"Islam is a religion of peace - and we'll cut off your head and rape your children if you say otherwise!" The standard reaction of Islam to any perceived criticism. Is there anyone elese who sees the problem with this reaction? The Pope should not be apologizing. His lecture was about ethics and a return to Christianity - and it was a lecture to Germans. Moreover, every word he said about Islam (even if only quoting) was the truth, as both the Muslim texts and Muslims themselves prove time and time again. Islam is an imperialistic, expansionist and violent system of oppression, obsessed with death. Read the Koran. Read the Hadiths. Read the Siras. KNOW YOUR ENEMY!

what is this dream world you live in? can I join too? I want to escape from reality just like you do, tell me how? Is it just converting before the blow of the sword? Or do I have to do it willingly? What if I am a girl am I screwed? I have heard a girls reality sounds much worse and checking out of reality would be awfuly tough, would your way work for me too? Seeing that you obviously care for us whom the sword is pointed at, could you please share how this all works in your great big dream world? Hurry! I fear the end is near. NOYFL AH

IF you want to prove the Holy Father wrong, show him that Islam is truly a religion of peace and against violence. Don't demonstrate like animals. Don't kill innocent Christians. Don't torch their homes and churches, then maybe we will start to believe you.

I respect your response and I hope all muslims will approach controversy like you did, in a civilized manner. Muslims need to understand that words, no matter what, cannot be countered with violence. The civilized world will not tolerate that. The only comment I want to make about what you said is that your second to last sentence carries a hidden threat and promotes violence. I wish you had left that out.

Why don't you just stay right there in New York, observing. You're such an expert on religion now arent you? Have you even opened the Koraan and tried to read it? Have you ever attended a well-spoken Muslim Khotbah? You are pathetic

When a Muslim kills a Muslim,or says something against a Muslim its okay.No protests and no bombs.But when a Christian or a Jew says something against the Muslims they bomb,burn and get violent,thats okay. When the Islamic terrorists,bomb,kill, and massacre human beings.They the Muslim world dont say a word.

If the current Catholic Church behaved like the jihadists, sure it would have your approval. And you talk as if Islam had always been pacifist from the very first. Fortunately, the Church has changed whereas jihadists have always been barbarians and still are. So abortion is progressive, huh? And I bet euthanasia is also progressive, isn’t it? In which way do abortion and euthanasia make people to be more humane? Or do you call it progress to do what you want, ignoring any kind of principles. Anyway, what do you care about what the Pope says about abortion? You are not obliged to listen to him. By the way, do you think violence to impose a faith is progressive? Is it progressive to cut heads off, to stone people to death, to blow oneself up murdering others, to torch churches and kill people over a few cartoons and a Pope’s words? Tell us how all of this enhances human rights and the human being. Go ahead, don’t be shy.

When some Muslems attack other religions verbally, I do not see violent reactions to these verbal attacks. It seems to me that the Muslems have some kind of right to behave in violent manner whenever someone critizes them.. Please could anyone (including Muslems) inform me where it stated that such a behaviour is accepted.

Amir salamat, I must agree, you are trying to make a slightly more objective analysis, or rather, expressing your true feelings vis-a-vis this huge amount of fundamentalist Islamic violence, although you do not mention Ahmadinajad's express wish to wipe Israel off the map, hence it seems you condone it or simply do not care. It is obvious that you are a frustrated person because of what's going on inside Muslim communities the world over, namely, a lot of blind violence, lawlessness and total disregard for the everyday human being ( Muslim, and especially others ). Pope B-16 has only mentioned a historical quotation, unfortunate and unfit as it was, and immediately the Muslim world has been led again by its nose by their corrupt and violent politicians to vociferously protest, yell, threaten, burn churches, kill and get killed. Who and what is better ? On the other hand, your immense "expertise" regarding Jewish OLIM returning to their multi-millenial Jewish homes only from Europe is wrong again. Many more Jews than the Europeans actually made ALYA from all the Arab, Persian and Muslim countries from Indonesia to Iran and from Iraq to Mauritania. How about that ?

I was born a "christian" but that did nothing to make me a christian, I turned out to be about as evil as a human can get... I somehow through God's Grace, became a real chrisian and I have been letting God work on my sinful nature, to set me free. I love Israel not because they are good, but because they are His Chosen People, which I see by your hatred you are probably not. Sorry, but being born a christian doesn't make one a follower of christ, but hate makes one godless, always.

Be very careful. Are you condoning Islamic violence? Do you think they will spare you if given the opportunity to wipe out Israel? Trust me. They may hate the Pope, but they hate you more. Do you really wanna be the one encouraging muslims to commit another holocaust? THINK ABOUT THAT.

The Pope's remarks are true, Just ask Fox news reporters Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig who were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint on video,. A video being shown prominently throughout the Muslim world as if it was some sort of accomplishment or victory. Those reporters would have done or said anything to get out alive. Palestinians have a lot of nerve protesting with their hypocritical outrage as they force conversion to Islam by the sword, gun etc....just ask Steve Centanni or Olaf Wiig. Also, the Palestinians have no understanding of democracy regardless of the "Democratic election of Hamas" Democracy means allowing freedom of speech, of opinion, of religion. And respecting each others opinion or point of view. To agree to disagree peacefully. To not try to control people's lives, making their decisions for them, denying their free will. If anyone says or does anything that they do not agree with and "there goes the neighborhood." If there was no Israeli occupation then Palestine would be an oppressive police state run by a terrorist militia, it certainly would not be a democracy. Just yesterday Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah tells a rally that "Jerusalem will be the capital of the new Muslim caliphate." Did Israel's protest or attack any Mosques? No Israelis & Jews pretty much ignored him but left his freedom of speech intact. He made far worse & more inflammatory comments than the Pope. The silence coming from moderate Muslims is deafening. If they don't make a stand some time soon or make their presence felt they doom themselves.

THANK YOU BENEDICT, YOU ARE AMAZING ! DO NOT BE UPSET ! MY HASHEM BLESS YOU AND PROTECT YOU !

There's nothing surprising about the attack on Churches..It happens with politics..when a President of the US says something that upset another nation, then you'll find the other people attacking the American Embassy. Well, the Church is the Christian Embassy sort of..so nothing much has changed really. You can't expect to insult the fastest-growing religion in the world (2nd most populous) and get away with it.

Even if that was as you say, why do you think to have the right to destroy property and kill people when you feel offended? What if we took to behead Muslims and torch mosques every time you offend us?

I absolutely agree with you. We have to stop this evil thing. And the sooner, the better.

My belief as a Muslim in the true Christianity and Judaism is derived from my belief in my God and Muhammad. My belief in the true Christianity and Judaism - I can say - is stronger than the belief of any Christian or Jew. That is why I can never hint by any offense whatsoever to any of these religions, and that is the difference that you find it hard to understand. If I criticize one belonging to these two religions or belonging to my own, I would criticize only his acts; not his belief or faith. When anyone, Muslim or Non-muslim, unjustly kills another human we - Muslims- call him anything but muslim, christian or jew.

... always react violently to EVERYTHING that is ever said about Islam? They sure do get a lot of world attention, that's for sure, and those of us on the outside looking at them have no choice but to believe they are like ticking timebombs, waiting for the next opportunity kill and destroy. Do they even know that the Pope is the spokesman for the Catholic Church, and not other Christian denominations? Do they even care? I'm not Catholic, so I don't consider the Pope to be Divine Authority, but why should he apologise if he was speaking sincerely about his beliefs? If he does, that would make him a liar or a flip-flopper like John Kerry. Being sorry for the Muslim reaction to what he said is NOT an apology. Also, can we move on from the Crusades please??! Last time I checked, it was the 21st Century. There is not a single person alive who took part in the Crusades and it would be impossible to find any Christians today who wouldn't denounce them. The Political Correctness movement is on its way out, folks. You will be hearing much more of people speaking their minds with more conviction than ever before.

Mustafa, Ubul Kassim, aka Muhammad is indeed the fabricator of Islam, as Allah was already a moon deity in the Arabian Peninsula, prior to the invention of Islam. In his dealings with the Meccans, after being rejected as a "propeht" by the Jews of Medina, he even tried to attract and abosrb the faith of the moon god. Abdul, yes you are the "2nd most populous " faith in the world, yet I find you somewhat fragile and unsure about the legitimity of your faith if some caricatures or a speech by the head of another religion make the muslums go nuts.

Looks like the pope is folding -- upset and sorry for giving offense... to Muslims, that is. Giving offense to the Jews is quite a different matter.

like they are demanding, he will put himself in the position of being a dhimmi. If he doesn't, we will see lots more violence against Christians throughout the world. And concerning relations betwen Moslems and Christians in Judea/Samaria, Christians have been leaving in droves. What was said in the article is wrong!

and Buddhists, and Jews, and animists and Hindus and agnostics.

Where is Mr. Bush? Why doesn't he come to the pope's defense? Where is he? As former President Lyndon B. Johnson said to Abba Eban on the eve of of the Six Day war, May 26, 1967, "I am not a mouse from Washington, I am a lion from Texas!" Where is our lion from Texas?

and neither are you, yet you are entitled to your opinion. So am I. Yes, I have opened the Koran and tried to read it. Have you opened the Bible? Sitting there in Canada, what makes you so holier than thou that you can express your opinion while others are "pathetic" for expressing theirs. It proves my point that Muslim are tied to a rigid way of thinking. THAT'S what is PATHETIC.