The disjunction between the idea that he is waging a “Crusader campaign” and what he is actually doing is of Grand Canyon proportions, but when has a disconnect from reality stopped them before? “Al-Qaida denounces pope visit to Turkey,” by Maamoun Youssef for Associated Press, with thanks to CGiddens, Jr.:
CAIRO, Egypt – Al-Qaida in Iraq on Wednesday denounced Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey, calling it part of a “crusader campaign” against Islam.
In Istanbul, Vatican officials said the remark shows the need for faiths to fight “violence in the name of God.”
The trip is Benedict’s first visit to an Islamic country as pontiff, seeking dialogue with Muslims who were angered over a speech he made in September in which he cited a medieval text that linked Islam and violence.
Al-Qaida in Iraq issued its statement on an Islamic militant Web site it often uses to post messages.
“The pope’s visit, in fact, is to consolidate the crusader campaign against the lands of Islam after the failure of the crusader leaders … and an attempt to extinguish the burning ember of Islam inside our Turkish brothers,” it said.