It is wrong to equate Islam with violence - Pope Francis

Pope Francis said last night that equating Islam with violence was wrong and called on Muslim leaders to issue a global condemnation of terrorism to help dispel the notion.

He told reporters aboard his plane returning from a visit to Turkey that he understood why Muslims were offended by many in the West who automatically equated their religion with terrorism. He said

"You just can't say that, just as you can't say that all Christians are fundamentalists. We have our share of them (fundamentalists).All religions have these little groups. They (Muslims) say: “No, we are not this, the Koran is a book of peace, it is a prophetic book of peace”.’(continue)

‘I told the president (Turkey)that it would be beautiful if all Islamic leaders, whether they are political, religious or academic leaders, would speak out clearly and condemn this because this would help the majority of Muslim people,’ he said.