Muslim scholars and religious leaders in Pakistan urged him to play a positive role in bringing Islam and Christianity closer.
ISLAMABAD: Muslim scholars and religious leaders in Pakistan on Thursday criticised Pope Benedict's remarks against Islam and urged him to play a positive role in bringing Islam and Christianity closer.
"It is very unfortunate that a religious leader of his stature is issuing statements which can fan religious disharmony," Khurshid Ahmed, head of the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad, said.
Pope Benedict XVI courted controversy during a visit to his native Bavaria in Germany Tuesday when he fleetingly criticised the Islamic concept of "Jihad (holy war)".
"The Pope's attitude is very different from his predecessor. Instead of bringing Islam and Christianity closer, he is straining relations between the two religions," Ahmed said.
"In the present political atmosphere such views can be exploited by those who are trying to malign Muslims and Islam."
"We expect the Pope to play a positive role in promoting relations between religions and civilisations."
"The Pope's views about the role of Sharia (Islamic law) and Jihad are at variance with Muslim beliefs."
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior leader of the hardline Jammiat Ulema-e-Islam party and an MP, urged the Pope not to take inspiration from US President George W Bush.
"The Pope is a respected personality not only for Christians but for Muslims also. He should not lower his stature by giving Bush-like statements," he said.
"Jihad is a tool for defence and we expect the Pope to speak against aggression," he added.
"The Pope's statement is highly irresponsible," a senior Islamic scholar Javed Ahmed Ghamdi said.
"The concept of Jihad is not to spread Islam with sword," Ghamdi said in a statement.
"The Pope's statement was an attempt to jeopardise a remarkable unity displayed by Christians and Muslims against recent Israeli aggression in Lebanon," Shahid Shamsi, spokesman for the main fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami party said.
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