The head of Germany's Central Council of Muslims responded this week to Pope Benedict XVI's recent comments about Islamic radicalism, citing the Roman Catholic Church's own troubled historical record, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on 14 September 2006.
Aiman Mazyek pointed to forced conversions in South America, the Crusades, the Church's compromised relationship with Hitler's regime, and the medieval origins of the term 'holy war' as reasons the Church should refrain from criticizing extremism in other faiths.
Despite that criticism, Mazyek said he did not interpret the pope's remarks as branding Islam an inherently violent religion. He read them instead as a warning against groups that exploit Islam as cover for extremist aims, adding that such exploitation must not be tolerated.
Benedict made the comments during a six-day visit to Germany, telling an academic audience at Regensburg University that violence contradicts the nature of God. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed the pope had no intention of characterizing Islam as a violent faith, describing the remarks as a broader reflection on religion and violence.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.