After all in the Ayatolla Khomeini's words QUOTE-- Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured by [the unbelievers]? Islam says: Kill them, put them to the sword and scatter [their armies]…. Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword! The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for the Holy Warriors! There are hundreds of other [Qur’anic] psalms and Hadiths [sayings of the Prophet] urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all this mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.” UNQUOTE I wonder what would have happened if His Holiness had quoted Khomeini

I'm fed up with this double standard just cause the west are affraid of the impending WWIII. The longer the delay confronting this problem the worse it will be in the end. Just like the sane segent of the Lebanese population are affraid of another civil war so they don't confront Syria, Hezballah and stop them from firing at us.

I agree with the pope. It is completely wrong to suggest that all of Mohammed's teachings were evil and inhuman. I have read the Koran and can attest that some of his teachings were also immoral, and many were simply inane.

1,400 years from now muslims will call this to mind and use it as a pretext for oppressing christians and fueling jihad. nothing is ever forgiven and every slight or wrong is forever remebered. after all, it is not their fault we are killed.

Clerics are paid by their governments who are ordered by Bush to forgive...But we ordinary people WILL NOT forgive and have to take his words seriously as an insult to our religion. We neither respect the pop nor those who do not respect our PROPHET.

Apologize for telling the truth ????

The Pope G*ds "representative on earth" have submitted for the Moslem demands... and made Dhimmi of himself... Worst case scenario for the Christians... Now your Pope will have to defend Islam too... "to counter prejudice against Islam." After all - you have Isa - Jesus in common he is your messiah and you are both waiting for his second comming...

Muslims will still behave like Muslims. They have been blowing themselves up (and others), ranting against anything and everything perceived as non-muslim, rioting and burning buildings long before the Pope's comments. Nothing has changed, except maybe they will now expand the scope of their violence to include shooting nuns in the back. Can anyone think of a more cowardly or evil thing to do? Stupid is as stupid does. ~ Forest Gump

If you want respect, respect others! IWe have allseen your hate-filled posts where you have continusly put down Israel and the Jewish People. Those clerics are putting down the Jewish People and their country of Israel daily. They ridicule all other religions. Enough with the double-standarism, the West is sick of it and can now see through it.

Who do they think they are? putting down everybody else, calling for "holy War" against anyone who is not a muslim, and when the truth is quoted from ancient sources, get offended to this extent? The violent reactions world-wide to the Pope's words, just prove this information to be right. They want "respect" yet they themselves respect no one else! The Pope should not have succumbed to them. This is still a free world last time I checked.

Everybody wants insincere apologies and a chance to strike back at their criticizers. Muslims don't want the Pope to agree with them. Fact is Muslims are killing Christians and burning churches. What they want is a symbol that the Pope has succumb to Arab political pressure. The Pope won't give them the meeting as he denied them a real apology using the same type of double talk Arabs use when Jewish families are bombed. I think good people should be grateful when evil men are their enemies and happy when good men are their friends. Outside of that, they should not BS one another that everything is OK when its not. Question is whether either side is a friend of G-d and does God forgive insincere apologies. Read Torah and the answer to the problem becomes clear.

It is them who have to apologize for their savagery. Who murdered the nun and her bodyguard in Somalia?

if we are all to revenge from one another because one said this and the other did that we would end up finishing each other off.. the Pope had insulted us but if he had apologised then we should accept it.. Noora God in Islam is most merciful.. the Qur'an had taught us to make peace when the other side wants peace.. Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) had forgiven the idolators in Mecca even after they have abused him in every possible way and after they have opressed his companions.. he did not allow one drop of blood to be shed when he came back to Mecca.. those who have insulted him before became later on his closest followers.. let us learn from our prophet and see how he would have wanted us to act in such cases... all of us should at one point forgive and forget.. we are all humans and we make mistakes but there is also the grace of mercy in our hearts and this is what buries away the mistakes... An eye for an eye only leads to more blindness..

The pope is NOT GODS representative on earth. IF U study the quran and roman catholic doctrine U will see they R almost one and the same. They both got their theology from "Nimrod." The pope represents people blinded FROM the TRUE gospel of Christ! True Christians do NOT worship idols!

Everyone here is always wondering where the moderate Muslim voices are. I welcome any Muslim who is not preaching exclusion and hatred. Maybe the people who think Hamas, Jihad and fatah are unwanted maniacs will speak up for moderation as well. . . . though I doubt it.

People may be concerned about war in Lebanon, but in the U.S. we are more concerned about our own wars. In trying to bolster support for the wars, we were somehow led to believe that this was necessary, that only the evil people that were dangerous to humanity would be affected, and it would be quick. Somehow in not getting the bad guy and injuring non-dangerous people we became the bad guys ourselves. When previous wasn't sitting well, we were told that we were making peoples lives better with democracy. But then again it seems we as regular people never really had a choice in the matter. In general people very upset about this but don't know how to stop chain of events now that it's started. Worried too that Israel may be falling into same trap, in the name of security. I don't think that this is a war that can be fought in battlefield, because Israel and America have ideas of virtue, kindness, and justice to protect.

Not all of them are forgiving. I have just read on CWN.org, that a muslim group has kidnapped and beheaded an orthodox priest. The reason was because of the Pope's comment on Islam. Don't they realize "the sword", can be turned back at them.

I just heard from a friend of mine in Switzerland, that a shia cleric (unfortunately he didn'd get his name) declared in an interview that it is a known fact that the Pope is elected by, I hope you are all sitting down, the Mossad, the CIA and the Sunnis.

AREN'T CATHOLIC ISRAEL'S CHRISTIAN BROTHERS & SISTERS STAND 100% WITH ISRAEL & JEWS IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST

You write :".. we take his (the Pope's) words seriously ..". And you also write :".. we do not respect the Pope ..". IF you TAKE the words of the Pope seriously - this means that you DO respect the Pope. IF you do NOT respect the Pope - that means that you will NOT take the Pope's words seriously. You can not take the Pope seriously and not respect the Pope simultaneously. IT is illogical. Reading your words, I think - you will NOT make for a good representative of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Hope everything is well with you.

For instance, whenever confronted by Christians about their violent tendencies, Muslims always scream, "What about the Crusades?!!" The Crusades happened HUNDREDS of years ago! Not only that, but Christians of today have made very clear that what the Crusaders did was WRONG. But the Muslims keep throwing it about. Whenever they are confronted with one of their faults, they deflect the criticism but hurling a criticism back. They don't examine their own faults. According to them, they have no faults and all their problems are caused by Israel and the West.

is muslims take pope's words seriously FOR FEAR of Christian's united against them. it's one thing for arabs to bully little tiny Israel, quite another to directly challenge the winners of: A. All major world wars in recent history ... B. The greatest wars in all of history ...

JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH A SON OF ABRAHAM A SON OF DAVID A SON OF ISRAEL THE LION OF JUDAH MESSIAH GOD BLESS ISRAEL IN JESUS' NAME http://www.jesusfilm.org/languages/index.html

If the clerics wish to counter prejudice against Islam they shoud counsel their own ratbag followers. Dialogue with the Pope wont change peoples' attitudes - it is the never-ending acts of violence committed in the name of the "religion of peace" that feeds our loathing of islam - it's got nothing to do with what the Holy Father said.

The notion that Muslims are commanded to spread their faith “by the sword” or that Islam in fact was largely spread “by the sword” does not hold up to scrutiny. Indeed, as a political entity Islam spread partly as a result of conquest, but the greater part of its expansion came as a result of preaching and missionary activity. Islamic teaching did not prescribe that the conquered populations be forced or coerced into converting. Indeed, many of the first areas conquered by the Muslims remained predominantly non-Muslim for centuries. Had Muslims desired to convert all others by force, there would not be a single church or synagogue left anywhere in the Islamic world. The command There is no compulsion in religion means now what it meant then. The mere fact of a person being non-Muslim has never been a legitimate casus belli in Islamic law or belief. As with the rules of war, history shows that some Muslims have violated Islamic tenets concerning forced conversion and the treatment of other religious communities, but history also shows that these are by far the exception which proves the rule. We emphatically agree that forcing others to believe—if such a thing be truly possible at all—is not pleasing to God and that God is not pleased by blood. Indeed, we believe, and Muslims have always believed, that Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in the land, it shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether (al-Ma’idah 5:32). Click second bottom line in the opening article to read the letter in english www.alhabibali.com/

well said.. but I just want to comment on the fact that Muslims have conquered lands.. this is true.. but at that time the world was divided into empires so the natural thing to do in those days is establish an empire.. if Muslims have not made an empire they would have faded and been opressed by another empire.. Roman , Persian.. history had put Muslims on the highest levels of nobility in their treatment of the defeated.. when Muslims left Andalusia they left it flourishing.. it's glory stands upto this day as a for people to witness what Islam had given to Spain..

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Best wishes!

"your neck of the woods.".. I always thought I was fluent in english but what does this phrase mean?? Best wishes to YOU:)