The Pope apologized for what was 'considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims'
And said 'these were in fact a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.'
"The Pope quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th-century Byzantine
Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian Scholar regarding Christianity and Islam. 'The emperor comes to speak
about the issue of jihad, holy war,' Benedict said. 'He said', I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad 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.'"
Associated Press, Benjamin Harvey
I'm presently reading a book called: 'Journey into the mind of an Islamic Terrorist'
and it is written by Mark Gabriel PhD
Gabriel is a former Muslim turned Christian and taught Islamic History at a University
in Cairo Egypt.
This author says that Islam is a violent religion and gets its violence from Mohhamad
and the Quran itself.
I will quote some more from this author later but this is one thing Gabriel
said:
"The idea of plundering the conquered comes directly from Muhammads example of conquering
the neighboring tribes around him, taking the belongings, and selling the women and children as slaves. (You may read
my book 'Jesus and Muhammad for a good overview of Muhammad's use of plundering to support the Muslim Empire.) That is why
Al-Jihad attacked and robbed Christians in Egypt, and it is the same reason Al-Quaeda called Muslims to attack and rob
Americans." (Journey into the mind of an ISLAMIC TERRORIST , pg 49, Gabriel PhD)
Text of Pope's apology
The following is the text of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks regretting causing
offence to Muslims in his 12 September speech in the Bavarian city of Regensburg.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The pastoral visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep spiritual experience,
bringing together personal memories linked to places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective proclamation
of the Gospel for today.
I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also grateful
to all those who worked hard for the success of this Pastoral Visit.
As is the custom, I will speak more of this during next Wednesday's general
audience.
At this time, I wish also to add that I am 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.
These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way
express my personal thought.
Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard
in which he explained the true meaning of my words.
I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning
of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.
Bj Maxwell 09/18/2006
