Pope Francois asks Muslim world to condemn terrorism

(Baonghean.vn) - On Sunday, November 30, Pope Francois asked all Muslim leaders, politicians, and intellectuals to clearly and strongly condemn Islamic terrorism.

Pope Francois on the flight back to Rome after a visit to Türkiye on November 30. Photo: AP/Filippo Monteforte

During a press conference on the plane from Istanbul to Rome, Jorge Bergoglio interviewed Pope Francois on the topic of Islamic jihadist terrorism and “Islamophobia”. “Islamophobia” was the word coined after the Pope’s talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday. “I told President Erdogan how good it would be if all the leaders of the Muslim world, politicians, intellectuals, spoke out and condemned the violence that affects Islam,” Pope Francois said.

Pope Francois commented, “This will affect the vast majority of Muslims if it comes from the mouths of politicians, spiritual leaders or intellectuals. We need a global condemnation.” The deliberate actions not only in Iraq and Syria but also in Africa made him feel very indignant.

The Pope said the Koran is a book of peace and condemned those who “consider all Muslims terrorists”. He compared “Just as we cannot say that all Christians are extremists”. As for “Christianophobia” – Christians who convert to Islam and pursue extremist terrorism in the Middle East – Pope Francois said people must not only condemn them but also “force them to leave”.

The Pope concluded the interview by quoting a Muslim ambassador who said that “dialogue between world religions has come to an end.” The ambassador said that “everyone needs to make a qualitative leap,” and he also advocated that in addition to dialogue between intellectuals, there should also be a dialogue between “people of different religions of different parties” based on their “religious experience.”

Chu Thanh -according to LeMonde 11/30