Replies

Vatican Controlled by Jews, Say Syrian Academics
May 06, 2001
Soheil Zakar, one of Syria's top historians, recently argued that "immense pressure" by American and European Zionist groups forced the Vatican in 1965 to absolve the Jews from the "historical responsibility" for the death of Jesus. Zakar, a Muslim whose 1983 book Popes From the Jewish Ghetto claims that three medieval popes were of Jewish origin. A Syrian Catholic historian, Michel Munir, alleges in a new book that Pope John Paul is the architect of a conspiracy to undermine the Catholic church by placing it under the control of Jews. Munir's book hit bookstores about a month before the pope's visit. The papal trip to Syria was meant in part to trace the travels of St. Paul, who spread the Christian faith throughout the Roman empire in the first century after he had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Israel Halts Mosque Construction
by Jamie Tarabay
Mar 3 2002
Israel announced a permanent halt Sunday on construction of a large mosque next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, drawing strong condemnation from Muslims in the biblical town. The Islamic Movement in Nazareth, the group that wants to build the mosque, accused Christian leaders abroad of meddling in a local affair and said it would not abandon its plans... Christian leaders have said that building a mosque so close to the Basilica - the largest in the Middle East and the site where tradition says the Angel Gabriel foretold Jesus' birth - would be disrespectful. Pope John Paul II threatened to cancel a visit in 2000 over the issue... Natan Sharansky, the Israeli Cabinet minister in charge of a committee the government set up last month to resolve the dispute, announced Sunday that construction of the mosque would be halted for good... Sharansky accused representatives of the Islamic Movement in Nazareth of intimidating Arab Christians in the city of 70,000 and warned extremists not to violate the government's decision.