Syria's Mufti calls on the Pope to take a stronger decision against Judaizing Jerusalem

Syrian Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kiftaro has called upon Pope John Paul II to take "a stronger stand towards the Judaizing of Jerusalem and to stand against aggression and corruption in the world."

In a message Kiftaro addressed on Tuesday to the Pope on the occasion of the Christmas and the new year, Kiftaro said "How much I was optimistic when I met in 1986 when I learnt from your highness the regret of the church over the crusaders' wars and the hostile onslaughts that took place in the Middle Ages and the consequences in inflicted on humanity and civilization of damages and pains." After he indicated that the "West in general and the US in particular support the Zionist aggressions against Palestine and Jerusalem, in particular," he indicated that "Western churches did not move to denounce, condemn or to stop these repressive situations, which are imposed on the Islamic world in Palestine, Iraq, Sudan and Libya."

He indicated that one member of the British parliament compared "the aggression on Iraq by missiles and warplanes as a new crusade, but not led by Richard the Lionheart, rather by the US President Bill Clinton and the British Premier Tony Blair."

Kiftaro concluded by addressing the Pope: "The world expects from you a strong stand towards the Judaizing of Jerusalem and the expulsion of its people, Muslims and Christians."