Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "deep respect" for Islam on Friday as he arrived in Jordan on the first leg of his Middle East visit.He made the remarks in the capital Amman where he was met by King Abdullah, Queen Rania and Muslim and Christian leaders.
The pope said he hoped that the Catholic church could play a role in the Middle East peace process as he began his first trip to the region where he hopes to improve relations with Muslims and Jews.
"My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community, and to pay tribute to the leadership shown by his majesty the king in promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam," Benedict said soon after landing in Amman.
The eight-day tour, in which the Pope describes himself as a "pilgrim of peace", is his first visit to the Middle East as pontiff. After Jordan, he will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories.
In a welcoming speech, Jordan's King Abdullah described Islam as a religion of tolerance and brotherly love. Jordan, which is made up of Christians as well as Muslims, wants to see them living in peace.
He welcomed remarks by Benedict aimed at bringing the two faiths closer together, backed a Palestinian state, but also affirmed Israel's right to security.
A Jordanian army band with bagpipes and drums played the Vatican and Jordanian national anthems before the pope and King Abdullah inspected the honour guard.
The stated aim of the pope's tour of the holy places is to encourage the minority Christian community in the Middle East and creating better dialogue with Muslims and Jews.
The pope angered many in the Muslim world with a 2006 speech in which he quoted a Medieval text that characterised some of the Prophet Muhammed's teachings as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."
Jordan's hard-line Muslim Brotherhood said Friday before the pope arrived that its members would boycott his visit because he did not issue a public apology as they had demanded.
Brotherhood spokesman Jamil Abu-Bakr said the absence of a public apology meant "obstacles and boundaries will remain and will overshadow any possible understanding between the pope and the Muslim world."
Although it commands a small bloc in parliament, the brotherhood is Jordan's largest opposition group.
As the pope began his visit, he was the target of threats from followers of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar angered by alleged Christian prosletysing in Afghanistan.
Published under the title, 'Statement from the Islamic emir on the spread of Christianity in Afghanistan', the Taliban released the message on the internet in response to a recent report on Arab TV network, Al-Jazeera, in which American soldiers were proselytising outside the Afghan capital, Kabul.
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Source (AKI)
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