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Americans Review Pope’s Speech on Islam
- Few adults in the United States think Benedict XVI should express regret for his comments on Islam, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. Only 25 per cent of respondents believe the Pope should apologize.
On Sept. 12, Benedict XVI gave a lecture at the University of Regensburg in Germany. In his address, the Pope quoted a 1391 text, where Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus said: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
Several Islamic leaders and politicians expressed dismay at the Pope's speech. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Benedict XVI to "retract his erroneous, ugly and unfortunate remarks and apologize both to the Islamic world and Muslims." Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged The Vatican to "take full responsibility over the matter and carry out the necessary steps to rectify the mistake."
On Sept. 17, the Pope declared: "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. (...) I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect."
Polling Data
Should the Pope apologize for his comments?
Yes | 25% |
No | 48% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.