Pope baptises former Muslim during Easter Vigil

Pope baptises former Muslim during Easter Vigil

afp.google.com

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday baptised a former Muslim among seven converts to Roman Catholicism during an Easter vigil mass at St Peter's Basilica.

Magdi Allam, a 55-year-old Italian journalist of Egyptian origin, is an editorial writer and deputy publisher of the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

He was long described as a moderate Muslim before he decided to convert to Catholicism.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Edit:
Another article for more on the happening:
ap.google.com...

Pope Baptizes Prominent Italian Muslim

An Egyptian-born, non-practicing Muslim who is married to a Catholic, Allam often writes on Muslim and Arab affairs and has infuriated some Muslims with his criticism of extremism and support for the Jewish state.

The deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper, Allam, 55, told the Il Giornale newspaper in a December interview that his criticism of Palestinian suicide bombing generated threats on his life in 2003, prompting the Italian government to provide him with a sizable security detail.

(Visit the link for the full news article)

Edit: Sorry, I wanted to bring more attention to the second article linked since it has more and it was the original I found.

[edit on 22-3-2008 by spec_ops_wannabe]

[edit on 22-3-2008 by spec_ops_wannabe]

[edit on 22-3-2008 by spec_ops_wannabe]

What do you guys think about this? Please read the whole article before posting your thoughts.

afp.google.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Religious freedom.
He has a right to convert, but extremist won't see it that way. Many Muslims convert to Christianity and I have to question why the Pope has decided to do this during the Easter Vigil.

Why is this even a story or a thread? People convert to other religions all the time. Hopefully the person is happy with their choice and will find their own peace with God.

This is a great Easter story! And what makes it better is that the Pope didn't threaten to cut his head off if he didn't convert.

[edit on 22-3-2008 by RRconservative]

Kinda reminds me of the pokemon thing . "gotta have em all" Except "Gotta convert em all"

Flex those conversions muscles . 1 down millions and millions and millions to go .

I wonder how long it takes for a fatwa to be put on his head. Apostasy occurs, live with it!

(Though i have to agree, i cant see why this is a thread. Any special motivation behind posting it?)

reply to post by oLDWoRLDDiSoRDeR


That is absurd. Do you think the Vatican specifically sought out a Muslim to convert? The Catholic Church baptizes those seeking to fully join the Catholic faith at Easter Vigil each year in churches around the world.

It would be great if some people took the opportunity to educate themselves rather take the lazy approach by leaving ill informed snarky comments that do nothing to further the dialogue.

reply to post by Night Watchman


Does it matter what i think? If this wasn't some kind of "prize" takeover. Why mention he's a Muslim ?
Sounds like there claiming a "victory" of sorts.
"Look paw we converted us a Muslim"

Sad really. . Poor religious people .

[edit on 22-3-2008 by oLDWoRLDDiSoRDeR]

reply to post by oLDWoRLDDiSoRDeR


Yes, of course, all "religious people," are the same. You do understand that your closed minded ignorance exposes you, right? There are plenty of people who do not belong to organized religions but are intelligent enough to allow for those who do.

Then are uneducated people like you who can do nothing but spew venom.

That is what is sad.

Originally posted by infinite
Religious freedom.
He has a right to convert, but extremist won't see it that way. Many Muslims convert to Christianity and I have to question why the Pope has decided to do this during the Easter Vigil.

If it were only that easy:

The four major Sunni and the one major Shia Madh'hab (schools of Islamic jurisprudence) agree that a sane adult male apostate must be executed.[1

en.wikipedia.org...

Kinda hard to convert from a religon that deems you worthy of death for leaving it.

The importance lies in the fact the OBL has (supposedly) just released a new video in which he accuses the Pope and the Catholic church of initiating a modern day crusade.

The fact that he is Baptizing a Muslim convert at Easter is bound to give rise to claims of substantiation of OBL's assertions. The question is, has this type of thing been done before by Pope's at this time of year - in recent history - or is this a blatant FU.

reply to post by kosmicjack


As mentioned earlier, baptisms of new members of the Catholic Church take place at Easter Vigil in parishes around the world. Those converts come from all backgrounds, religious histories and ethnicities.

The fact that the media has picked up on this and portrayed it as something unusual is the fault of the sensationalist media and willfully uneducated consumers.

What does the latest (and typically irrelevant) OBL tape have to do with any of this?

Originally posted by RRconservative

This is a great Easter story! And what makes it better is that the Pope didn't threaten to cut his head off if he didn't convert.

[edit on 22-3-2008 by RRconservative]

You can bet there will be a price on his head SOON! Some Imam will issue a fatwa and offer thousands of dollars to have him killed.....just watch!

Originally posted by infinite
I have to question why the Pope has decided to do this during the Easter Vigil.

That's traditionally when new Catholics enter the church. Easter Vigil. They take lessons and prepare during the year and then Easter is the holy day of rebirth and new beginnings. Nearly everyone enters the church on Easter Vigil.

Originally posted by oLDWoRLDDiSoRDeR
Why mention he's a Muslim ?

Because he's a well known muslim and people noticed.
He's rather well known in Italy.
This is no big deal.
You are making something out of it when there is nothing to it.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
has this type of thing been done before by Pope's at this time of year -

It's ALWAYS done at EXACTLY this time of year - each year.

Muslim converted by Pope says life in more danger

An outspoken Muslim author and critic of Islamic fundamentalism who converted to Christianity at the hands of Pope Benedict said on Sunday he realized he was in greater danger but he has no regrets.

"I realize what I am going up against but I will confront my fate with my head high, with my back straight and the interior strength of one who is certain about his faith," said Magdi Allam.

Allam, the author of numerous books, said he realized that his conversion would likely procure him "another death sentence for apostasy," or the abandoning of one's faith.

I don't know why one would convert to any religion these days, but more power to Allam. If he wants to join the Catholic faith, I can't say much about it.

Why wouldn't he have done this earlier though? He's been speaking out against the Islamic countries for some time and is a staunch Israel supporter.

Sounds like a fundamentalist to me not a Catholic. I think you picked the wrong sect my friend

Pope: "This Easter, in keeping with church dogma, we will baptize this former Muslim in front of the whole world. Not to bring him spiritual light, but to fan the flames of religious intolerance and holy war all over the world"

If this isn't ideological posturing I don't know what is.

Offensive. And I'm a Christian.

Pope Easter message seeks peace in Tibet, Iraq, Darfur

Pope Benedict called in his Easter message on Sunday for an end to injustice, hatred and violence around the world, including in Tibet, Iraq and Darfur.

The pope, who turns 81 next month, celebrated an Easter Mass for tens of thousands of people in driving rain in St Peter's Square as Christians around the world commemorated Christ's resurrection.

Ratzinger has already said enough with slaughters in Iraq .

Do Catholics not listen to the man?

I thought you're supposed to take his word as that of God's? If so, will Catholics ask for a ceasefire in Iraq, an end to the genocide in Darfur, and Chinese withdrawal of Tibet?

reply to post by projectvxn


New Catholics are baptized each and every year at Easter Vigil this isn't new nor is it a publicity stunt the fact that the new convert is a former Muslim makes no difference. As Flyers Fan noted he is well-known in Italy and that is the reason it made the news. Converts are baptized all over the world at Easter the time of rebirth; it's when I was baptized in Hawaii. I studied the faith all year culminating in baptism at Easter Vigil.

reply to post by FlyersFan


normaly i try and avoid topics where the OP only puts in less then a sentence on his opinion.

i cant believe i am going to say this
and this is pretty rare i have to agree with flyersfan.
who takes *****

People convert, revert from diffrent faiths all the time, maybe we should launch a new News service just for this bollox so real News channels can talk about issues that effect people.