(15 Sep 2006)
1. Exterior of Al-Azhar mosque
2. Worshippers inside mosque listening to Salah El Din Nassar, Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque giving Friday speech
3. Medium of Al-Azhar imam at Friday prayers speech
4. Man chanting "Oh Crusaders, oh cowards, down down with the pope"
5. Various of protesters after Friday prayers chanting outside mosque
6. Various of protesters marching outside mosque
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Professer Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College (New York):
"The statement by the Pope suffers from two fallacies, I think that the first fallacy is that it lacks knowledge of what really Islam and Muslims are all about. I don't think, the Pope unfortunately understands the complexity of the Islamic religion and the Islamic civilisation, and on the other hand the second fallacy is that regards to what you think the Pope said, I think it deepens and widens the gulf that exists between the world of Islam and the west."
8. Wide of protesters
9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Salah El Din Nassar, Imam of Al-Azhar mosque:
"The comments by the Pope against prophet Muhammad shows ignorance and it is an insult to all prophets and such things would worsen interfaith relations between Muslims and Christians."
10. Close of protesters holding banners
STORYLINE:
About 100 people, mostly worshippers after Friday prayers, staged an anti-Vatican demonstration outside the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.
The demonstration started inside the mosque, with hundreds of riot police in black helmets and shields, lining outside of mosque to keep the protesters inside.
The protesters chants included, "Oh crusaders, oh cowards, down down with the pope" and "No god but Allah, we redeem you prophet of Allah with our souls."
The organiser of the demonstration, a Muslim Brotherhood figure spoke through a loud speaker and requested an apology from the Vatican.
"The comments by the Pope against prophet Muhammad shows ignorance and it is an insult to all prophets and such things would worsen interfaith relations between Muslims and Christians," said Salah El Din Nassar, the Imam of the mosque.
"I don't think, the Pope unfortunately understands the complexity of the Islamic religion and the Islamic civilisation... I think it deepens and widens the gulf that exists between the world of Islam and the west," said Professer Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College (New York) a Christian who who is visiting Egypt at the moment to conduct interviews with civil society leaders.
Islamic leaders across the world on Friday denounced Benedict's remarks on Islam.
Senior clerics in Iran and Lebanon, as well as Turkey, Syria, and Egypt demanded the pope personally apologise for what they see as an insult to Islam.
The Pakistani parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the pontiff for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam.
During a lecture at Regensburg University on Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and an educated Persian on the truths of Christianity and Islam.
The Vatican hastened to defend the pope, saying that the pontiff did not want to offend anyone, but promote respect and dialogue toward other religions, including Islam.
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