Brothers ask Pope to apologise
2006-09-15 07:27
Cairo - The head of the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood called on Islamic countries on Thursday to threaten to break off relations with the Vatican unless Pope Benedict withdrew remarks about Islam he made in Germany.
Mohamed Mahdi Akef, whose organisation was one of the oldest, largest and most influential in the Arab world, said Pope Benedict "poured oil on the fire, aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world and strengthened the argument of those who say that the West is hostile to everything Islamic".
In his speech at the University of Regensburg on Tuesday, the Pope appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that the early Muslims spread Islam by violence.
He repeated criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad by the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who ruled in the late 14th century and who was recorded as saying that everything Muhammad brought was evil and inhumane "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
Islam 'incompatible with God's nature'
The overall theme of the Pope's speech was faith and reason, but his reference to the Byzantine emperor suggested that he shared the emperor's view that by advocating violence Islam was irrational and incompatible with God's nature.
Akef said he condemned the Pope's remarks because "they don't show a true understanding of Islam, but are an extension of mistaken and distorted ideas current in the West.
A statement on the Muslim Brotherhood's official website said: "The general guide (Akef) expressed his surprise that such comments should come from someone who sits at the summit of the Catholic church and who has an influence over public opinion in the West.
"He called on the Pope to apologise and asked the governments of Islamic states and civil society organisations to protest and threaten to break off relations with the Vatican if the Pope does not apologise."
The Muslim Brotherhood was a broad religious, social, political and charitable organisation founded in 1928. It had no legal existence, but its members held about one fifth of the seats in the Egyptian parliament, making it the largest opposition group.