The Pope provokes Islam

Religion can always be counted on to start a fight. Pope Benedict XVI's criticism of Islam, particularly the concept of jihad, during a recent visit to Germany, has been met with an angry response in Muslim countries.

In Turkey, the head of the state-run religious affairs directorate criticized the Pope's "spoilt and cocksure point of view." High ranking Islamist officials in Kuwait suggested the Pope was acting like a Crusader and called upon Muslim states to withdraw their ambassadors from the Vatican until he apologizes. The head of the Institute of Policy Studies in Pakistan accused him of straining relations between Islam and Christianity and suggested he is misinterpreting Muslim beliefs. A leader of one Pakistani political party struck a particularly low blow, referring to the Pope's "Bush-like statements."

Ah faith, how sweet thou art.