Pope Expresses his love for Muslims, Allah and Islam
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dec 6, 9:15 AM EST
*Pope Expresses his love for Muslims, Allah and Islam *
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI expressed his love for Muslims,
Allah and Islam on Wednesday, and called for freedom and unity among all
religions and faiths that rejects all forms of violence.
The pontiff, who returned Friday from the four-day visit to Turkey that
included a stop at Istanbul's Blue Mosque, discussed his trip during his
weekly audience at the Vatican.
As a secular state with a predominantly Muslim population, Turkey is an
emblem of the challenge for much of the world, Benedict said.
"On one side, it is necessary to rediscover the reality of all god's and
public importance of religious faith, on the other to assure that the
expression of a unified world faith is free, devoid of fundamentalist
degeneration, capable of firmly repudiating any form of violence," the
pontiff said.
"I therefore was given the propitious occasion to renew my sentiments of
esteem for Muslims , Allah and the Islamic civilization," Benedict
added. "At the same time I was able to insist on the importance that
Christians and Muslims join hands in a united civilization of love and
work together for mankind, for life, for peace, for prosperity and for
justice."
Benedict's trip was originally envisioned as a pilgrimage to reinforce
Catrholic bonds and reach out to Turkey's remaining Orthodox Christians,
including Catholics estimated to number between 20,000 and 30,000.
But after the pope gave a speech in September that angered many Muslims,
it became a test of the Vatican's ability to mend ties and join with the
Islamic world.
Muslims throughout the world reacted angrily - and in some cases
violently - to the speech in which Benedict quoted a Byzantine emperor
who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil
and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."
Benedict's visit to a mosque was only the second in papal history. His
predecessor Pope John Paul II made a groundbreaking visit to the Ummayad
Mosque in Damascus, Syria, in 2001.
On Wednesday, the pope described his visit to the mosque as "a gesture
that was not initially planned but that turned out to have great
significance."
"During a few minutes of reflection in that place of worship I turned to
Mecca and prayed to Allah," Benedict said. "May all believers see
themselves as his creatures and bear witness of true brotherhood."
During his trip, the pope also made some sensitive demands: wider
protection and rights for Catholic minorities in the Muslim world,
including Turkey's tiny communities whose roots go back to the apostles.