Pakistanis protest, cleric says Pope should be crucified (link him to Pres. Bush)

Yahoo News ^ | September 22, 2006

[NYer]

Hundreds of Pakistani Islamists held street protests to condemn Pope Benedict XVI for remarks they regard as anti-Islamic, with one leader saying the pontiff should be crucified.

Demonstrators Friday poured out of mosques after the main weekly Muslim prayers in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, the eastern city of Lahore, the capital Islamabad and other urban centres.

"If the pope comes here we will hang him on the Cross," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior leader of Pakistan's main alliance of radical parties, told around 200 noisy demonstrators in Islamabad.

The alliance, called the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal or United Action Front, forms part of the parliamentary opposition and is often heavily involved in street protests in mostly Muslim Pakistan.

Ahmed also said the pope had joined US President George W. Bush's "crusade" against Muslims, referring to Christians who fought against Muslims from the 11th through the 13th centuries.

In Karachi police said at least 100 hardliners shouted slogans demanding an apology from the pope and criticising the United States.

"Religious leaders like the pope should not use (US President George W.) Bush's tone," Merajul Huda, Karachi chief of the hardline Jamaat-i-Islami party, told the rally.

Witnesses said more than 300 people chanted slogans against the pope outside an Islamic school in the central city of Multan. Dozens more massed in Lahore.

Prayer leaders also condemned the pope during Friday sermons around the country.

Anger has gripped the Muslim world since the pope quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said innovations introduced by the Prophet Mohammed were "evil and inhuman."

The pontiff later said he was "deeply sorry" for the outrage triggered by his speech early this month at a German university, and that the passages quoted by him did not express his personal opinion.

A gathering of hundreds of fundamentalists in Lahore on Thursday said Pope Benedict should be removed from his position for his "blasphemous" comments.

The Pakistani parliament has also condemned the pope's comments and the foreign ministry summoned the Vatican's envoy in Islamabad last week to lodge a protest.

[NYer]

Supporters of Pakistani opposition chant slogans holding their party flag which reads 'God is great,' to condemn Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks about Islam which hurt the sentiments of Muslims, Friday, Sept. 22, 2006 in Karachi, Pakistan. Protests continued to demand that Pope apologize fully for his remarks on Islam and violence. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Pakistani opposition leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed addresses his supporters gathered to condemn Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks about Islam which hurt the sentiments of Muslims, Friday, Sept. 22, 2006 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Protests continued to demand that Pope apologize fully for his remarks on Islam and violence. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)

[NYer]

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[areafiftyone]

God I hate these people!

[mainepatsfan]

ROP alert.

[NYer]

Love thy neighbor ;-)

[areafiftyone]

LOL sure sure sure! LOL Now where is that porkchop! LOL

[NYer]

Supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League party burn an effigy of Pope Benedict to protest against his remarks about Islam, during a demonstration in Multan September 21, 2006. European Union countries should take 'very seriously' the threat to Pope Benedict after his comments on Islam sparked outrage in the Muslim world, the EU's top security official said on Thursday. REUTERS/Asim Tanveer (PAKISTAN)

[wideawake]

Do your worst, sons of Belial.

You did the same to the first Pope.

And we're still here.

[NYer]

Now where is that porkchop!

Let's wait until sunset and send in a pack of these "glow in the dark" pigs.

That should give them something to shout about.

[areafiftyone]

ROLFMAO!

[kinghorse]

Love the upside down poster in the background. Jihad is our way (straight to hell). All it's needs is an arrow pointing down.

[metmom]

Hundreds of Pakistani Islamists held street protests to condemn Pope Benedict XVI for remarks they regard as anti-Islamic, with one leader saying the pontiff should be crucified.

And they're doing this in objection to his comments that their religion is violent. Riiight.

They're just proving his point. Idiots.

[kinghorse]

Oh and the guy holding the effigy. I've seen this cat pulling pizzas out of the oven down at Ernies. Unmistakable pose. How did he get over there?

[wvobiwan]

Ignorant savages. Good thing Islam is the Religion of Peace or I'd think they really mean it. /sarcasm

It's so pathetic to see folks who can barely read and write complaining about theological and historical truths.

Islam seems to be the Religion of the Permanently Brain Damaged. So if the Pope doesn't apologize for implying that Islam was historically violent, Islamists will be presently violent.

[BelegStrongbow]

I should get upset over this, but it's simply too self-parodying to be worth the emotional effort.

Just keep our powder dry, that's all this is about. If they want a war, they're going to actually have to kill one of us to start it. I'm sure they'd love to do that, but if ranting in their own streets is all they can come up with then I'd say that Pres Bush's responses have been more effective than most think.

I personally think these people are gone crazy and don't even remember what sanity once was. That's dangerous, to be sure, but they're also so out of touch they keep reminding us they are after our hides. Nothing like a good warning to put your back up and keep your weapon in your hand, so the only thing this all accomplishes is to make them feel like big men.

[conservativecorner]

Religion of peace my arse BUMP!

[areafiftyone]

DID ANYONE NOTICE THE WOMAN WITH THE SIGN???? UPSIDE DOWN!

[Mercat]

I'm disappointed. Sounds like B16 is apologizing even though it's couched in "sorry you're upset" type of language. He should instead point out the irony of rioting to object to saying that they riot. grrrr....

[Steel Wolf]

The only thing between these people, nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles is Pervez Musharraf.

That's my 'happy thought' for today.