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Pope arrives in Jordan to Islamic leaders' protests
Ed Harris8 May 2009
The Pope started a week-long tour of the Middle East in Jordan today and was condemned by Islamic leaders for a speech in 2006 when he implied Muslims were violent and irrational.
Benedict XVI is visiting the Jordanian capital, Amman, before going to Israel and the West Bank for five days next week. He will be the second pontiff to make an official visit to Israel after Pope John Paul II in 2000.
The Pope visited a Christian religious centre under tight security before meeting King Abdullah and Queen Rania at the Royal palace. He was greeted by protests, with Islamic leaders saying his visit was provocative because he had not apologised for his comments.
Jordan's Roman Catholic Church urged Muslims to welcome the Pope, but Zaki Bani Rusheid, head of the Islamic Action Front - part of the country's largest mainstream Islamic party, the Muslim Brotherhood - said: "The present Pope is the one who issued severe insults to Islam and did not offer any apology to the Muslims."
Tomorrow the Pope will celebrate a private Mass in the Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature of Amman. He will try to smooth relationships with Muslim religious leaders, diplomats and university officials with a visit to the Al-Hussein bin Talal mosque in Amman.
The Pope said he would pray for "the precious gift of unity and peace for the Middle East and all of humanity".
He will fly to Israel on Monday. Israeli police commissioner Dudi Cohen called the visit a "historic event that is very complex from a security aspect". He said 80,000 security personnel would be deployed to protect the Pope, including 60,000 police.
Israeli and Palestinian officials are completing arrangements for the visit. In Jerusalem, the Pope will visit the Western Wall in the Old City, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial. He will celebrate open-air Mass in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth.
Mr Cohen said more than 30,000 officers would be deployed in Jerusalem. Briefing reporters about security plans, the commissioner said he had no intelligence warnings of attacks during the visit but warned: "Terrorism is a reality Israel copes with all year round."
Reader views (10)
Kev, London - UK
Don't you have anything better to do than post here all day?
- David, London, 08/05/2009 16:46
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I don't think its fair of you "Adam,Harrow" to single out Islam as irrational and violent,no one single religion has the monopoly on that score,Religious belief has no rationality about it what so ever,and violence is part and parcel of that belief system,quiet how the Bible or the Quran have escaped being banned as books that incite and glorify violence is beyond me,as its a fact that the biggest threat of a terrorist attack at this moment in time is from religious believers and would or could be inspired from reading such material.
- Kev, London-UK, 08/05/2009 16:45
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I find it hard to believe people are still rambling on about this god entity in the year 2009.They say prostitution is the oldest trade if that is the case religion has to be the oldest fraud.
- X-Topher, London, 08/05/2009 16:07
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Cherry picking indeed"Steven Dale"And im sorry to inform you the history of the catholic church and other religions proves the fallacy and fantasy of your posting.i need say no more,yours is only a belief and that does not reflect reality.
- Kev, London-UK, 08/05/2009 15:39
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I know insufficent of the details of the present Pope being a member of the Hitler Youth to comment but what I can say is that (a)"Kev" doesn't understand the concept of forgiveness, a mark of Christianity, which is there to be used, even if the supposed offender hasn't actually done anything wrong and (b)the Pope is bound by scripture (not dogma), something singularly lacking in the Anglican faith, but all catholics know or should know that their lives are governed by their own consciences, including the use of condoms, which may take them away from the express teachings of the church. You might argue that that is "cherry-picking" but I make the point to demonstrate that people have the right to exercise their own judgment and that the teachings of the church are a guide, even if it appears to the uninformed that they are written in tablets of stone.
- Steven Dale, London, England, 08/05/2009 14:45
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>>was condemned by Islamic leaders for a speech in 2006 when he implied Muslims were violent and irrational
And the response to that speech from some more radical members of the Muslim community was ... wait for it ...
Violence and irrational behaviour on a global scale!
Yes, they even murdered a Nun in Nigeria!
If there's any more evidence needed that this is an intolerant faith then I don't know what it could be!
- Adam, Harrow, UK, 08/05/2009 13:44
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He didn't apologize because it is true, hence the problems in countries like Pakistan and Afganistan.
- Nack Nack Paddy Mac, kilburn, London UK, 08/05/2009 13:32
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In Answer to prototypical Englishman. On reflection it would be a foolish man who forgave the religious or to be specific The catholic popery for its/there misdeeds,one must always be aware that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour.Indeed his recent tour of the African continent proved that dogma means more to the catholic church than truth and saving lives,and his constant attempts to demonise homosexuals would suggest nothing has changed from the days of burning heretics,so called witches and others that didn't share the views or beliefs at the stake.But im pleased you recognize the fact that he has something to be forgiven for.
- Kev, London-UK, 08/05/2009 12:05
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Perhaps you might learn from reflecting on whether you have the capacity for forgiveness.
- Prototypical Englishman, Wormwood Scrubs, 08/05/2009 11:02
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More nonsense from the believers in a god,how a ex member of the Hitler youth has the gaul or maybe the stupidity to visit Israel is beyond me,but then i'm just a sane and rational atheist.
- Kev, London-UK, 08/05/2009 09:46
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