MORE Pics of PROTESTS & RETALIATORY Attacks by Muslims; POPE “DEEPLY SORRY” For Medieval Text; Syed Hamid Albar: NOT ENOUGH, Full APOLOGY & RETRACTION

Pope Benedict XVI: “I am deeply sorry for the reactions provoked by a part of my speech at Regensbury University considered offensive by to the sensibility of Muslim believers. But these words were quotation from a medieval text which do not express my thought”

Pope Benedict XVI has said he is sorry and that his insensitive quote has caused much anger amongst the Muslims everywhere. But anger is an emotion and like energy, they flow through you; you feel them and then they disappear. When you try to hold them back they build up and you get angrier and protest to release the pent up energy.

The moderate Muslims are more level headed; their religious beliefs can generate the emotions and hurt in response. It is somewhat fashionable to place feelings above conscious thoughts, the idea being that emotions are more basic and natural than conscious reasoning is.

The two actually go together but your conscious thinking largely determines your emotions, and not the other way around. We are not our emotions; you identify with them so often that in hating them you hate yourself. You just cannot love yourself and hate the emotions that flow through you at the same time.

The point is that we are here to experience. No right or wrong. No good or bad. No evil. We are here to watch our beliefs—regardless of what they are—spin out into reality.

Angry protesters in Jarkarta demonstrating and venting their pent up feelings at the Pope's insensitive quotation

His mentioned of violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul" was of course not highlighted. There is never any justification for violence. There is no justification for hatred. There is no justification for murder.

Those who indulge in violence (even on the virtual screen) for whatever reason are themselves changed, and the purity of their purpose adultered

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Malaysia Insists On Full Apology From The Pope ; September 17, 2006 23:25 PM

HAVANA, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia today regretted that Pope Benedict XVI failed to offer a full apology and retract derogatory remarks about Islam in a speech he made which enraged Muslims around the world.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the Pope only stated he was "deeply sorry" about the reaction to his speech but made no effort to calm Muslim anger by making a full apology.
The Pope had on Tuesday cited from a medieval text about holy wars that described Islam as "evil and inhuman" in a speech in Germany.

"Muslims have all this while felt being oppressed and the statement by the Pope saying he is sorry about the angry reaction is inadequate to calm the anger, more so because he is the highest leader of the Vatican," Syed Hamid told Malaysian journalists here at the end of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

Because of that, he said, Malaysia would continue to insist that the Pope give a full apology and retract his statement.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also the chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), had earlier called on Pope Benedict to apologise and retract his statement.

ABOVE: Iranians protesting aginst the Pope's remarks on Islam

Pope 'sorry' for offence to Islam

Pope Benedict XVI has said he is sorry that a speech in which he referred to Islam has offended Muslims.

In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he respected Islam and hoped Muslims would understand the true sense of his words.
In Tuesday's speech the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things.

The remarks prompted protests from Muslims around the world. The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says the speed with which the Vatican has reacted shows just how seriously it views the situation.

Reading the statement, new Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Pope's position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God".
"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," the statement said.

But Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said the statement did not go far enough and called on the pontiff to apologise in person.
"The Vatican Secretary of State says that the Pope is sorry because his statements had been badly interpreted, but there is no bad interpretation," Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a senior official from the opposition party told AFP.

Turkey concerns

Our correspondent says the statement goes as far as it can towards an apology.
But the Pope is known to have strong feelings about the relationship between religion and violence and is thought unlikely to retract the sentiment of his speech.
There will still be concerns about whether to go ahead with the Pope's planned visit to Turkey in November, our correspondent says.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says Pope Benedict, a theologian who has led a sheltered life in the Vatican for more than two decades, may not have understood the potential implications of his remarks.

He says the Cardinal Bertone, the newly-appointed top Vatican official, faces the task of serious damage control in the coming days.

Security at the Vatican is being stepped up, although the pontiff remains closeted with his closest advisers at his summer villa at Castelgandolfo near Rome.

Fire bombs lobbied at the walls and windows of churches caused little damage in the West bank city of Nablus

Protests

In his speech at Regensburg University on Tuesday, the German-born Pope quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire.

Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted the emperor saying: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

He also said that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

Reactions to the speech have come from such leaders as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who said efforts to link Islam and terrorism should be clearly opposed.

Street protests have been held in Pakistan, India, Turkey and Gaza.

ABOVE: Only the walls were blackened by the firebombs which could not entered the windows BELOW Firemen washing away the debris and inflamable liquid at one of the curch entrance

In the West Bank city of Nablus, two churches were firebombed on Saturday in attacks claimed by a group which said it was protesting against the Pope's remarks.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come to the pontiff's defence, saying the aim of the speech had been misunderstood.

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