mahussain3
Son of Aa'ishah(R.A)
"Islamized EU" Personal View: Priest
Paris, August 05: The "Islamization of Europe" warning made by the private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI is a hardline personal view aimed at widening the Muslim-Christian gulf, but never expresses the official stance of the Vatican, a top French Catholic bishop has said.
"These statements are all about personal convictions and might reveal intentions of some Catholic officials, who want to add fuel to the fire and entrench the so-called clash of civilizations," Father Michel Le Long, the French Catholic Church's head of Muslim-Christian Dialogue Department, said Friday, August 3.
Le Long, a former head of the Vatican's Muslim-Christian Dialogue Department, said the Vatican has severally stood up firmly in the face of such malicious attempts targeting Muslim-Christian ties.
"Gaenswein's remarks are condemned and unacceptable as they do not reflect the position of the Vatican, which urges dialogue between different faiths, especially Islam, as the Muslim world and the West have been going through hard times more recently," said the French priest.
Pope Benedict XVI's Private Secretary Monsignor Georg Gaenswein has warned of what he called the "Islamization of Europe" and called on Europeans to defend their "Christian roots."
Gaenswein told the German weekly Sueddeutsche last month that Europe should not ignore Muslims' attempts to introduce Islamic values in the West which could even threaten the European identity.
Integral Part
Le Long said Muslims in Europe are a fact of life."Muslims have become an integral part of the European fabric," he said. "Generally speaking, Muslims are now well-integrated into their respective European societies and coexist with Christians and followers of other faiths," he said.
Le Long, who has written up to 14 books on Muslim-Christian dialogue, said Pope Benedict XVI has taken recently several steps to improve Muslim-Christian ties after his controversial statements about Islam.
"The pope had received the ambassadors of the Muslim countries and visited Turkey earlier this year to stress strong bonds between Islam and Christianity," said Le Long, referring to a meeting between the Pope and Muslim ambassadors to the Vatican in September of last year.
Pope Benedict has triggered international criticism after quoting criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Muhammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
Coming short of a clear apology, the pontiff said the Muslim reaction to his statements was the result of "unfortunate misunderstanding" and that the quotes did not reflect his personal opinion.Le Long warned that provocative statements made by clerics play well into the hands of right-wing media.
"They are really after such statements, giving them extensive coverage and lead headlines," he said.
Voluntarily
Lhaj Thami Breze, the chairman of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France (UOIF), said Muslims should not be blamed for the spread of their religion in the West.
"The Westerners are not coerced into embracing Islam," he said. "They accept the Muslim faith out of their own volition in a region based on freedoms and secularism."He said Muslims in Europe do not have a hidden agenda.
"They are promoting values of much-stereotyped Islam publicly," he said."They don't have a magic wand to convert people," he added, laughing.But Breze said that the statements made by Gaenswein reflect Vatican's fears of a spreading Islam.
"But I don't why on earth they are alarmed despite the fact that churches do have much more potentials and resources compared to mosques and Islamic center in Europe," he said.French reporter Anne Cecil Hurprelle agreed that the church is facing a cut-throat competition from Islam.
"The church is in a real limbo as it is caught between a declining number of practicing Catholics, on he one hand, and a rising number of Muslim converts, on the other," she told the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, commenting on the statements made by Gaenswein.
Paris, August 05: The "Islamization of Europe" warning made by the private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI is a hardline personal view aimed at widening the Muslim-Christian gulf, but never expresses the official stance of the Vatican, a top French Catholic bishop has said.
"These statements are all about personal convictions and might reveal intentions of some Catholic officials, who want to add fuel to the fire and entrench the so-called clash of civilizations," Father Michel Le Long, the French Catholic Church's head of Muslim-Christian Dialogue Department, said Friday, August 3.
Le Long, a former head of the Vatican's Muslim-Christian Dialogue Department, said the Vatican has severally stood up firmly in the face of such malicious attempts targeting Muslim-Christian ties.
"Gaenswein's remarks are condemned and unacceptable as they do not reflect the position of the Vatican, which urges dialogue between different faiths, especially Islam, as the Muslim world and the West have been going through hard times more recently," said the French priest.
Pope Benedict XVI's Private Secretary Monsignor Georg Gaenswein has warned of what he called the "Islamization of Europe" and called on Europeans to defend their "Christian roots."
Gaenswein told the German weekly Sueddeutsche last month that Europe should not ignore Muslims' attempts to introduce Islamic values in the West which could even threaten the European identity.
Integral Part
Le Long said Muslims in Europe are a fact of life."Muslims have become an integral part of the European fabric," he said. "Generally speaking, Muslims are now well-integrated into their respective European societies and coexist with Christians and followers of other faiths," he said.
Le Long, who has written up to 14 books on Muslim-Christian dialogue, said Pope Benedict XVI has taken recently several steps to improve Muslim-Christian ties after his controversial statements about Islam.
"The pope had received the ambassadors of the Muslim countries and visited Turkey earlier this year to stress strong bonds between Islam and Christianity," said Le Long, referring to a meeting between the Pope and Muslim ambassadors to the Vatican in September of last year.
Pope Benedict has triggered international criticism after quoting criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Muhammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
Coming short of a clear apology, the pontiff said the Muslim reaction to his statements was the result of "unfortunate misunderstanding" and that the quotes did not reflect his personal opinion.Le Long warned that provocative statements made by clerics play well into the hands of right-wing media.
"They are really after such statements, giving them extensive coverage and lead headlines," he said.
Voluntarily
Lhaj Thami Breze, the chairman of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France (UOIF), said Muslims should not be blamed for the spread of their religion in the West.
"The Westerners are not coerced into embracing Islam," he said. "They accept the Muslim faith out of their own volition in a region based on freedoms and secularism."He said Muslims in Europe do not have a hidden agenda.
"They are promoting values of much-stereotyped Islam publicly," he said."They don't have a magic wand to convert people," he added, laughing.But Breze said that the statements made by Gaenswein reflect Vatican's fears of a spreading Islam.
"But I don't why on earth they are alarmed despite the fact that churches do have much more potentials and resources compared to mosques and Islamic center in Europe," he said.French reporter Anne Cecil Hurprelle agreed that the church is facing a cut-throat competition from Islam.
"The church is in a real limbo as it is caught between a declining number of practicing Catholics, on he one hand, and a rising number of Muslim converts, on the other," she told the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, commenting on the statements made by Gaenswein.
