Muslim hysteria erupted anew in September when Pope Benedict XVI, delivering an academic speech on faith and rationality at Regensburg University in Germany, quoted a remark by 14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus that Muhammad had commanded Muslims “to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The veracity of the quote aside (it is supported by Islamic historians and the Quran), the pope – twice stating that the quote was not his own – was referring to the emperor having argued that historical Muslim violence was not rational. This ironic subtlety was lost on Islamic leaders and media worldwide, who misconstrued the quote as the pope’s own words and labeled his speech as offensive, thus riling up masses that have a sharia sanction to perceive any criticism of Muhammad as “blasphemy.” The following month, Iraqi Muslims who kidnapped a Syrian Orthodox priest in Mosul added repudiation of the pope’s remarks to their list of demands. (See above, “Christians Targeted in Iraq.”) After kidnapping 59-year-old Father Boulos Iskander on October 9, the Muslim extremists lowered their demand from US$350,000 to US$40,000 but added that the priest’s church must publicly spurn Benedict’s comments. They beheaded the Orthodox priest even though the family paid the ransom and his parish placed 30 large signboards on city walls distancing itself from the pontiff’s comments.

On November 26 (also noted above), Muslim extremists citing vengeance for the papal comments kidnapped 69-year-old Elder Munthir of Mosul’s National Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Telling negotiators by telephone, “We will take revenge for the pope’s words . . . We will kill all the Christians, and we will start with him,” the kidnappers killed the Iraqi clergyman with a single bullet to the head on November 29. Islamist militants had distributed flyers across Mosul demanding that Catholic clergy condemn the Pope’s remarks or else “Christians will be killed and churches burned down.”

5 – Islamic Terrorist Confesses to Beheadings in Indonesia

Last November, one of three Muslim extremists on trial for the October 29, 2005 beheading of three Christian teenagers in Poso, Indonesia admitted his role in the attacks. A group of machete-wielding men had ambushed Theresia Morangke, 15, Alfita Poliwo, 17, Yarni Sambue, 15 and Noviana Malewa, 15 as they walked to their Christian school. The first three girls died instantly; Malewa received serious injuries to her face and neck but survived the attack. Known by his single name of Hasanuddin, the defendant admitted planning the murders as a “gift” to celebrate Idul Fitri, a festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The beheadings were also carried out to avenge the deaths of Muslims during inter-faith clashes in the eastern province of Central Sulawesi between 1998 and 2001, according to the defendants. The trial of the 24-year-old Hasanuddin (alias Hasan) began on November 8 in a Jakarta district courtroom, while two suspected accomplices, Lilik Purnomo (alias Haris or Arman) and Irwanto Irano (alias Irwan, also known as Apriyantono), were tried separately. All three could face the death penalty. After the fatal ambush, the men wrapped the girls’ heads in black plastic bags, leaving one head on the steps of a church in nearby Kasiguncu village and the other two near a police station five miles from Poso. Police had searched in vain for the perpetrators of the attacks until May of this year, when seven Islamic terrorists confessed to the beheadings. On November 20, the parents of the slain girls met with the defendants, and one mother said she was ready to pardon them. The families embraced the terrorists and shook hands as a sign of peace.