Reuters
Sunday, September 17, 2006
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The killing of an Italian Catholic nun in Mogadishu on Sunday may well be linked to anger among Muslims about Pope Benedict’s recent remarks on Islam, a senior source among Somalia’s Islamists said.
“There is a very high possibility the people who killed her were angered by the Catholic Pope’s recent comments against Islam,” the source told Reuters.
The source, however, offered no specific evidence to support that motive.
Gunmen shot and killed the nun, who worked at a children’s hospital in north Mogadishu, and her bodyguard.
“After serious injuries, she died in the hospital treatment room. … She was shot three times in the back,” Dr Ali Mohamed Hassan, a physician at the hospital, told Reuters.
The attack occurred amid widespread Muslim anger over comments by Pope Benedict in a speech on Tuesday in Germany in which he quoted a 14th century emperor who said everything the Prophet Mohammed brought was evil “such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The Pope’s speech was construed by many in the Muslim world as anti-Islamic. Churches have been attacked in the Palestinian territories over the weekend.
The Pope on Sunday said he was sorry his speech had sparked anger among Muslims and said his intention had been to start a dialogue.
Source: Reuters, Sept 17, 2006
