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world's inhabitants. 



"Our common future is at stake," the letter said. "The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake."



The scholars also used quotations from the Bible and the Koran to illustrate similarities between the two faiths, such as the requirement to worship one God and to love one's neighbour. 


In a letter of response published earlier this year, Dr Williams welcomed the document as a "significant development" in relations between Christians and Muslims. Faith Leaders Promote Peace >>> | Sunday October 12, 2008

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Muslim Leaders Demand Legal Action against Wilders
THE JAKARTA POST: Indonesian Muslim leaders and foreign envoys have demanded the Netherlands take legal action against politician Geert Wilders for producing and distributing the anti-Islam film Fitna.

In a meeting with Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Nikolaos van Dam, held at Muhammadiyah headquarters Monday, the protesters said his government's statement condemning the film was not enough to dampen the anger of Muslim countries over the movie.

"The Dutch government must criminalize Wilders' conduct. Freedom of expression has a limit," People's Consultative Assembly chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid told the gathering.

He said Wilders could not hide behind the doctrine of freedom of expression, and insulting Muslims and causing unrest among them in the Netherlands and other countries were sufficient reasons for the Dutch government to prosecute Wilders.

"We are still waiting to see what punishment the Dutch government will give Wilders, because the film has clearly insulted and disgraced Islam," Indonesian Ulema Council deputy chairman Amidan said. Muslim Leaders Demand Legal Action against Wilders >>> By Abdul Khalik

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Muslim Leaders to Meet Pope
THE GUARDIAN: Religious leaders and scholars from the Islamic world will meet the Pope in Rome for an unprecedented audience in November, it was announced today after historic meetings between Vatican prelates and their Muslim counterparts.

For two days, senior Catholics and Muslims have been preparing for the autumn encounter, deciding upon subjects for discussion and the size of the delegation to meet the pontiff.

The participants involved in this week's meetings confirmed that 24 representatives from each faith would take part in the inaugural seminar of a newly established, permanent Catholic-Muslim Forum, a direct result of their discussions and correspondence.

The forum will meet every two years. The first one will be held in Rome from November 4 until November 6.

On the third day, the seminar will conclude with a public session and a papal reception, quashing rumours of an August meeting at the Pope's summer residence in Castelgandolfo. Muslim Leaders to Meet Pope in Rome >>> By Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent

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Pope Agrees to Talks with Muslim Leaders
THE GUARDIAN: Pope Benedict has invited leading Islamic authorities to discuss a letter they sent to Christian leaders last month urging a search for common moral ground.

The pontiff's formal reaction was made public yesterday as the Vatican published his latest encyclical, in which he said atheism had "led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice".

Replying to Prince Ghazi of Jordan, who arranged for the letter to be sent to the Pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Benedict felt deep appreciation for the initiative, "for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace". >>> By John Hooper in Rome

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