I would appreciate it if someone could tell me how one can have respect and take seriously a people's who can demand the extinction of another peoples, bash those people's religion, chide their lives as unclean and evil just because those people exist yet are so offended by someone saying something (which is as far as I can tell, true) negative about their own religion that they riot and threaten to kill every non beliver? Maybe I'm a dummy, but this reasoning escapes me.

hate and terror? i could go on, but we all know how the religion of "peace" is.

The US EU UN are relentless in pressuring Israel to persecute non-Muslims. 10,000 Gaza and north Samaria Jews were ruthlessly rendered jobless and homeless, their land and businesses seized for PA/PLO-Hamas terrorists - Jewish land in exchange for war. Christians had their human rights cruelly destroyed via the Oslo peace accords which gave PLO terrorists control over Christians in Palestinian Authority areas. Which people and which country are designated next for vicious, severe punishment for the "crime" of not being Muslim? A Christmas without Christians By Abraham H. Miller FrontPageMagazine.com | December 16, 2005 Since the Palestinian Authority’s takeover of Bethlehem in 1995, under the Oslo Accords with Israel, Bethlehem has been transformed from a Christian city into a Muslim city. Bethlehem’s remaining Christians now live in a condition of dhimmitude (a reference to the second-class citizenship Islam imposes on Christians) in the city of Jesus’ birth. The Palestinians brought with them a political system based on primitive tribal relations, where the power of one’s clan became a substitute for the law. As a consequence, Christians have suffered civil outrage and criminal violence without recourse to justice. Christians have been refusing to live under these conditions and have been leaving Bethlehem in large numbers. ....the Orwellian message of the American Arab Anti-discrimination Committee (AADC) that held a candle lighting vigil on November 29, 2005 for Bethlehem’s Christians at San Francisco’s Union Square... Muslims in Bethlehem make the lives of Christians unbearable and force them to flee their ancestral homes while Muslims in America hold a vigil to blame the Jews. To understand how the Christians became a minority and the victims of thuggery in the city of Jesus’ birth, it is important to see just what Arafat did to Bethlehem once he got his hands on it. In 1995, Yasser Arafat gained control of Bethlehem and immediately expanded its municipal boundaries to include 30,000 Muslims living in neighboring refugee camps. Next, Muslim Bedouins living east of Bethlehem were incorporated into revised municipal boundaries. All this was still not enough for the PA to change the status of Bethlehem as a Christian city. But then Arafat created inducements for Muslims to leave Hebron and the area around it and move to Bethlehem. With Arafat’s government by clan, by gun, and by terror, a land Mafia developed that began expropriating land from Christians. In 2002, two Christian teenage sisters were found with their throats slit and their genitals mutilated. Muslims claimed the Amer sisters were prostitutes, as if that were justification for torture and murder. But Christians familiar with similar incidents claim the girls were murdered to cover up a gang rape. Of course, none of this appears in the AADC’s call for the candlelight vigil that is also designed to showcase the AADC’s divestment campaign against Israel. Now totaling less than 12% of Bethlehem’s population, Christians, who have been the targets of continual PA violence, might leave entirely. The result will be that in the place where Jesus was born there will no longer be a Christian community. In the West Bank town of Taibe marauding Muslims burned, looted and beat Christian residents in the name of a Muslim family’s “honor,” a family whose father had brutally beaten his daughter to death for wanting to marry a Christian. The violent Muslim mob burned a statue of the Virgin Mary and shouted, “Burn the Crusaders!” PA fire and security forces took their time arriving on the scene, appearing hours later. In the end, the mob was almost immediately released from jail. Meanwhile, the Christian fiancée of the murdered woman was arrested and beaten while incarcerated. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20567

There NEVER was an Arab country of Palestine. Jerusalem was NEVER the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. In the 1948 Islamic invasion and illegal occupation of the Jewish Holy Land, Jordan destroyed 58 sacred synagogues in Jerusalem. Since 1996, Rachel's Tomb, near Bethlehem, has been attacked by Muslim snipers, bombs and Molotov cocktails. In October 2000, Muslims torched and destroyed the ancient synagogue in Jericho. In 2005, Muslims desecrated and destroyed sacred Gaza synagogues. Joseph is the beloved Bible hero of Jews and Christians. Muslims murdered IDF soldiers at Joseph's Tomb. Muslim mobs BURNED BIBLES and Jewish prayer books that gave praise and glory to the One great G-D, and destroyed the Tomb. In the Islamic invasion and filthy desecration of Jesus Christ' birthplace, Church of Nativity, BIBLES were TORN UP for TOILET PAPER. Inscribed in the Bibles are the Laws G-D gave to Moses; the Laws our Western civilization is founded on: Exodus 20: "You shall not murder" "You shall not commit adultery" "You shall not steal" "You shall not bear false witness" "You shall not covet" Exodus 21:16 "He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death" Leviticus 24:17 "If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death" Global Islamists seek the total destruction of Western civilization. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Hebrew Bible, not once in the Koran. G-D designated the Temple Mount to the Jews for His worship and prayer only. Muslims on the Temple Mount repeatedly engage in massive rock throwing at Jews, turning the HOLIEST place on earth into a common place of violence! Muslims have perpetrated massive desecration and destruction at Judaism's HOLIEST site, the Temple Mount. The OFFENSE to G-D is enormous! The Temple Mount must be returned to its Jewish owners immediately!

Stop slandering my Pope. He is God's representative on earth, and he holds the keys to heaven and hell.

the Arabs are afraid of the Pope telling the truth about Islam? Could it be that they fear what the christian world will do to them? Perhaps, the Pope needs to become even more involved in this clash of civilizations.

"Speaking to Ynet, Sarsur said the pope did not apologize to Muslims." Why do you want an apology from your enemies? Actor Mel Gibson launches a tirade against "the Jews" and the ADL demands an apology. I don't want my enemy to apolgize when he insults my faith. Why should I? The pope insults Islam and some Muslims demand an apology. Isn't this a sign of insecurity?

More like a war of civilization against muHAMedans

and their so-called *suicide* bombers... and their wars against the Africans in places such as Somalia and Sudan ... who does that #$%^& think he is to demand an apology from the religious leader of one sixth of the globe's population??

Initially had sympathy for muslims over popes naive remarks- come guys , you need to chill out- take a holiday. If he succeeds in opening a debate then great. Any violence in the name of religion is the ultimate evil. Bush and Ismamic fundamentalism are equally sick; our world is now being run by fanatics on both sides.

but you owe us a lot of apologies for your worshiping and committing crimes in the name of your pedophile, mass murderer Muhammad. better yet, come to faithfreedom.org and prove us Islam is the true religion. if you succeed you will win 50.000$ and no more Islam bashing from us.

Premises: I am NOT Cristian, nor I belong to the "religions of the Book" But, anyway, I read carefully the speech of the Pope TWICE, to understand where is the offence to the Islam. The only guy that pronounced bad words about it is the bizantine Emperor, and since Manuele Paleolog II is dead long time ago cannot be subjected to fatwa nor can make apologies. The rest of Pope speech (nearly 70%) is AGAINST violence in the name of G-d, as violence and conversion through violence is against reason, and G-d can't be against reason. It seems that it is more important, for those Arabs, to get apologies, showing off a sort of Islamic ethic superiority, than confronting with reality.

Do Islamists not fear Master of the Universe, the G-D of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who gave the Promised Land to Jews? Exodus 9:1 Thus says the L-RD, the G-d of the Hebrews, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me" Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh said, "Who is the L-RD that I should obey His voice" On March 27, 2002, at the Park Hotel in Netanya, terrorists targeted for murder Jews honoring and thanking G-D for His great mercy: Exodus 12:14 “you shall celebrate it as a feast to the L-RD” Exodus 12:42 “It is a night to be observed for the L-RD for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the L-RD, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.” The Muslim human bomb killer murdered 30 Israelis as the Jews obeyed G-D, taking part in the Passover meal. 140 Jewish innocents were injured. The bomb was filled with nails and other metal pieces to maximize the suffering of survivors. On August 19, 2003, terrorists targeted for murder Jews who worship G-D. The Muslim human bomb killer blew himself up on the bus as Jews returned from prayer at the Western wall. The Temple Mount, the holiest place on earth, is Judaism's holiest site. The gruesome attack-the bomb packed with metal pieces, killed 22 Jews and injured 134, many seriously. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Hebrew Bible, not once in the Koran. If Jesus Christ had lived in our day, from the time Jesus was in his mother's womb, he would be targeted for murder by IslamoFascist religious supremacists for being a Jew living in his homeland of Israel. The Palestinian Authority hailed as heroes the terrorists who brutally murdered defenseless 8 months pregnant Jewish Gaza mother, Tali Hatuel, and four little daughters in Gush Katif in May 2004. In defiance of Israel's G-D, and massively breaking G-D's law given to Moses: "YOU SHALL NOT MURDER" the Palestinian Authority teach through their mosques, media, summer camps, and public education system, that murdering Jews is a religious obligation. Human bomb killers of Jewish innocents are revered and considered heroes by PA society. Effigies of burning buses are features of PA school pageants and summer camps. Streets and soccer teams are named after suicide bombers. Broadcast from Gaza mosque, Oct 13 2000, Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya, on Palestinian Authority TV (transcribed by Memri): "Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them. Wherever you are, kill those Jews and those Americans who are like them..."

The Christians had never heard about the cartoons. There is no mercy for innocents. WorldNetDaily.com 130 Christians murdered over cartoons Muslim rioters rampage through Nigerian villages February 24, 2006 Muslim rioters, incensed over the cartoons of Muhammad published in Denmark, were responsible for killing at least 130 Christians on the streets of Maiduguri and Onitsha in Nigeria, according to reports filtering out of the country from Voice of the Martyrs. At least 51 Christians are confirmed dead in the Maiduguri attacks that took place Saturday. In the rampage, more than 150 homes and 32 churches were burned, and 85 shops were destroyed. Authorities were finally able to control the volatile scene after arresting 114 and having militia enforce a curfew. The mayhem began when Muslims staged their demonstration against degrading caricatures of Muhammad that were originally published in September 2005 by the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten. Even though the cartoons were by no means a Christian attack on Islam, Muslims in Nigeria and throughout the world have turned their rage toward Christians – many of whom have never even heard of the controversial sketches, reports Voice of the Martyrs. Muslims were reported running through the streets of Maiduguri threatening people with death and violence if they did not speak their local dialect. Many of the dozens of victims were publicly tortured to death in the city streets. Amidst the violence, six children were burned to ashes in front of their father, Joseph Tukwa, who was unable to rescue them. Six Christian leaders, including the Rev. Joshua Adamu, were injured and are now in hiding. Church of Christ in Nigeria, Living Faith Church, Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, St. Augustine's Catholic Church and St. Mary's Catholic Church were some of the churches set ablaze by rioters, who killed two Catholic priests. St. Rita's Catholic Church was also torched. The Rev. Fr. Matthew Gajere was murdered and then burned after he helped several altar boys escape to safety. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48973

Dear Editor, How transparent and foolish can one Pope be? It is obvious to me that he was too much of a sissy to express his own anti-Muslim views. So, he had to use a surrogate; an alter ego of some long dead soul. Worse yet, the dead man could not, even if he wanted to, defend himself or explain what HE meant, being quite extinct. Then, and this is the amazing part, this simple Pope thought he would get away with this ploy hardly befitting a 5 year old child. He pointed the finger elsewhere, claiming a "noble purpose" for his words like "I was only trying to open a dialoged ". . . along with other thin excuses. Well, if you want to open a dialog, why not call up the people to whom you want to talk and invite them to your little dialog? That's the way it is done, eh? The Pope was not issuing an invitation, now was he? He was expressing his personal vitriolic and negative view on another religion [read that as "the Competition"] in a cowardly way. OK. Agree? But, I must ask my Muslim brothers and sisters, after expressing their point of view, to let this Pope off this time. He has spent most of his adult life in the circular reasoning of Catholic dogma. This means he lost the ability to think. He lost touch with the real world long ago. He now sees a pretend world of his own construction, like a self hypnosis or self induced hallucination. He has a limited mental capacity, even though he is a Pope. Can you see this and pity a man with such defective mentation? So I say to you: "It is bad form on the part of Muslims who, realizing the Pope's obvious limitations, to bash him without end." Let's put this one to bed. I have a funny feeling the Pope's "babysitters" won't let it happen again. What do you say? May these words produce health, peace, stillness and happiness in my readers, Amen. Dr. Paul Tuthill

If I were to have any criticism of the Pope, it would be to say that he lacks the guts to have an all out confrontation with the followers of "the religion of peace". The reactions of muslims to any form of perceived or real attack on their religion is at best criminal. They hope to dominate the world through threats and violence. Their day will come!

Those Islamist need to smoke some weed or get laid from time to time to calm down their savage behaviour.

The best answer I have heard is what the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS printed after Pres. Chavez's remarks at the UN. We welcome him returning to his country and to take the UN with him.

The highly charged reaction from the Muslim world simply strengthens the perceived argument of the pope. This is not a stupid or blind man...one does not go out and try to enrage the Muslim world for fun or on purpose. What we simply have here is a difference of interpretation and a communicational gap. People lets stop bickering over a couple of perhaps poorly chosen words. Lets all start practicing what we preach and what all our religions tell us and live together in PEACE!!

a fight.

TYPICAL CULTURE OF HATE AND BLAME LIBERAL MOONBAT.SELF-AGGRANDIZING "FEEL GOOD NOW BUNKY?"MENTALITY!!!! USEFUL IDIOT FOR THE ISLAMICFASCIST RELIGIOUS BIGOTS,SAME OLD TIRED RETHORIC (AGENDA OF OBLIVIOUSNESS TO TERROR)GO BACK TO SLEEP,OXYMORON.

IGNORANCE IS NOT TO BLAME FOR THE INANE BLABBING OF THIS "M P" JUST PLAIN ASININE RETHORIC COUPLED WITH GIGUNDO STUPIDITY.

the irony of the "no to crusades" banners is great... considering Muhammad led the first crusade ever... one that he led by the sword at that...

this corn pope without sault

The Pope didn't criticize or insult Muslims, he was merely showing what Christian, not Catholic, feeling was to Islam during the 14th Century. This situation is also a good example of how people persecute Catholics based on what the pope says. Just because he says it doesn't mean all Catholics follow it. The truth is , generally speaking, is that Catholics wish to help their Jewish Brothers and Sisters in the fight against Militant Fundamentalist Islam.

Islamo-fascist belong in Gaza, Damaskus, Teheran and Beirut. Bring loyal minorities in Israel closer to mainstraim Israel and kick out all the "peace-loving" followers of Hitler.

Can't they read - the pope was quoting someone else - he even started the sentence with "I quote ....". Do they want him to apologize for a quote from hundreds of years ago?

Benny 16 is doing his job. By saying that reason and violence don't mix in religions he is positioning the Catholic Church for when the violent, irrationa Muslims continue their attacks. He knows the jihadists are continuing their war and is preparing for it. Quotes don't count so much as the billion person Church taking a stand against Extremist islam.