Re: Pope Reaches Out to Muslims in Germany

On 20 Aug 2005 08:35:10 -0700, "Saif Al-Islam"
<la_ilaha_illa_lah@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Pope Reaches Out to Muslims in Germany
>
>COLOGNE, Germany, August 20, August 20 (IslamOnline.net & News
>Agencies) - Pope Benedict XVI prepared to address Muslim leaders
>Saturday, August 20, in his latest bid to reach out to other religions
>during the first foreign visit of his pontificate.
>
>The 78-year-old pope was scheduled to meet a delegation of Islamic
>leaders in Cologne, the fourth largest city in Germany, in the early
>evening for what was to be his seventh major address in three days,
>following one in a synagogue to leaders of Germany's Jewish community
>the day before, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
>
>The meeting is a key part of his pledge to use his four-month-old
>pontificate to build "bridges of friendship" with the world's other
>monotheistic religions.
>
>The Muslim delegation is being led by Ridvan Cakir, leader of Germany
>'s biggest Islamic group, the Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB).
>
>Islamic Curricula
>
>Earlier Saturday, the pope took time out of his schedule to hold talks
>with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his challenger in the
>Sept. 18 elections, Angela Merkel.
>
>The meeting brought together top candidates for the Social Democrats
>(SPD), Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Parliamentary President
>Wolfgang Thierse and State Premier for North Rhine-Westphalia Jürgen
>Rüttgers Jürgen Rüttgers, reported Deutsche Welle.
>
>Rüttgers said the pope stressed in his meeting the need for Islamic
>religious studies in German schools along the lines of the curriculum
>currently offered for Catholic and Protestant pupils.
>

Good idea if it's a critical view of Islam and not taught by Muslim
fanatics.


>Muslims growing up in Germany run the risk of becoming "homeless" in
>the sense that they no longer have ties to their homeland with its
>culture and religion, the pope reportedly told Rüttgers.
>

Well now this is the crux of the problem, isn't it. Muslims growing up
in Germany should be expected to develop an affinity for their new
homeland - particularly if they accept citizenship with its attendant
benefits. Those who denounce their host countries should be shown the
exit.



>These children must be allowed to enjoy the same access to their
>religious heritage as those of Catholics and Protestants, who make up
>the majority of Germans, he added.
>

Does the Pope think for a minute Muslims aren't getting access to
their religious heritage. I'm quite certain it's being drummed into
them from birth. Does the Pope have a clue as to the messages Muslim
children in Germany are receiving.


>For more than 20 years, Muslims in Germany have been pressing education
>leaders to introduce regular religion courses in German for their
>school-aged children.
>
>So far only a few model projects exist in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower
>Saxony and Bavaria.
>
>The pope has been reaching out to Muslims following accusations of
>ignoring Islam and his past opposition to Turkey's candidacy to join
>the European Union.
>
>He ignored Islam in his inaugural mass and hailed the "great
>spiritual heritage" shared by Jews and Christians.
>
>Benedict recently backpedaled on calling the July 7 London transport
>bombings "anti-Christian" -- which would likely have provoked a
>backlash from the Muslim world -- after an early draft of a Vatican
>statement condemning the bombings included the inflammatory phrase,
>according to AFP.
>
>Instead, a final version approved by the pope stopped at referring to
>the blasts as "barbaric acts against humanity."
>
>Germany is home to around three million Muslims, most of them of
>Turkish descent.
>
>Click here to continue
>http://islamonline.net/English/News/2005-08/20/article05.shtml

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