Churches Firebombed by Members of the Religion of Peace
Jim Kouri, CPP
September 17, 2006
Early Sunday morning in the West Bank, two more churches were firebombed by members of the "Religion of Peace" as anger over the Pope’s comments grew throughout the Muslim world.
One Christian church -- a 170-year-old stone structure -- was firebombed before dawn and its interior was destroyed, according to reports. In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christian witnesses told reporters. However, neither church is Catholic, church officials said.
Angry Muslims hurled firebombs and gunmen opened fire at five churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Saturday to protest the Pope’s comments about violence and Islam. Christians living in the area fear worse will happen as the violence throughout the Middle East and other regions escalates.
Observers believe the current violence is reminiscent of the rioting and civil unrest that occurred as a result of Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Islamic icon Mohammed. Also, there was widespread violence and death as a result of an erroneous Newsweek story about a Koran being flushed down a toilet in the Guantanamo Bay military detention center.
Muslim leaders demanded further apologies from Pope Benedict XVI for controversial remarks about Islam and claim they uprisings will continue until they are satisfied.
Mahmoud Ashour, of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the Sunni Arab's most powerful organization, said the Pope’s apology was not enough and demanded that the Pontiff make amends for his comments on the Islamic religion.
He should apologize because he insulted the beliefs of Islam,” Ashour told Al-Arabiya TV. “He must apologize in a frank way and say he made a mistake.”
While anger over the Pope’s remarks was necessary, it shouldn’t last for long because while he is the head of the Catholic church in the world, many Europeans are not following it,” Mohammed Mahdi Akef, head of Egypts Islamic Brotherhood, said on Saturday. “So what he said won’t influence them.”
During a speech last week in Germany, the Pope, quoting from a Medieval text, cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman."
Days later as word of the Pope’s speech spread, Muslims around the world responded with anger and violence despite the Vatican’s insistence that the Pope did not mean to offend anyone.
Benedict today explained further that the text he quoted did not reflect his personal opinion.
These [words] were in fact a quotation from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought,” Benedict told pilgrims at his summer palace outside Rome.
"The irony of this whole controversy is difficult to avoid, unless you close your mind," said an intelligence officer.
"Here we have people -- who demand to have Islam called a religion of peace -- firebombing churches, killing nuns and threatening death to the infidels," he said.
One Christian church -- a 170-year-old stone structure -- was firebombed before dawn and its interior was destroyed, according to reports. In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christian witnesses told reporters. However, neither church is Catholic, church officials said.
Angry Muslims hurled firebombs and gunmen opened fire at five churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Saturday to protest the Pope’s comments about violence and Islam. Christians living in the area fear worse will happen as the violence throughout the Middle East and other regions escalates.
Observers believe the current violence is reminiscent of the rioting and civil unrest that occurred as a result of Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Islamic icon Mohammed. Also, there was widespread violence and death as a result of an erroneous Newsweek story about a Koran being flushed down a toilet in the Guantanamo Bay military detention center.
Muslim leaders demanded further apologies from Pope Benedict XVI for controversial remarks about Islam and claim they uprisings will continue until they are satisfied.
Mahmoud Ashour, of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the Sunni Arab's most powerful organization, said the Pope’s apology was not enough and demanded that the Pontiff make amends for his comments on the Islamic religion.
He should apologize because he insulted the beliefs of Islam,” Ashour told Al-Arabiya TV. “He must apologize in a frank way and say he made a mistake.”
While anger over the Pope’s remarks was necessary, it shouldn’t last for long because while he is the head of the Catholic church in the world, many Europeans are not following it,” Mohammed Mahdi Akef, head of Egypts Islamic Brotherhood, said on Saturday. “So what he said won’t influence them.”
During a speech last week in Germany, the Pope, quoting from a Medieval text, cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman."
Days later as word of the Pope’s speech spread, Muslims around the world responded with anger and violence despite the Vatican’s insistence that the Pope did not mean to offend anyone.
Benedict today explained further that the text he quoted did not reflect his personal opinion.
These [words] were in fact a quotation from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought,” Benedict told pilgrims at his summer palace outside Rome.
"The irony of this whole controversy is difficult to avoid, unless you close your mind," said an intelligence officer.
"Here we have people -- who demand to have Islam called a religion of peace -- firebombing churches, killing nuns and threatening death to the infidels," he said.
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