Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks about Islam. Jabi Saadeh, a member of the Anglican Church in the city, told reporters that four or five masked men in a white car threw several fire bombs at the wall of the church, without causing damage.
A group called the Lions of Monotheism claimed responsibility for the Saturday saying they were to revenge the Pope’s remarks about Islam. The attack in the town of Nablus came shortly after similar violence there Friday, September 15, when fire bombs set ablaze one of the walls of a Greek Orthodox Church, leaving part of it charred.
In published remarks, George Awad, head of the Greek Orthodox church, denounced what he called "a childish act". The attacks came after the Pope in a speech in Germany appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that the early Muslims spread their religion by violence.
The Pontiff’s words sparked protests across the Arab world. Thousands of Palestinians marched in the Gaza Strip on Friday, September 15, to protest his remarks as local leaders condemned the Pope and called on him to apologize to all Muslims.
VATICAN APOLOGIZES
On Saturday, September 16, the Vatican rushed to apologize for the remarks. New Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Pope’s position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God".
"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," the statement said. Christians in the West Bank said they were hoping that Muslims would not attack them as they ad nothing to do with the remarks.
In a rare sign of unity, senior officials from the Palestinian government, which has been led by the Islamic Hamas group after it won a January parliamentary election, and other local leaders gathered at the scene and condemned the attacks.
"We condemn this irresponsible attack and we believe that these acts will not affect the eternal unity of the Palestinian community," said Adli Yaaish, the mayor of Nablus and a Hamas leader reportedly said.
Most of the some 3.8 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip identify themselves as Muslim, while up to 2 percent are Christian. Christian rights groups, including Open Doors, have reported that evangelical Christians in the West Bank have faced threats and intimidation in the region. (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research and reports from the West Bank).
