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Muslim Scholars Accept Pope's Statement
Muslim scholars from many countries accept pope's statement of regret over remarks on Islam

AMMAN, Jordan, Oct. 14, 2006
By SHAFIKA MATTAR Associated Press Writer


(AP) Dozens of Muslim scholars and chief muftis from numerous countries have accepted Pope Benedict XVI's statement of regret for his remarks on Islam and violence, the editor of a Muslim journal said Friday.

The scholars have signed an open letter that will be delivered to a Vatican envoy in the hopes of engaging the pope in a dialogue to counter prejudice against Islam, said the Jordanian-based editor of Islamica Magazine, Sohail Nakhooda.

Nakhooda said the leading clerics behind the letter were Sheik Habib Ali of the Taba Institute in the United Arab Emirates and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the special adviser to Jordan's King Abdullah II.

In a speech last month in his native Germany, the pontiff 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."

The citation provoked protests from Muslims across the world. The pope said the quotation did not reflect his personal view of Islam, and he expressed deep regret that Muslims had been offended by it. Some Muslim leaders had demanded a fuller apology.

Nakhooda said the 38 signatories to the letter accepted the pope's "personal expression of sorrow and assurance that the controversial quote did not reflect his personal opinion."

Nakhooda added the letter, which will be published on Islamica Magazine's Web site on Saturday, is "an attempt to engage with the papacy on theological grounds in order to tackle wide-ranging misconceptions about Islam in the Western world."

Nakhooda said signatories include the grand muftis of Egypt, Russia, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Oman, as well as the Iranian Shiite cleric Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Taskhiri, and Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr of Georgetown University.

Islamica Magazine is a quarterly whose headquarters are in Los Angeles.

Dear Michael,

Thank you for posting the article. The idea of a dialogue is wonderful, because within this dialogue the Pope will, or at least might be able to forward some Christian concepts. I especially liked the Pope saying that one cannot commit violence in the name of God.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the forgiveness of the Amish in Pennsylvania were to have been published in Islamic newspapers. I still cannot help but wonder if God used those poor martyred children so that His Holy Spirit would enlighten others in our fallen world.

Zenovia

My initial response is a cynical one. They are playing a PR game, and flat-out say so. They are willing to accept the pope's apology and to dialogue with him in order to dispel the myths surrounding Islam. What I read is that these leaders are seeing the irony of the Islamic reaction and feeling the heat, and being well-educated and less extreme, they realize that it is better for them in the long run to soften up their image, just like Bill Clinton softened up his image by wearing sweaters to town hall meetings some years ago. Then people can say the pope was wrong, he half-hearted apologized, but weren't those Muslims so wonderful to still be the bigger men and accept the apology and be willing to dialogue with the same guy who offended them? :rolleyes: And there is the added benefit of an avenue for putting out glossy sound bites that sound so swell that their image will be washed clean in the mainstream media. My prediction: 1 year, tops.

Of course, like Zenovia, I hope that a much deeper level of conversion and conversation takes place over the long term. I also have no doubt that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the ultimate Truth, and will be the ultimate Victor. And, I must admit that PR games and nicely packaged sound-bites is better than jihad. Even if they secretly support the extremists, they will be forced to separate themselves from them to some degree in order to have any standing in the political arena. This separation means less children being indoctrinated with extremism, which in the long term means more peace in the "peaceful" religion. I must admit that dialogue, however forced and superficial, is better than what we've had.

*Sighs*

Can't they just out and out admit they don't like him??? It would make the world so much simpler.

It seems to me that any dialogue which advances theological understanding between faiths deserves our unreserved prayerful support, as such cannot help but make the world a better, more tolerant place.

Many years,

Neil

Here is a copy of the open letter to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI:

http://pdftohtml.spiritofanime.com/pdf2html.php?url=http://www.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/000139//MuslimopenlettertoBenedict.pdf

I agree with Neil - I'd rather a dialogue with words than missles, bombs, bullets, swords and...planes.

Gordo