Green Energy
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Pope's principal adviser on Islam, said that while the majority of Muslim clerics condemned acts of terrorism, they needed to be more vocal about jihad, especially because of its frequent appearances in the Qur'an.
Could have fooled me. I don't think I have ever heard any Muslim clerics condemn Jihad. I've heard some Muslims condemn Jihad, but clerics? No.
From the Guardian:
The cardinal made the remarks after a lecture, given in London to an audience of students, Catholic clerics and figures from other religions. It was one of several public appearances during a rare visit to the UK.
He said: "In the Qur'an you have several interpretations of jihad - violent and holy. Most Muslims are condemning war made in the name of religion. The problem is that in the Qur'an you have good and bad jihad, so you choose.
"There is no worldwide authority who can interpret the Qur'an, so it depends on the person you have in front of you. Sometimes you should like religious authorities to be more outspoken about violence in the name of religion. But Muslims believe the Qur'an is the divine word of God, so it is a problem."
He said it would be "easier" if there were a single Islamic authority to negotiate with. "It's a great difficulty there are many voices of living Islam."
The cardinal is president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and has been tasked with improving relations between the Vatican and Islam.
Tauran, the former Vatican foreign minister, has not shied away from difficult issues since his 2007 appointment. He has criticised countries, notably Saudi Arabia, which do not allow freedom of religion.
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Green Energy
Pope's Senior Advisor On Islam: Muslim Clerics Need To Be More Vocal In Condmnation Of Jihad
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Pope's principal adviser on Islam, said that while the majority of Muslim clerics condemned acts of terrorism, they needed to be more vocal about jihad, especially because of its frequent appearances in the Qur'an.
Could have fooled me. I don't think I have ever heard any Muslim clerics condemn Jihad. I've heard some Muslims condemn Jihad, but clerics? No.
From the Guardian:
The cardinal made the remarks after a lecture, given in London to an audience of students, Catholic clerics and figures from other religions. It was one of several public appearances during a rare visit to the UK.
He said: "In the Qur'an you have several interpretations of jihad - violent and holy. Most Muslims are condemning war made in the name of religion. The problem is that in the Qur'an you have good and bad jihad, so you choose.
"There is no worldwide authority who can interpret the Qur'an, so it depends on the person you have in front of you. Sometimes you should like religious authorities to be more outspoken about violence in the name of religion. But Muslims believe the Qur'an is the divine word of God, so it is a problem."
He said it would be "easier" if there were a single Islamic authority to negotiate with. "It's a great difficulty there are many voices of living Islam."
The cardinal is president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and has been tasked with improving relations between the Vatican and Islam.
Tauran, the former Vatican foreign minister, has not shied away from difficult issues since his 2007 appointment. He has criticised countries, notably Saudi Arabia, which do not allow freedom of religion.
- Catholics And Muslims Begin Landmark Talks At Vatican
From Reuters: VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Senior Vatican and Islamic scholars launched their first Catholic-Muslim Forum on Tuesday to improve relations between the world's two largest faiths by discussing what unites and divides them.The three-day...
- Pope To Meet With Muslim Leaders
From Breitbart: VATICAN CITY (AP) - Catholic and Muslim representatives plan to meet in Rome in the spring to start a "historic" dialogue between the faiths after relations were soured by Pope Benedict XVI's 2006 comments about Islam and holy war,...
- Winds Of War: Do We Need A Caliph?
From The Gathering Storm The Muslim world demands an apology form the Pope. And who in the Muslim world can he apologize to? The USA Today’s opinion is:“There's no substitute for a good pope. What other religious leader can start a global...
- From Vatican Reporter:
At least one writer for Catholic press out of the Vatican is now saying that Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of backing down from his call for dialogue. This after another Vatican insider reportedly said that the Pope's reference to a dialogue...
- All Your Apologies Are Belong To Us
"Fadlallah, one of the world's top Shia Muslim clerics, said: "We demand that [the Pope] apologise personally" Pope Benedict XVI was last night facing angry demands from Muslims that he apologise for a speech in which he appeared to condemn the concept...