Pope urges Muslim leaders to condemn religious-based violence

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Pope Francis on Monday (January 12) condemned the “tragic slayings” by Islamic militants in Paris last week and urged Muslim leaders around the world to condemn fundamentalist interpretations of religion which attempt to justify violence in God’s name. The 78-year-old Argentine pope made his comments in his annual meeting with diplomats accredited to the Vatican in a wide-ranging speech that has come to be known as his “State of the World” address. The pope told the diplomats that violence is always “the product of a falsification of religion, its use a pretext for ideological schemes whose only goal is power over others”. Francis said that the killings in Paris showed how the rejection of the beliefs of other people could lead to violence and death. “The personal dimension of rejection is inevitably accompanied by a social dimension, a culture of rejection which severs the

deepest and most authentic human bonds, leading to the breakdown of society and spawning violence and death. We see painful evidence of this in the events reported daily in the news, not least the tragic slayings which took place in Paris a few days ago,” he said. Seventeen people, including journalists and police, were killed in three days of violence that began on Wednesday (January 7) with a shooting attack by Islamist militants on the political weekly Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions. “I express my hope that religious, political and intellectual leaders, especially those of the Muslim community, will condemn all fundamentalist and extremist interpretations of religion which attempt to justify such acts of violence,” the pope said in a section about the Middle East. In the past few months, the 78-year-old Argentine pope has several times condemned Islamic State fighters who have killed or displaced Shi’ite Muslims, Christians and others in Syria and Iraq who do not share the group’s ideologies. Francis also expressed concern over the situation in Nigeria where two suspected child suicide bombers blew themselves up in a market in northeast Nigeria on Sunday (January 11), witnesses said, killing three people in the second apparent attack in two days using young girls strapped with explosives. “Sadly, comparable acts of brutality, which not infrequently reap victims from among the poor and the most vulnerable, are found in other parts of the world as well. I think in particular of Nigeria where acts of violence continue to strike indiscriminately and there is a constant increase in the tragic phenomenon of kidnappings, often of young girls carried off to be made objects of trafficking. This is an abominable trade which must not continue! It is a scourge which needs to be eradicated, since it strikes all of us, from individual families to the entire international community,” the pope said. The pope also told the diplomats the changes in the U.S.-Cuba ties were an example of “how dialogue can build bridges”. “One example close to my heart of how dialogue can build bridges comes from the recent decision of the United States of America and Cuba to end a lack of communication which has endured for more than half a century, and to initiate a rapprochement for the benefit of their respective citizens,” he said, adding that he was also pleased with the United States’ intention to close the Guantanamo detention facilities. “I note with satisfaction the intention of the United States to close the Guantanamo detention facilities, while acknowledging the generous willingness of several countries to receive the detainees. I would like to thank these countries from my heart,” he said. The pope closed his long speech with a wish for 2015 to be a year of “hope and peace”. “With these sentiments, I once more offer to each of you, to your families and your peoples, my prayerful good wishes that this new year of 2015 will be one of hope and peace,” he said. Francis is scheduled to depart on a week-long trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines later on Monday.