Five churches attacked in Palestinian territories (Muslims go ballistic over Pope's comment)

Associated Press ^ | September 16, 2006

[NYer]

NABLUS, West Bank --

Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, following remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that angered many Muslims.

No injuries were reported in the attacks, which left church doors charred and walls pockmarked with bullet holes and scorched by firebombs. Churches of various denominations were targeted.

Relations between Palestinian Muslims and Christians are generally peaceful, and the attacks on the churches sparked concern that tensions would heighten.

``The atmosphere is charged already, and the wise should not accept such acts,'' Father Yousef Saada, a Greek Catholic priest in Nablus, said Saturday.

Ayman Daraghmeh, a legislator from the ruling Islamic militant Hamas group, denounced the attacks. Dozens of police took up position around churches in Nablus to protect the holy sites.

Firebombings left black scorch marks on the walls and windows of Nablus' Anglican and Greek Orthodox churches. At least five firebombs hit the Anglican church and its door was later set ablaze. Smoke billowed from the church as firefighters put out the flames

In a phone call to The Associated Press, a group calling itself the ``Lions of Monotheism'' claimed responsibility for those attacks, saying they were carried out to protest the pope's remarks in a speech this week in Germany linking Islam and violence.

Later Saturday, four masked gunmen doused the main doors of Nablus' Roman and Greek Catholic churches with lighter fluid, then set them afire. They also opened fire on the buildings, striking both with bullets.

In Gaza City, militants opened fire from a car at a Greek Orthodox church, striking the facade. A policeman at the scene said he saw a Mitsubishi escape with armed men inside. Explosive devices were set off at the same Gaza church on Friday, causing minor damage.

There were no claims of responsibility for the last three attacks Saturday.

``The people who did this are uneducated and ignorant,'' said the Gaza church's prelate, The Rev. Artinious Alexious. In his speech, Benedict cited an obscure Medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam's founder as ``evil and inhuman.'' The pope, spiritual leader of more than 1 billion Roman Catholics, did not explicitly agree with or repudiate the text.

The Vatican later said the pope did not intend the comments to be offensive. However, they have sparked worldwide protests by Muslims, and Muslim leaders have demanded an apology.

George Awad, a cleric at the Greek Orthodox church in Nablus, said he and other Catholics have apologized for the pope's remarks and urged Muslims to use restraint.

``There is no reason to burn our churches,'' he said.

On Friday, about 2,000 Palestinians protested against the pope in Gaza City, accusing him of leading a new Crusade against the Muslim world. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said the pope offended Muslims everywhere.

Christians make up a small _ and dwindling _ minority of several tens of thousands among the more than 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority has made considerable efforts to ensure the political representation of Christians.

Bishop Riah Abo El-Assal, the top Anglican clergyman in the Holy Land, said Saturday he expected his Muslim colleagues would swiftly denounce the attacks on the churches. He called them ``childish acts'' and said he was not increasing security at the Anglican churches in the area.

In Nablus, merchant Khaled Ramadan, who was dressed in traditional Islamic garb, said the pope's comments were unforgivable, but that Palestinians must not fight among themselves.

``We are one people and violent reactions like these should not happen here,'' he said.

[MadelineZapeezda]

There is no reason to burn our churches,'' he said.

mooslims don't need a reason to bomb a church. Just ask the Serbs of Kosovo. They especially like to burn on March 17th........................the rotten bastards burned 35 orthodox churches and killed scores in a 2 day pogrom called 'Kristallnacht'

[cjmae]

Case and point!

[NYer]

I suppose these idiots can't see that they're proving the Pope correct?

Let's identify them for what they are .... illiterate bedouins .... and Islam wants to keep them that way :-)

Yes, absolutely, they are proving the Pope correct.

[Chickensoup]

Relations between Palestinian Muslims and Christians are generally peaceful, and the attacks on the churches sparked concern that tensions would heighten.



I think that is leftist talk to say that those dirty rotten Christians may get mad and even retaliate instead of taking in on the cheek.

[paudio]

I think what the Pope said was right on money. However, like it or not, we have to be prepared to see more incidents like this in the future.

It comes to a question whether Christians--especially those who live in Islamic countries--ready to go to war, or at least see their churches attacked.

I expect Liberal & Islamic media will play "the consequences of Pope's speech" again and again that many people including Christians will start to think whether it was wise for Pope Benedict to say so.

Now, they have a new slogan: It's Pope's fault!

[Earthdweller]

This coming from you..the Catholic Church and the Pope should be honored. I stand with you my fellow Huguenot.

[muawiyah]

There's no reason at all for the Pope to not adopt the language and forms of the Protestant Reformers from time to time ~ particularly when he's dealing with folks who adhere to a religion much in need of reform!

I believe this gentleman is the first Pope from a country with large numbers of both Catholics and Protestants. The last German Pope was around before the Reformation, right?

[Earthdweller]

What you said. I'm following you.

[NYer]

What Muslims see are Christians unwilling to die for their beliefs.

Here, dear friend, you are absolutely wrong!

Fr. Andrea Santoro was killed February 5, 2006 while kneeling and praying in his Santa Maria Church in Trabzon, a city of 200,000 situated on the Black Sea. His killer, 16-year-old high school student Ouzhan Akdin, yelled “Allahu akbar” or “Allah is great” after firing two rounds from a nine millimetre handgun into Fr. Santoro’s back.

Fr. Santoro was a diocesan priest of Rome who had requested to work as a missionary in Turkey, which he had done for six years. Deal Hudson described Fr. Santoro as “a man deeply committed to fostering understanding between the east and west, as well as peace among religions,” according to his e-mail column, The Window. “He also served the poor and was notably active in the fight against sex trafficking of Christian women, a practice common in the region,” he added.

A volunteer in Turkey who knew Fr. Santoro remembered the last thing Fr. Santoro told him and a group of priests while on retreat not long before his death. “I live among these people so that Jesus can live among them through me. As it was at the time of Jesus, silence, humility, the simple life, acts of faith, miracles of charity, clear and defenceless witness, and the conscious offering of one’s life can rehabilitate the Middle East. I am convinced that in the end there are no two ways, only one way that leads to light through darkness, to life through the bitterness of death. Only by offering one’s flesh is salvation possible. The evil that stalks the world must be borne and pain must be shared till the end in one’s own flesh as Jesus did.”

Father Santoro died for his Catholic beliefs. He is a martyr!

[Muzzle_em]

Has the MSM EVER covered any of this?!!!

[NYer]

The last German Pope was around before the Reformation, right?

LIST OF GERMAN POPES

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Declare us a Religion of Peace or we kill you!

(All your stupidity is belong to us.)

[muawiyah]

I don't know how reliable the site is, but these guys have many articles concerning current Christian martyrs: http://www.worthynews.com/news-features-3/ethiopian-evangelical-killed.html

No excuse for the MSM to not be able to find these things out.

[Alouette]

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.

Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.

[hermgem]

It's called stepping it up.
First there was the Koran that a magazine reported to have been used for toilet paper, resulting in riots from Pakistan around the world.
Then came this Swedish caricature when masses went wild, but the western media learned to shut up, and now it's the Pope.
The rest of the world keeps getting more and increasingly silent with the end result that leads into a blackout for whatever these "unselfish" murderers, killers take upon themselves to kill or destroy.
Final stage: Islamists won and are free to kill, suppress, rule and to Islam-convert as they please.

[muawiyah]

Adrian barely made it. That's before the Treaty of Westphalia, so all the big issues were not settled in his time, but he'd certainly have been aware of the French trying to kill each other over how to conduct a mass.

[austinmark]

[Ronin]

*sigh* Imagine my surprise....

[Earthdweller]

Articles concerning current Christian martyrs: .

[MadelineZapeezda]

Has the MSM EVER covered any of this?!!!

No, other than it's all the Serbs fault