http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/01/201111021576603755.html

Pope Benedict XVI has called for Pakistan to repeal its anti-blasphemy law and demanded that governments in predominantly Muslim countries do much more to protect minority Christians from violent attacks.

The law has been in the spotlight since November when a court sentenced to death Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of four, for insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Speaking in his annual address to diplomats in the Vatican City, the pope said the law was a pretext for violence against religious minorities.

The speech comes just days after Salman Taseer, a senior Pakistani politician who opposed the legislation, was assassinated by his own bodyguard.

"The tragic murder of the governor of Punjab shows the urgent need to make progress in this direction," Benedict said.

It is rare for a pope to use a public speech to ask a country specifically to change one of its laws.

'Internal interference'

An influential religious party in Pakistan said the pontiff's remarks were offensive and amounted to interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs.

"The pope has given a statement today that has not only offended the 180 million Muslims in Pakistan, it has also hurt the sentiments of the entire Islamic world," said Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior leader of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).

"This is an interference in Pakistan's internal matters ... we respect the pope, being head of Christians and their religion, but he should also refrain from interfering in Muslims' religious affairs."

While liberal Pakistanis and human rights groups say the blasphemy law is dangerously discriminatory against the country's tiny minority groups, Bibi's case has become a lightning rod for the country's Muslim religious right.

The JUI has led several demonstrations in defence of the law in recent days.

"There would be an unprecedented reaction in Pakistan if any attempt was made to amend or repeal the law," Hussain Ahmed said.

Attacks on Christians

The pope also used his address to diplomats representing some 170 countries to renew his condemnation of recent attacks on churches that have killed dozens of people in Egypt, Iraq and Nigeria.

He said those attacks showed the need to urgently adopt effective measures for the protection of religious minorities.

"This succession of attacks is yet another sign of the urgent need for the governments of the region to adopt, in spite of difficulties and dangers, effective measures for the protection of religious minorities," he said.

Benedict also called for religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, where Christians cannot worship in public, and communist China, which forces Catholics to join an official church.

"The particular influence of a given religion in a nation ought never to mean that citizens of another religion can be subject to discrimination in social life or, even worse, that violence against them can be tolerated," he said.

On January 1, the pope, worried by increasing inter-religious violence in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, announced he would host a summit of world religious leaders in Assisi in October to discuss how they can better promote peace.

Last month, Benedict said Christians were today's most persecuted religious group and that it was unacceptable that many had to risk their lives to practise their faith.

The Vatican is particularly worried about Christians in the Middle East, where continuing attacks, combined with severe restrictions, are fuelling a Christian exodus from the region.

I think it's good they are taking a stance. We have a genuine chance now of giving millions of people the freedom of religion they havbe been denied for a millenium.

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 9:04am:



Hey Papa, you really, really, think ISLAM is going to reform itself ???

To even imagine such a thing is la-la-land stuff.




Quote:



Why so???




ISLAM is NOT going to reform itself.

Reform of ISLAM is impossible.

Why so ???

To all good moslems, any suggestion [coming from a moslem] of reform of ISLAM is regarded as outrageous, criminal, and a sign of disbelief [AND, by ISLAMIC law, this crime [of insulting ISLAM] is punishable by death].

For a non-moslem, like Papa, to call for the reform of ISLAM, a worthy response would be a declaration of open war against Catholics.

[The TRUTH is, that ISLAM is already engaged in a secret war [a war hidden behind a veil] against Catholics, AND, all 'unbelievers'!]


Reform from within ISLAM [by 'moderate' moslems] is impossible.

Q.
Why can't ISLAM reform itself???

A.
ISLAMIC doctrine is not open to reform.

Q.
Why not???

A.
Because ISLAM is Allah's [already] perfect religion!

Q.
How can moslems reform something, which good moslems regard as perfect already???

And that, is the basic logic of WHY ISLAM is not open to reform.
i.e.
Why would good moslems try to reform something, which good moslems regard as perfect already???

And, how can moslems 'reform' what the Koran calls for ???

How, when good moslems regard every word of the Koran, as without error, and as being the actual speech of Allah ???




TRUTH
We non-moslems can legitimately seek to separate ourselves from the influences of both moslems, and ISLAM.

But we cannot expect that real ISLAM will EVER be reformed.

It never will be.



+++
The current [cultural] warfare against non-moslems and non-moslem nations, can never be abandoned, by ISLAM, or by good moslems.

Because Jihad [religious fighting in Allah's cause] is THE basic tenet of ISLAM.

Jihad, is a good moslems reason to exist.


TRUTH
All good moslems who are residing in non-moslem host nations, have the nature [politically], of 'flags in the wind'.

i.e.
Publicly, good moslems residing in non-moslem host nations, studiously try to reflect the political environment in which they 'travel'.
i.e.
Today, a good moslem may make the claim that he is 'moderate', and tolerant.

But when it suits their purpose [i.e. when Allah provides the 'opportunity'], or when the political environment changes to favour moslems, those good moslems residing in non-moslem host nations, will 'turn in the wind', and will always revert to being Jihadists [i.e. good moslems].

Who is a moslem ???

A moslem, is a person who *chooses* to embrace a philosophy [ISLAM] which tells moslems that it is 'lawful' for moslems, to kill those who do not believe, as they believe.

THAT, is basic ISLAMIC doctrine.



And many other authentic, and approved ISLAMIC doctrines, towards all unbelievers, further confirm that troubling assertion [i.e. that it is 'lawful', nay, it is an OBLIGATION, for every good moslem to hold enmity in his heart for all unbelievers. ].

All good moslems *deceitfully* *pretend* to be liberal [tolerant], in all of those jurisdictions where they are still politically weak.
BUT,
In those places where good moslems become politically strong [e.g. Pakistan, e.g. blasphemy laws], good moslems always reveal their intolerance of everything which is deemed to be un-ISLAMIC, and commonly act violently against those who do not believe, as they believe.

And why?
Because Allah gives moslems the authority to treat non-moslems in that way;

Koran 3.151
Koran 60.1
Koran 2.98
Koran 47:8-11
Koran 4.74-76


+++

IMAGE

Pope JPII kisses the Koran
How ecumenical of him.


This, is what Pope JPII is kissing...


Koran 9.30, 31

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 10:36am:



Probably sadder, to those who care, is the ignorance of those who can`t see the most blaring facts.

Karnal, he is insulting your homelan, frien. Are you going to stand for this?!

islam cannot reform itself, their inventor mohammad the paed saw to that.

look at the sex addicts rules.
kill anyone who sees he's a front bottom, kill anyone who leaves, enslave anyone wo is not of that gang, take all the wenches you want whenever you want.

what a prevert.

word up abu

I welcome this. Blasphemy laws are draconian. We had one introduced back in Ireland last year. I wonder will Pope Ratzinger ask Ireland to repeal their one, in the name of consistency. But consistency is not something we've come to associate with the Church of Rome.