The Pope says sorry.........!

What are your views on his statement and/or his subsequent apology to the muslim world?.

Oh sorry i thought "THE POPE SAYS SORRY" was the title of a poem my mistake
I dont get into debate on religion /politicsetc.

Sorry
bye

I think that he shouldn't say sorry, whatever happened to freedom of speech, every one has got a right to be heard although not everybody has the right to be taken seriously! If thats what he thinks then i agree with him! He should not apologise! It isn't his fault that the people he offended are so touchy, although they say much worse and i think all that he said was that they were violent which is true!

I am not a racist and you obviously by you previous statement not only are a kangaroo court but obviously have no idea what you are talking about as what I am on about has nothing to do with your race but your religion, and can i say i am very open-minded but the people who have a problem with what the pope said are very small-minded!
I am sorry if you find my words offensive! But i found your words harsh and possibly even cruel!

In addition to my previous post i would like to say that do not pre judge people and believe that every-one is what we make them! I think every-one is equal! Blacks, Whites, Asians, Americans ect. I do not judge people on their colour of their skin or their beliefs, therefore i do not expect some-one else to challenge my beliefs. Although you can challenge what i think! I will only challenge what you think!!

If you can't handle my wrath please do not speak harshly to me!

That is what i don't understand! The qua'ran preaches peace and for you not to harm others, and so do all the religious books, yet still many religious people are violent!

With current world and politics the way it is today I think what he said was irresponsible and untrue. However it was also taken out of context by the media, I am a Muslim and when I first heard it I was upset, extremely upset actually. Then I did some further research and discovered he was actually quoting someone else's opinion, not his own nor that of the Catholic church...once again we have the media to blame for blowing things out of proportion and breeding more contempt and disespect for people of Islamic faith.

Esther: Its not only the Quran that preaches peace, tolerance and acceptance it is all the semetic religions. The Quran is a combination of both the Torah, and the bible with the additional word of the Prophet Mohummad (pbuh) as the third and final instalment.

I do not believe in the media, and can i say that i did put all the religious groups, and when i say they or them i am on about all people who are violent or terrorists not just one religion! The meadia can not spoon feed me nor any-one ese! But I think the muslim community (ya happy?) are taking this too far, and yes it is the muslim community thats doiing it!

I am sorry but I would have to agree with both parties. I agree with Esther because from what I can see she has made her freedom to say what she said, however, I do not agree with someone of high standing like the Pope dehumanize Moslems.

From my view point I believe that Islam has become nothing more than a piniata (Hope I spelt that correctly)to the world. Everyone is welcome to bash it with a stick.

Bullying at it's finest.

Why am I being insulted? For my opinion? And to all those people who take things out of context! If you actaully read everything that the pope said, it wasn't anything remotely offensive! It is up to individuals to interpret things differently, and i am not saying the ira is okay, hitler, or irak! Infact i think these things are disgusting, but that is not what we are dicussing! I admit lots of people are prejudice about certain religions but i am not!

esther told me to agree wiv her lol :p but instead ill have some free speach too :p lol wipee! in my opinion, there race is quite good, and unlike some religions they do not force it upon yo which is great, they defend there religion which is ace, yes, they use some war for this, but its not so you will JOIN its so you respect it. And that french newspaper didn't help.

the pope probibly dosn't want to appoladgise though, because that is what HE beleive in, and is a highly worshiped pope (old one was better :p bless him!) though the opinion shouldn't be him, i miss the old pope :( and.. im ment to agree with esther so... i won't say anything else lol.

and as for all the media things, yes the media is evil, and its brain washed alot of peoples, but esthers not racist at all! shes simply using the resorces she has, and trying to make scence of them.

p.s are we really alloud to talk about religion hear?

p.p.s sorry for my spelling mistakes and typo's :s

and... you didn't have to be mean to esther, :s and and... i didn't read the whole thing through, am a little bit lazy lol am terrible! but i think its about the pope saying sorry?

You know there was someone (trying to remember who cause it was years ago) that predicted that this pope would cause world war three and he also predicted 9/11. Scary thought. Im not a catholic and so...
Plus I was in Rome the other month and one of the catherdrals had a gift shop! HA!
As for the pope opinion-I really could not give a rats and I do not understand why, in a day and age such as this the "pope" should even still exist.

and :o Wintersolstice that is so intresting! the third world war, i know this may sound REALLY , REALLY sick, but it's kinda cool to be a part of history, i know it sounds sick, i carn't help been who i am :( and... war's kinda bring people closer together, but... it's cool if theres not a war :D lol sorry for been sick, i just carn't help it :)

p.s the cathedral in england, wakefield, also has a gift shop, just thought i'd mention :)

Nuovo, I'll ask you nicely to not be so bluntly insulting to other members of this site when their opinions do not reflect your own, no matter how righteous you think they are. Calling someone Ignorant and foolish, and then suggesting they are rascist is just about the worst way a person could choose to put their point across. Not very clever either.

It is also interesting to note that you pour derision on the Catholic religion whilst at the same time, procrastinating second hand information from "ancient" tribes who fortell our terrible future with the upmost faith without the slightest whisper of proof.

If you really want to communicate with people and share your knowledge and opinions, the poorest way to succeed at that is by insult and condemnation. You will at best, effect only a temporary change out of fear or shame in the same manner as the well documented punishment/reward psychology school of thought.

Get off the high horse man. Oh I find it amusing that you are 15 and you have the nerve to call a girl of 14 a child....that is, well, a clear indication of a need to grow up a little bit.

"A mind all logic is like a knife all blade, it cuts the hand of the person to use it.

[I forget who said it]

Peace is a war.

Esther - for someone who doesnt listen to the media and then claims its the Muslim community taking this too far - I pose you the question "How many Muslims do you know and associate with to base this judgement upon"
I mean Im assuming you know plenty and are quite involved in there communities and educated on our beliefs to make such a statement completely unbaised towards media influence...?

And Bob THANKYOU for your thoughts I agree with many of your points!

Wintersolstice - I believe your speaking of Nostradamus :o)

RELIGION IS NOT TERRORIST
PEOPLE ARE...

ur right no religion preaches terroism it is people that are terroists not a religion. I used to have a friend that was a muslim, an asylum seeker, who came to England from Irak. We got on very well, but i moved schools. I am not a muslim or deeply involved in any religion, but i do believe that god exsists!

I do not believe in the media because how can millions of people want to blow themselves up? I think that is just a few deranged pysho paths!

Yes i do have many friends from different back-grounds, races, religions and cultures! Cya!

I don't think anyone should be branded as a terrorist or a racist, based on their ethnicity or lack there of (Lmao only joking about the last part).

It is funny how in this politically correct time, people use such words nowadays.

Esther: I think that your words to do not infact make you wrong, but the way you put it across.

Islam today I am not in agreement with, but one thing that should never mix is politics and religion, they make a deadly pair.

As you can see...

I am glad the Pope apologized to the Muslim world.

yes so am I, but i am not sure why he should!

“I heard in the news today: 'not all Muslims are terrorists, but so far, all terrorists have been Muslims'.

More like, 'all terrorists we have reported or manipulated the story to make them look like terrorists are Muslims.'”

- It’s unbelievable, isn’t it; what the media is trying to do to us?
I took the popes comment to great offence and I don’t usually listen to petty remarks, but his comment was indeed ‘outdated’ and uncivil. Yet, is it just me or is it absolutely gay for ‘quoting from a medieval text’ when commenting on the Muslim society today. I mean, he knows exactly what is corrupting Islam and it is people like him with their obsolete remarks.

And Nuovo, I couldn’t agree with you more:
‘Therefore, the thought must have been impure and with bad intention. He always looked evil. That's what serving Hitler probably does to people. The superpowers want to provoke some sort of mass war. And they're succeeding so far’.

There was a Philosopher called Nostradamus who predicted a third world war in this time period. I do not know his precise prophecies, but of what I can remember my brother telling me was that war would soon fall upon the Western world, yet they would eventually manage to shift it all the way across to the East. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that is what’s happening. Literally.

Oh, and Esther- you are an f’ing racist.
I’m sorry. Was that ‘offensive’? Hey, it doesn’t matter though- I don’t have to apologise because I didn’t upset you, right?

…Point is- that is exactly what the Pope did. 'Quoted from a medieval text' (my foot) and forced such offence on innocent Muslims all around the world. And you say, ‘freedom of speech’? Fine, lets all go out there and call every black dude on the face of the earth a ‘nigger’, every white dude a ‘tosser’ and every Asian dude a ‘paki’. Why not? I mean, it’s ‘freedom of speech’, isn’t it?

Really, I didn’t know people consisted THAT much stupidity. It must come naturally.

In the words of Bob Shank: “You need to start studying history before making such asinine statements”. Try taking that in to account. You might just save yourself from being humiliated in front of everyone.

You heard the words of the pope. But you clearly did not LISTEN to them...

-Elsyium.

There's some interesting pionts being made here... I intend to sit on the fence for a while and watch. However, i wanna say this....nice to see Bob shank and his views back on this site.

Bob Shank, I LOVE you. Everything I wanted to say was basically summed up in words ten times better. =)

Esther- So help me God if I ever knew a person I loathed more than an idiotic, rascist, Close-minded person like you.

I already discussed this thorougly with others in another forum, and so i'll re-post some things here:

The western world and the media in particular, is deeply immersed into Islamophobia. Perhaps the key rule being forgotten is that if one wants to live peacefully, one must let others live peacefully too. I was deeply angered by the Pope's views, but not surprised.

The Quran urges reasoned faith and strongly forbids coercion in religion. The only violence urged in the Quran is in self-defense of the Muslim community against the attempts of the pagan Meccans to wipe it out.

"The pope was trying to make the point that coercion of conscience is incompatible with genuine, reasoned faith. He used Islam as a symbol of the coercive demand for unreasoned faith. But he has been misled by the medieval polemic on which he depended. In fact, the Quran also urges reasoned faith and also forbids coercion in religion. The only violence urged in the Quran is in self-defense of the Muslim community… The Pope was wrong on the facts. He should apologize."

The pope also says that in Islam, God is so transcendant that he is beyond reason and therefore cannot be expected to act reasonably. He contrasts this conception of God with that of the Gospel of John, where God is the Logos, the Reason inherent in the universe.

Christianity itself has a long history of imposing coerced faith on people, including on pagans in the late Roman Empire, who were forcibly converted. And then there were the episodes of the Crusades.

I don't understand how he could come to quoting from mid-evil text, knowing how offensive such words are to Muslims. And no it is not an "Overreaction" to a petty issue. It is a huge conflict in our eyes, and it is not a matter of 'freedom of speech' being discussed here. He was asking for it the minute the words came off his tongue. What happened when a cartoonist from Denmark insulted our prophet? I don't even think his apology should be accepted from the way he provoked such a controversy.

Yes, I am Muslim.