First balanced views about Pope Benedict XVI’s discourse at Regensburg appear
(19 Sept;2006): -First balanced views about Pope Benedict XVI’s discourse at Regensburg
appear. Amid criticism and violence against Pope Benedict XVI’s discourse at the University
in Regensberg, Germany, the first balanced views about the Pope’s speech appear.
Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said the full text of the Pope speech in
Regensburg should be read before making any comments on its contents. “I hope that
the reports in this regard are misinterpreted, as such remarks as reported in the
press, are usually made by uninformed and fanatic people but my impression of the
Pope was rather of an educated and patient man,” Khatami said after his return to
Tehran from a two-week visit to the United States. Khatami’s is the first balanced
statement to come out of the Muslim world with regard to the Pope’s remarks about
statements made by a 14th century Byzantine Emperor on Islam. During his Sunday Angelus
message, Pope Benedict had again insisted that the Byzantine emperor’s words do
not reflect his views. So far reactions in the Muslim world, which have ranged from
outrage and criticism to violence, have been based solely on media excerpts. There
are not as yet any translations of the Pope’s speech into Arabic or any Eastern languages.
Like Iran’s Khatami, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also been more
balanced in his reaction. Speaking from Havana,Cuba, where he is attending a summit
of non-aligned countries, he said that “Indonesian Muslims should have wisdom, patience,
and self-restraint to address this sensitive issue.. We need them so that harmony
among people is not at stake”. In the meantime, protests and violence continue in
some parts of the Muslim world. Some 200 Iranian clerics and seminary students gathered
on Sunday in Qom, 135 kilometres south of the capital Tehran, to protest against what
they called anti-Islamic remarks by Pope Benedict .