It’s hard to be Egyptian: water turning to blood, frogs, lice, wild animals, diseased livestock, boils, hailstorms, locusts, darkness, death of firstborn, and now Pope Francis.
Seriously, Francis notes the “incompatibility of violence and faith” and says: “Let us say once more a firm and clear ‘No!’ to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion or in the name of God.”
This all sounds good, but this is the man who said that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.”
It is clear that he has not revised that catastrophically counterfactual view, for instead of moving from his statement about rejecting violence in the name of religion to call upon Al-Azhar to reform the teachings of Islam that call for violence against unbelievers, Francis went on to an appeal for arms control and an oblique denunciation of Donald Trump and European leaders who want to stem the Muslim migrant onslaught: “Francis called for an end to the ‘proliferation of arms’ and lambasted ‘demagogic forms of populism.” On guns he said: “If they are produced and sold, sooner or later they will be used. Only by bringing into the light of day the murky maneuverings that feed the cancer of war can its real causes be prevented. National leaders, institutions and the media are obliged to undertake this urgent and grave task.” As if taking away weapons would end the jihad, which is what someone who believes that the Qur’an is opposed to any form of violence would think.
In greeting Al-Azhar’s sinister Ahmed al-Tayeb, Francis was once again photographed grinning happily while Tayeb stares back coldly. Every photo of them captures the same expressions, and they are a parable for the “interfaith dialogue” scam and for the Western leaders’ attitude as compared with that of the leaders of Muslim countries: the naive and ignorant Westerner reaching out in unfeigned friendship, happy to prove himself “tolerant” and not “Islamophobic,” while his Muslim counterpart, far more aware of what is going on, reacts coolly, and does not reveal what he is thinking.
But those who are aware of the contempt for Christians that is in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and the nature and magnitude of the global jihad, will have a pretty good idea of what is going through al-Tayeb’s mind.
“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)
“Pope Francis in Egypt: ‘No to every form of violence,'” by Sarah Sirgany and Joe Sterling, CNN, April 28, 2017:
Cairo (CNN)Pope Francis, speaking at the heart of Sunni Islam scholarship, stressed the importance of unity between Muslims and Christians to shape world peace and emphasized the “incompatibility of violence and faith.”
“Let us say once more a firm and clear ‘No!’ to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion or in the name of God,” the Pope said in Italian in a speech at a peace conference at Al-Azhar University, the premier seat of high learning among Sunni Muslims.
The Pope arrived in Egypt on Friday, kicking off a two-day trip designed to forge Muslim-Christian brotherhood and show solidarity with the country’s persecuted Coptic Christian minority.
Francis met with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb and became the first pontiff to visit the institution since Pope John Paul II in 2000.
The Pope and the Grand Imam spoke at the closing of the International Conference for Peace, organized by Al-Azhar. When he greeted the Grand Imam, the Pope called him “my brother.” The men sat side by side at the conference….
Francis opened his speech with “As-Salaam Alaikum,” the traditional Muslim greeting in Arabic that means “Peace be upon you,” after the imam’s address.”In order to prevent conflicts and build peace, it is essential that we spare no effort in eliminating situations of poverty and exploitation where extremism more easily takes root, and in blocking the flow of money and weapons destined to those who provoke violence,” he said.
Francis called for an end to the “proliferation of arms” and lambasted “demagogic forms of populism.”
“If they are produced and sold, sooner or later they will be used,” he said. “Only by bringing into the light of day the murky maneuverings that feed the cancer of war can its real causes be prevented. National leaders, institutions and the media are obliged to undertake this urgent and grave task.”…
The Pope, again speaking in Italian, focused on Egypt’s role in fighting terrorism in the region, evoking incidents from its biblical and modern history. He ceremonially greeted all Egyptian people, including minority Christians — Coptic Orthodox, Greek Byzantines, Armenian Orthodox, Protestants and Catholics.”Your presence in this, your country, is not new or accidental, but ancient and an inseparable part of the history of Egypt,” he said. “You are an integral part of this country, and over the course of the centuries you have developed a sort of unique rapport, a particular symbiosis, which can serve as an example to other nations.”
Francis highlighted the sacrifice of members of the army and the police, the forced exodus of Christians from Sinai and the latest church bombings. He also stressed respect for human rights and religious freedoms….
Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, then greeted Francis at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbassiya district, state TV said. They walked together in procession and took part in ecumenical prayers at the adjacent church of St. Peter, the site of a deadly blast in December that left at least 23 people dead….