Claims of Peace, Threats of War

The flap continues over Pope Benedict’s recent remarks concerning the alleged violent nature of Islam. In the West Bank and elsewhere thousands of Muslims gathered today to protest the pontiff, waving banners and calling Benedict a "coward" and an "agent of the Americans." Though the pope has expressed regret about the reactions to his speech, many are not satisfied. In the past few days enraged Muslims have assaulted seven churches in the West Bank and in Gaza. These latest large-scale protests come only a day after a meeting of Muslims clerics in Lahore announced that jihad is not terrorism and that "Islam was not propagated with the sword." In a somewhat ironic twist, Muslim worshippers in Jerusalem, perhaps unaware of the meeting’s verdict, raised banners displaying the phrase, "Conquering Rome is the answer." Other protesters took up the refrain, "The army of Islam will return."