Pope Francis: "Islam is not terrorism"

Pope Francis says it is unjust and untrue to identify Islam with violence

 VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis said that “Islam is not terrorist” to reporters on his flight back from Cracow to Rome, stating that it is not right or fair to “identity Islam with violence.” He drew a parallel with the violence which also exists in Catholicism, saying that all religions have small fundamentalist groups.

 “Islam is not terrorist. It is not true and it is not fair. There are fundamentalist groups. For example the so-called ISIS, the Islamic State, who presents themselves as violent. But I do not want to speak of Islamic violence, because then I would have to speak of Catholic violence, watching the news and seeing what happens just in Italy. We can live together peacefully… I believe that in every religion there is always a small fundamentalist group.” These were the words of Pope Francis as he spoke to reporters about religion on his journey back from World Youth Day, which took place in Cracow and ended on Sunday.

 The Pope’s words were in response to the recent killing of an 85 year old Catholic priest during a church service in a small suburb of the French town Rouen. The priest was forced to his knees and his throat was slit. The murder was claimed by the Islamic State, which led to the Pope defending Islam as a non-violent religion.

 The Pope spoke of the different possible causes of terrorism, and highlighted that there are many, not just one. He said that terrorism grows when “there is no other option and when money is made a god, and it, instead of the person, is put at the centre of the world economy.”

 Pope Francis also told reporters on the plane that he believed one of the main causes of terrorism lies in the lack of economic opportunities for young people in Europe, who as a result turn to fundamentalist groups such as ISIS.

 Thousands of Muslims across France and Italy attended mass on Sunday as a gesture of interfaith solidarity following the recent terrorist attacks across Europe. The head of Italy’s Union of Islamic communities, Izzedin Elzir, called on his colleagues to “take this historic moment to transform tragedy into a moment of dialogue,” which resulted in Muslims all over the country attending catholic services as a show of unity. 

 Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni thanked Italian Muslims for attending the catholic services, praising them for “showing their communities the way of courage against fundamentalism.” Italians nationwide have expressed their desire to unite rather than divide religions through both words and actions, as Europe mourns the recent terrorist attacks carried out by fundamentalist religious groups.

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