YNet News : Muslim Brotherhood urges clear apology from Pope

Muslim Brotherhood urges clear apology from Pope

September 17, 2006

(VIDEO) Muslim movement leader says 'we're calling on the pope to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion'; earlier Brotherhood said pope's latest remarks 'sufficient apology'
News Agencies

VIDEO - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said Pope Benedict had not made a "clear apology" on Sunday for remarks on Islam that have sparked anger across the Muslim world.

"It does not rise to the level of a clear apology and, based on this, we're calling on the Pope of the Vatican to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion," Brotherhood deputy leader Mohammed Habib told Reuters.

The Pope said he was "Deeply sorry" at the anger caused by his remarks on Islam in a speech last week and said a quote he used from a medieval text about holy wars did not reflect his personal thoughts.

The Pope had referred to criticism of the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus.

The emperor said everything Mohammad brought was evil "Such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

‘What are his personal views?’

Habib said: "Why did he choose it (the quote) if it did not express his opinions? ... And if it does not express his thoughts and opinions, then let him tell us what his thoughts and perspective on this issue are."

Habib had earlier described the Pope's remarks as a "sufficient apology."

"We consider that the new statements represent a retreat from what went before," he told Reuters.

"We can consider them a sufficient apology, even if we had wanted the pope to outline his ideas and vision of Islam," said Habib, whose opposition Islamist group has inspired similar movements across the Arab world.

Habib said: "(The Pope) says that it does not represent his personal views. We would like to know what these personal views are."

The Pope had been under pressure to issue a personal apology after the speech last week in Germany sparked fury among Muslims. The Vatican issued a statement on Saturday saying he regretted the impact of his comments.

But Mahmoud Ashour, the former deputy of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the Sunni Arab world's most powerful institution, said the pope's comments were not enough. "He should apologize because he insulted the beliefs of Islam. He must apologize in a frank way and say he made a mistake," Ashour told Al-Arabiya TV after the pope's speech that.

In the town of Tulkarm, a 170-year-old stone church built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and its interior was destroyed, local Christian officials said. In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christians said. Neither church is Catholic, the officials said.