Pope meets with Muslim diplomats to quell anger
26 Sep 200626 September 2006
Pope Benedict XVI has assured Muslim diplomats that the Catholic Church respects Islam. The Pope called for "sincere and respectful" dialogue as he sought to defuse his recent remarks about Islam and violence.
Benedict spoke in French to a roomful of diplomats from 21 countries, the Arab League and Italian Muslim leaders in his summer residence Castel Gandolfo near Rome. After his five-minute speech Benedict greeted each ambassador one by one.
"The circumstances which have given rise to our gathering are well known," the Pope said, referring to his remarks on Islam in a at Regensburg, Germany, on 12 September, in which he had quoted the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith." Addressing the diplomats, Benedict said that dialogue between Christians and Muslims "cannot not be reduced to an optional extra. It is, in fact, a vital necessity on which in large measure our future depends," he said, quoting to a speech in gave to Muslims in Germany in 2005. Benedict also cited John Paul II, as saying "Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres," particularly religious freedom. Among predominantly Muslim nations with diplomatic relations to the Vatican, only Sudan did not participate in the meeting. Afterwards, participants were mostly positive about the gathering. Abdallah Redouane, head of the Islamic cultural center in Rome, told journalists: "The meeting went well. It was the most important step yet after a series of clarifications which have followed the Pope's speech in Regensburg."
The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, has strongly defended Pope Benedict XVI in a newspaper interview, saying Muslim criticism was "unacceptable". Barroso told a German newspaper: "Attacking the pope because he refers in a discourse to a historical document is completely unacceptable…I was disappointed that there were not more European leaders who said: 'Obviously, the Pope has the right to express his opinion'...The problem is not the comments of the Pope but the reactions of the extremists. ... We must defend our values."
Meanwhile, Berlin's opera house Deutsche Oper has removed the provocative staging of a Mozart opera from its schedule for fear of enraging Muslims. The staging of "Idomeneo", a 1781 drama set in ancient Crete, was canceled because authorities warned it could present an "incalculable security risk". In the staging, which sparked audience protests during its premiere in December 2003, King Idomeneo presents the lopped-off heads of Poseidon, Jesus, Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed and displays them on four chairs.
