Pope Francis has said that Islam cannot be equated with terrorism and warned that Europe was pushing its young into the hands of extremists.
“It’s not true and it’s not correct (to say) Islam is terrorism,” he told journalists on Sunday aboard the papal plane during the return journey from a trip to Poland.
“I don’t think it is right to equate Islam with violence”.
Francis defended his decision not to name Islam when condemning the brutal jihadist murder of a Catholic priest in France in the latest of a string of recent attacks in Europe claimed by the Islamic State group.
“In almost every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. We have them too.”
“If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk about Christian violence. Every day in the newspapers I see violence in Italy, someone kills his girlfriend, another kills his mother-in-law, and these are baptised Catholics.”
“It’s not true and it’s not correct (to say) Islam is terrorism,” he told journalists on Sunday aboard the papal plane during the return journey from a trip to Poland.
“I don’t think it is right to equate Islam with violence”.
Francis defended his decision not to name Islam when condemning the brutal jihadist murder of a Catholic priest in France in the latest of a string of recent attacks in Europe claimed by the Islamic State group.
“In almost every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. We have them too.”
“If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk about Christian violence. Every day in the newspapers I see violence in Italy, someone kills his girlfriend, another kills his mother-in-law, and these are baptised Catholics.”
