The Popes, Respect for Islam and Catholics.

Bismillah ir rahman ir raheem,

As salamu 'alikum wr wb (May the Peace, Mercy of Allah and Blessings be upon you).

The Popes, Respect for Islam and Catholics.







Pictured above his excellence Pope Benedict XVI praying with Muslims at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Turkey

It seems that although Islam and Christianity has had a very checkered past together, that there are more steps being taken for increased dialogue and understanding by the respective faith traditions.


Pope John Paul II Kissing a Copy of the Qur'an

In his weekly general audience in late May of 1999, Pope John Paul II addressed Muslims in a series discussing "inter-religious dialog." He quotes from the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 841 which states, "... together with us they (Muslims) adore the one, merciful, God."





Now notice what his excellency said? He said that they (The Muslims worship together with us the one merciful, God).

Of course there is the conflict in Northern Ireland where Catholics and Protestants have committed atrocities towards one another. Of course there was the war in Yugoslavia where Muslims, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs all committed excess towards one another on a number of occasions.

You have the crusades, and the inquisition and you also have Mother Teresa and St. Thomas Aquinas. So there are periods in the history of the respective faith traditions that are dark, and bright. There are figures that loom like a dark shadow and figures that bring light and radiance.


Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause except that they say: Our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah's repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah's name is much remembered; and surely Allah will help him who helps His cause; most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty. (Holy Qur'an chapter 22:40)



Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Under the Muslims it remained a Christian church. The early Muslim rulers protected the city's Christian sites, prohibiting their destruction and their use as living quarters. In 966 the doors and roof were burnt during a riot.

On October 18, 1009, under Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, orders for the complete destruction of the Church were carried out. It is believed that Al-Hakim "was aggrieved by the scale of the Easter pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which was caused specially by the annual miracle of the Holy Fire within the Sepulchre. The measures against the church were part of a more general campaign against Christian places of worship in Palestine and Egypt, which involved a great deal of other damage: Adhemar of Chabannes recorded that the church of St George at Lydda 'with many other churches of the saints' had been attacked, and the 'basilica of the Lord's Sepulchre destroyed down to the ground'. ...The Christian writer Yahya ibn Sa'id reported that everything was razed 'except those parts which were impossible to destroy or would have been too difficult to carry away'."^[15] The Church's foundations were hacked down to bedrock. The Edicule and the east and west walls and the roof of the cut-rock tomb it encased were destroyed or damaged (contemporary accounts vary), but the north and south walls were likely protected by rubble from further damage. The "mighty pillars resisted destruction up to the height of the gallery pavement, and are now effectively the only remnant of the fourth-century buildings."^[15] Some minor repairs were done to the section believed to be the tomb of Jesus almost immediately after 1009, but a true attempt at restoration would have to wait for decades.^[15]

European reaction was of shock and dismay, with far-reaching and intense consequences. For example, Clunaic monk Raoul Glaber blamed the Jews, with the result that Jews were expelled from Limoges and other French towns. Ultimately, this destruction provided an impetus to the later Crusades.^[16]

[edit] Reconstruction

In wide ranging negotiations between the Fatimids and the Byzantine Empire in 1027-8 an agreement was reached whereby the new Caliph Ali az-Zahir (Al-Hakim's son) agreed to allowing the rebuilding and redecoration of the Church.^[17] The rebuilding was finally completed with the financing of the huge expense by Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos and Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople in 1048.^[18] As a concession, the mosque in Constantinople was re-opened and sermons were to be pronounced in az-Zahir's name.^[17] Muslim sources say a by-product of the agreement was the recanting of Islam by many Christians who had been forced to convert under Al-Hakim's persecutions.^[17] In addition the Byzantines, while releasing 5,000 Muslim prisoners, made demands for the restoration of other churches destroyed by Al-Hakim and the re-establishment of a Patriarch in Jerusalem

Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer at the Blue Mosque on November 30, 2006 in Turkey

“… and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, “We are Christians”: because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth: they pray: “Our Lord! We believe; write us down among the witnesses. What cause can we have not to believe in God and the truth which has come to us, seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?” ( Holy Qur'an chapter 5: 82-84)


Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer at the Blue Mosque on November 30, 2006 in Turkey. To the left is his excellence Pope Benedict XVI visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Turkey.







On October 13th 2006, one month to the day after Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg address of September 13th 2006, 38 Islamic authorities and scholars from around the world, representing all denominations and schools of thought, joined together to deliver an answer to the Pope in the spirit of open intellectual exchange and mutual understanding. In their Open Letter to the Pope (see http://ammanmessage.com/media/openLetter/english.pdf), for the first time in recent history, Muslim scholars from every branch of Islam spoke with one voice about the true teachings of Islam.







The following video exert is taken from the movie "The Kingdom of Heaven" (All Rights Reserved) A tribute video to the movie Kingdom of Heaven, the song is the war is over by sarah brightman and kazim el saher.