Pope Francis, in Rome after a three-day trip to Turkey, told reporters that non-Muslims shouldn’t be “enraged” at the larger Muslim community when acts of terrorism are committed in the name of Islam.
“You just can’t say that, just as you can’t say that all Christians are fundamentalists. We have our share of them (fundamentalists). All religions have these little groups,” he said, Reuters reported.
“They (Muslims) say: ‘No, we are not this, the Koran is a book of peace, it is a prophetic book of peace,’” he added.
The pope also called on key Muslim leaders to condemn terrorism when it’s conducted in the name of Islam.
Such “global condemnation” would do a lot toward warding off stereotypes against Islam, he said.
This story was updated to reflect the pope’s full quotes
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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