Tancredo tells Pope to stand ground

By DenverPost.com

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. (AP)

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI today, asking him to resist calls to apologize for his recent remarks about Islam that offended many Muslims around the world.
"It is not surprising that your statements prompted such a visceral reaction in much of the Islamic world, where the free exercise of religion is largely proscribed," said Tancredo, R-Littleton, in his letter.
"Whether we want to admit it or not, the western world is locked in a struggle against radical Islam whose practitioners and adherents are inextricably linked to terrorism."
In a Sept. 12 address in Germany, the pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who centuries ago described some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman." The remarks were denounced across the Islamic world and by some U.S. Muslims.
The pontiff has since said that he did not mean to give offense to Muslims or their faith, but he has not directly apologized as asked by some Muslim leaders.
Tancredo, who was raised a Roman Catholic, now attends Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch when he's not in Washington.

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