EGYPT: Sheikh urged to invite Pope Benedict XVI to Egypt to apologize for Islamic comments that caused Muslim outrage

Sheikh of Al-Azhar in Egypt, Sunni Islam's highest institution of learning, on Tuesday (September 19, 2006) called on the Pope to issue a clear apology for comments he made about Islam last week that have caused outrage in the Muslim world. Speaking during a visit to his offices by a delegation from the Vatican embassy in Cairo, Sheikh Mohammad Sayyid al-Tantawi called on the Pope to make clear that the offending quotation he cited in a speech on Tuesday were not his own words. The Vatican delegation also suggested that Sheikh Tantawi invite the Pope to come to Al-Azhar to deliver a speech as a way to promote dialogue. The Pontiff said on Sunday (September 17) he was deeply sorry Muslims had been offended by his use of a medieval quotation on Islam and holy war. But he stopped short of retracting a speech seen as portraying Islam as a religion tainted by violence. The Pope had referred to criticism of the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus. The emperor said everything Mohammad brought was evil and inhuman "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". Tantawi, who had largely remained silent on the matter until Tuesday, now says the Pope's apology was not sufficient. "Frankly we are saying that he must give a clear apology, and that what he said was taken from someone else and that to say I'm sorry that I didn't comment on what he said and I should do that, because if he didn't comment that means that he said it - he is the one who said it," said Tantawi. The Vatican delegation to al-Azhar was led by the Representative of the Catholic Patriarch in Egypt, Father Yuhanna Qulta. A delegation from Al-Azhar is due to visit the Vatican later this year. Father Qulta suggested in last week's speech Pope Benedict may simply have been illustrating the difference in the dialogue between religions in the Middle Ages and now. "In his declaration he said this is not being expressed by the Church, but probably the Pope wanted to provide a picture of the difficult dialogue in the Middle Ages between the two religions, which must be changed in this era. Maybe, maybe," he said. Sheikh Tantawi said today that in a lecture that was supposed to be about Christianity, the Pope had no reason to insert into his speech negative historical views on Islam in Catholicism. "Now he is speaking about Christianity, so why insert this bad interpretation of Islam?" said Tantawi. Also in Egypt Tuesday, a parliamentary committee called for the expulsion of the Vatican envoy. The committee said the Pope had committed "a reprehensible crime" in his speech. Father Qilta said he hoped that the dialogue they were engaging in would be part of a process of satisfying the offended sensibilities of Muslims. "We are trying to heal what has been broken with a dialogue and hopefully we will progress. And a great effort is being made to satisfy the Muslims and make them happy," he said. The Pope said on Sunday he might elaborate on the crisis on Wednesday (September 20), when he gives a regular public audience at St Peter's in the Vatican before large crowds of pilgrims.

ITN Source | September 19, 2006

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