Muslims enraged over apparent comparison between the Pope and Muhammad

Alan Roden:

A MUSLIM leader was at the centre of a furious row today after being accused of comparing Pope John Paul II to the Prophet Muhammad.

Jalal Chaudry sparked an angry reaction from across Edinburgh by describing the late Pope as "God’s messenger of peace on this earth".

A furious group of worshippers from Edinburgh’s Central Mosque have told Mr Chaudry to resign as chairman of the Islamic Society of Scotland and apologise to the Muslim community.

But the community leader today refused to quit the newly-formed organisation.

Mr Chaudry, who has withdrawn the statement in a bid to end the controversy, also claimed he had been misunderstood.

According to Muslim belief, the prophet was chosen by Allah to deliver his message of peace - or Islam - to the world. The Qur’an states that Muhammad is the very last prophet and the final messenger of God.

Mr Chaudry, a senior member of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), was accused of comparing the Pope to Muhammad following comments in Monday’s Evening News.

Mr Chaudry, who represented Edinburgh Muslims at this week’s requiem Mass for the Pope, said a "small minority of extremists" were now spreading hatred in the community following his tribute to the Pope. "I am astonished and saddened that my statement about John Paul II has been misunderstood and interpreted wrongly," he said.

"I said the Pope was a messenger of peace and that has angered some people who have been spreading false rumours that I believe the Pope was a new prophet. There are extremist Muslims who have different views to me and don’t share my moderate beliefs and they should be exposed.

"The Pope was a person from God who preached peace and he fought for the legitimate right of every human being on this world - Christian and Muslim - and he worked to unite the faiths. We should respect other faiths in the same way we want people to respect our faith.

"I categorically did not say that the Pope was a prophet from God - of course he wasn’t - but I completely stand by my beliefs. Nelson Mandela is also a messenger of peace."

However, Mr Chaudry said the anger now aimed at him was "deeply distressing" for his family and friends. He added: "To end this controversy I have decided to withdraw my statement from earlier this week.

"However, I truly believe that Pope John Paul was a great preacher and propagator of peace. I regret if someone has been offended or has had their feelings hurt as a result of my earlier statement."

A spokesman for the MCB today said Mr Chaudry did not have the right to speak on the group’s behalf. Inyat Bunglauala said the statement to the Evening News was "not a wise choice of words".

"To name the Pope as God’s messenger is problematic because we only recognise the prophets as this, and Muhammad was the last one," he said.

"But we do believe the Pope will be enormously missed by Muslims, especially as he gained a lot of respect among our community when denouncing the Iraq war in front of Tony Blair."

Shopworker Mohammad Iqbal, 50, of Howden Hall Road, reacted angrily to Mr Chaudry’s comments, saying he should resign from all Islamic organisations. "Jalal is not authorised to speak on behalf of the Muslim community and the Pope is not a messenger from God," he said.

"It was very wrong of Jalal to say this about the Pope and it has made a lot of people very angry indeed. John Paul II was a peacemaker and we agree with a lot of his views, but that is all.

"These comments are an insult to all Muslims and Jalal should make a public apology and resign. He should not be allowed to be a spokesman for our community."

If half of the things that I have heard about the "Prophet" are true then the only person being insulted by the comparison was Pope John Paul II.

Around the Blogosphere:

UK: Muslims' fury as Pope 'compared to Prophet'