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AN organisation of 56 Islamic nations have pressed Pope Benedict to apologise for his comments linking Muslims and violence, keeping alive a two-week-old controversy. Foreign ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, approved a statement today urging the Vatican to "retract or redress" the comments, in which the Pope cited quotes saying the Muslim faith was spread by violence. The group issued its statement a day after Pope Benedict assured diplomats from some 20 Muslim nations and the leaders of Italy's Muslim community that he respected them and was committed to dialogue. It was the fourth time...

Islamist fighters in the Somali port of Kismayo opened fire overnight on residents who were burning tyres, throwing stones and chanting to protest against the Islamist takeover of the city hours earlier. A 13-year-old boy was shot dead while protesting, and two other people were injured as violence raged for several hours in Somalia's third biggest city. "We have been taken over by extremists, the Islamic courts have taken us by force, and now they are firing at us," protester Dahabo Dirie said. Riding in trucks with machine guns, the Islamists guarded main streets and forbade gatherings after the protests...

Treasurer Peter Costello has defended Pope Benedict XVI over his controversial comments on Islam, saying the violent reaction was about the stifling of free speech. In an address to a Christian gathering in which he attacked the efforts of Islamic extremists to force their views on nations, Mr Costello urged his audience to read the Pope's speech and wonder at the violent reaction. It's the second time in recent months the treasurer has opened up on the subject of Islamic extremism, earlier calling on those who would introduce sharia law to Australia to look for another country in which to...

THE contentious speech by Benedict XVI and the statement by Australia's George Pell signal a decisive change of attitude in the complex debate over the connection between Islam and violence. In his muscular statement this week, the Cardinal did more than defend the Pope. He did more than lament the Muslim violence directed against the Pope and the Catholic Church. The essence of Pell's statement was that such violence demonstrated one of the Pope's main fears: that for many Islamists there is a link between religion and violence. This is an inflammatory subject that many opinion makers want to keep...

Some Australian Muslim groups have reacted angrily to comments made by Australia's most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal George Pell. The Archbishop of Sydney has backed the Pope's speech made in Germany last week, linking Islam's history with violence. The Pontiff has since apologised, saying he is deeply sorry about angering so many Muslims, and that the 14th Century passages that he referred to in no way reflect his views. Cardinal Pell says the pontiff did nothing wrong in making the speech, and says he does not rule out a link between Islam and violence. "I'm not sure, I would welcome...

SYDNEY'S Catholic Archbishop has hit out at Muslims protesting over comments by the Pope, saying their reaction shows the link in Islam between religion and violence. Cardinal George Pell has also labelled the response of some Australian Muslim leaders to the issue as "unhelpful". A wave of protest has erupted among Muslims across the globe after comments by Pope Benedict XVI, in which he quoted an obscure medieval text that criticised some teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman". The Pope has since said he is "deeply sorry" for the outrage sparked by his remarks and stressed they...

A spokesman for the Australian Muslim community says Pope Benedict XVI should give a full explanation for his comments about Islam. The pontiff has sparked widespread outrage after last week quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said innovations introduced by the Prophet Mohammed were "evil and inhuman". He has since apologised. The head of the Federal Government's Islamic advisory committee, Dr Ameer Ali, says there is disappointment that Pope Benedict has linked Islam to violence. "We expect the Pope to follow the footsteps of his predecessor, who had been a great builder among communities for so many years, and...

<p>COMMENTS by Pope Benedict XVI implicitly linking Islam to violence have caused Muslims "genuine pain", a British Muslim leader said in Sydney today.</p> <p>The head of the Roman Catholic church provoked fury across the Islamic world when he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor's criticism of the Prophet Mohammed for bringing “evil” to the world and accusing Muslims of using the sword to spread their religion.</p>

AL-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden would be found, Prime Minister John Howard said today, despite reports the terrorist leader's trail had gone cold. United States commandos charged with capturing or killing bin Laden have not received a credible lead in more than two years, the Washington Post newspaper says. The report comes on the fifth anniversary of the airborne terrorist attacks in the United States that killed 3,000 people. "The world is a big place. (Bin Laden) has a lot of friends," Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting. "But in the nature of those things, I guess, he will suddenly...

THE thousands of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks will be remembered in a ceremony at the US embassy today. On the fifth anniversary of terrorists flying hijacked planes into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, new US ambassador Robert McCallum will host the memorial service at the embassy in Canberra. And Prime Minister John Howard, who was in Washington at the time of the attacks, has admitted he fears a similar attack on towering office blocks in downtown Sydney. Mr Howard, who will attend today's service, said the Government has the power to order the Australian air...

THE chairman of the government's Islamic advisory committee has warned of more Cronulla-style riots unless the Prime Minister tones down his comments on Muslim migrants. Prime Minister John Howard sparked a backlash in some sections of Australia's Muslim community by saying Muslim migrants needed to conform to Australian values by learning English and treating women with respect. But the head of the government's new Muslim advisory committee, Dr Ameer Ali, warned of trouble unless the Mr Howard backed down. "We have already witnessed one incident in Sydney recently in Cronulla, I don't want these scenes to be repeated because when...

PRIME Minister John Howard today said he had no need to apologise for telling Muslims they needed to embrace Australian values. Mr Howard sparked controversy yesterday by saying on talk-back radio that a small group of Muslim migrants had refused to accept their adopted country's values and had not learned English. His comments sparked fury among some Muslim leaders who say they were offended. But Mr Howard today stood by his comments. "I don't apologise," he told reporters. "I think they are missing the point and the point is that I don't care, and the Australian people don't care, where...

A MELBOURNE Muslim girl condemned by Islamic leaders for entering a beauty pageant has defied protests to be shortlisted for the Victorian final. Ayten Ahmet, 16, advanced to the top 26 of Miss Teen Australia yesterday despite an outcry from some of Victoria's senior Muslims. The year 11 student said she entered the pageant to fulfil her modelling ambition, and was surprised by the objections. Parents Salih and Sarah Ahmet said their daughter was a typical teenager, and her faith was irrelevant to the contest. Ms Ahmet, from Craigieburn, beat hundreds of hopefuls at an open casting session at Federation...

FEDERAL Treasurer Peter Costello has warned Australians to brace themselves for a war on terror that could exceed the previous 50 years of the cold war. Mr Costello told a Liberal Party conference in Melbourne today that Australians must "steel ourselves" and be clear about their values as they prepare for a long war on terror. "The cold war lasted over 50 years," he said. "The war on terror could last a lot longer." Mr Costello said a free society must be prepared to defend itself against the threat of terrorism. "There are, unfortunately, terrorists who would rather see Australia...

HATE-filled mums willing to sacrifice themselves and their BABIES are being hunted in the war on terror. Security sources confirmed last night that alleged “baby bombers” were among those arrested over the plot to massacre thousands by downing transatlantic flights. Those being quizzed included a husband and wife with a six-month-old infant. The discovery prompted fears that there were fanatical mothers in secret al-Qaeda cells in Britain ready to become suicide bombers — and to die with their tots in their arms. And it emerged as the reason why women at airports were ordered to drink from their babies’ bottles...

ISRAEL'S army has estimated that it has killed 530 Hezbollah guerillas during one month of fighting in Lebanon and has released names of 180 whose deaths had been verified. Hezbollah has acknowledged only a few dozen dead during the conflict. The army statement came hours before a ceasefire was due to take effect under a UN Security Council resolution accepted by both sides. "According to army estimates, over 530 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed since the start of fighting," the statement said. "Lists contain the names of 180 terrorists killed and whose identities were verified by the forces."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Terrorists were in the "final stages" of a plot to simultaneously blow up as many as 10 jets leaving Britain for the U.S., sending the planes and thousands of passengers into the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. British and Pakistani authorities teamed up to thwart the attacks, and 24 men were arrested in overnight raids in Britain, authorities said. An undercover British agent infiltrated the group, giving the authorities intelligence on the alleged plan, several U.S. government officials said. The men had not bought plane tickets, the officials said, but they were...

Nearly four in 10 Americans admit having feelings of prejudice against Muslims living in the U.S. – and are in favor of having Muslims carry a special ID, a new Gallup poll reveals. Also, 22 percent of those surveyed said they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor. Among the findings of the late-July USA Today/Gallup poll: 31 percent of respondents said they would feel nervous if they noticed a Muslim man on their airplane flight, and 18 percent would feel nervous about a Muslim woman flying with them. Less than half – 49 percent – feel...

A federal minister says the Government is investigating reports that a group of suicide bombers is being dispatched to attack Jewish interests in countries that support Israel. Newspaper reports say the Jakarta-based Asian Muslim Youth Movement claims the plan is being funded by two Australian-Indonesian businessmen. Human Services Minister Joe Hockey has told Channel 7 Australia was a terrorist target well before the recent increase in conflict between Lebanon and Israel. "We are a target, we always have been a target, we probably will be for a very long period of time," he said. "I can tell you that the...

ISRAEL today hacked into the television station of Hezbollah, emblazoning images on the screen showing pictures of corpses and claiming the Shiite militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah was a liar. One of the images shown on Al-Manar television portrayed the body of a fighter lying face-down, wearing khaki trousers with a text beneath in Arabic reading: "This is the photograph of a body of a member of Hezbollah's special forces". "Nasrallah lies: it is not us that is hiding our losses," continued the text, which appeared during the evening news and stayed on the screen for several minutes. A photograph...