Merkel defends Pope amid Muslim fury
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended   Pope Benedict on Saturday against allegations that he had   attacked Islam as worldwide Muslim fury continued over a speech   he made earlier this week.
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The construction of mosques in German cities is stoking anti-foreign sentiment and reinforcing fears that Christianity is under threat.
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ANKARA, Turkey -- Pope Benedict XVI, who sparked Muslim anger in September when he quoted a 14th-century ruler's characterization of Islam as a religion spread by violence, reached further back for more conciliatory words yesterday as he began a four-day visit to Turkey, his first papal trip to a Muslim country.
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ISTANBUL -- Turkey's top Islamic cleric asked Pope Benedict XVI yesterday to take back recent remarks he made about Islam and unleashed a string of counteraccusations against Christianity, raising tensions before the pontiff's November visit -- his first to a Muslim country.
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Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan   repeated on Wednesday his criticism of comments made by Pope   Benedict about Islam that sparked Muslim protests and said even   a politician would not have spoken in such a way.
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Pope Benedict XVI's challenge to secularism has been met with receptivity during his German visit.
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Vatican relations with the Islamic world must be restarted from square one because Muslims insist on misinterpreting Pope Benedict's recent comments on Islam, Germany's top Catholic cardinal said in an article on Wednesday.
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Pope Benedict XVI's remarks on Islam and holy war that have angered much of the Muslim world are in line with his efforts to spare religion from violence and extremism.
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Turkey greets Pope Benedict on Tuesday for a four-day official visit, but the welcome will be distinctly cool due to simmering Muslim anger over his comments on Islam and his past opposition to Ankara's EU ambitions.
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ISTANBUL, Sep 17 (IPS) - In another attempt to mollify the Islamic world  following apologies from the Vatican earlier, Pope Benedict XVI  personally intervened during his Angelus, the traditional Sunday  noon blessing, to reject any anti-Islam sentiment, and appeal for  dialogue.
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Pope Benedict will meet Muslim   ambassadors to the Vatican and Italian Islamic leaders on   Monday to try to calm anger over his use of a medieval text   which says their religion was spread by violence.
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Pope Benedict XVI urged leaders of all religions Tuesday to "utterly refuse" to support any form of violence in the name of faith, while Turkey's top Muslim cleric complained to the pontiff of growing "Islamophobia" in the world.
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VATICAN CITY -- A German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of Pope Benedict XVI's open popemobile before being swarmed by security guards yesterday -- reviving a debate over whether the pontiff needs stronger protection during his public audiences.
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, longtime foes in American politics, forcefully defended Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday against a wave of Muslim criticism over a speech last week.
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Al-Qaida in Iraq on Wednesday denounced Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey, calling it part of a "crusader campaign" against Islam. In Istanbul, Vatican officials said the remark shows the need for faiths to fight "violence in the name of God."
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Pope Benedict sets off on Tuesday  on one of the most delicate trips by a Pontiff, visiting  Turkey, where resentment is seething over his comments on Islam  and opposition to Ankara's EU bid.
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Pope Benedict XVI came under a hail of criticism from the Islamic world Friday for comments he made earlier in the week in Germany regarding the Prophet Mohammed and the Muslim faith.