{"id":1079,"date":"2012-09-15T13:01:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-15T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/catholics-decry-muslim-violence-in-libya-middle-east\/"},"modified":"2012-09-15T13:01:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-15T13:01:00","slug":"catholics-decry-muslim-violence-in-libya-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/09\/catholics-decry-muslim-violence-in-libya-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholics decry Muslim violence in Libya, Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Sep 15, 2012 \/ 07:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Catholic leaders and scholars have denounced the violence that killed a U.S. ambassador and several other Americans in Libya, as well as ongoing clashes throughout the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\tCardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted the \u201curgency\u201d surrounding the situation.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cYesterday\u2019s events in Libya and Egypt point to what is at stake,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to be respectful of other religious traditions at the same time that we unequivocally proclaim that violence in the name of religion is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe cardinal\u2019s comments came at a Sept. 12 international religious freedom symposium co-sponsored by the bishops\u2019 conference, Catholic Relief Services and The Catholic University of America.<\/p>\n

\tHe observed that thousands of Christians are being forced out of Middle Eastern countries due to harassment and violence. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAs many Muslims and Jews will tell you, this is not good for the region,\u201d he explained, noting that Christians are indigenous to the region.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey contribute to the common good of their societies, and their presence enriches diversity and tolerance, and beyond tolerance, respect,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir presence is good for all of the people of the Middle East.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tOn the night of Sept. 11, an angry crowd stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.<\/p>\n

\tIn the following days, violence has spread throughout the region. Much of the violence in the area appears to be in reaction to a low-budget video produced in the U.S. that mocks Islam's Prophet Muhammad.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, according to the Associated Press, a senior Libyan official has said that militants in that country may have used the film as a cover for a planned terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate.<\/p>\n

\tUnlike the other protests in the region, the crowd in Libya was heavily armed, reportedly using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to carry out the attack.<\/p>\n

\tProtests have now been reported in some 20 countries. While some of these protests were primarily peaceful, others quickly turned violent in Middle Eastern nations including Yemen, Sudan, Tunis and Egypt.<\/p>\n

\tAccording to Fox News, demonstrators in Lebanon chanted against Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s 3-day Apostolic Visit to the country, which began Sept. 14. The pope has said that he is visiting the region as \u201ca pilgrim of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tDr. Thomas Farr, who served as the first director of the U.S. State Department's office of international religious freedom, said that the problem underlying the violence is \u201cthe view, widely accepted among Muslims abroad, that anyone who offends Islam must be punished, either by the state or private actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tViolent extremism and the idea \u201cthat anyone offending Islam must be punished\u201d are leading to increased attacks on religious minorities and threatening the security of America, he warned.<\/p>\n

\tFarr, who directs the Religious Freedom Project at the Georgetown University\u2019s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, also spoke at the international religious freedom symposium on Sept. 12.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cNo one should insult the sacred beliefs of another,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is an assault on human dignity and respect for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBut the malevolent idea that the proper response to defamation of religion is criminal prosecution, let alone violence or murder, is a dangerous problem in the Muslim-majority world,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\tFarr stressed that is \u201cin the vital interests of the United States\" that these Middle Eastern nations \"overcome violent religious extremism and achieve stable democracies and economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tTo achieve this, he said, the U.S. must more effectively support Muslims within these countries who understand the critical importance of religious freedom for their nation's future success and realize \u201cthat Islam can be defended without violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Sep 15, 2012 \/ 07:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Catholic leaders and scholars have denounced the violence that killed a U.S. ambassador and several other Americans in Libya, as well as ongoing clashes throughout the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\tCardinal …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholics decry Muslim violence in Libya, Middle East<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Sep 15, 2012 \/ 07:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Catholic leaders and scholars have denounced the violence that killed a U.S. ambassador and several other Americans in Libya, as well as ongoing clashes throughout the Middle East. 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