In his first official document as the new Catholic pope, Evangelii Gaudium, Francis wrote of the need for Catholics to separate "violent fundamentalism" from "authentic Islam"... Since his ascension to the papacy, Pope Francis has been charting what some conservative Catholics consider a controversial new course for his church. His statements about the church's need to focus less on issues like abortion, and more on the poor and needy, his recent full-throated attack on "the tyranny of capitalism", his rejection of the trappings of his office, have led to criticism from some of the Catholic Church's more conservative quarters. But his recent statements on the need to view Islam in a more positive light have brought him a new group of critics – American Islamophobes. In his first official document as the new Catholic pope, Evangelii Gaudium, Francis wrote of the need for Catholics to separate "violent fundamentalism" from "authentic Islam". "In order to sustain dialogue with Islam, suitable training is essential for all involved, not only so that they can be solidly and joyfully grounded in their own identity, but so that they can also acknowledge the values of others, appreciate the concerns underlying their demands and shed light on shared beliefs," he wrote. "We Christians should embrace with affection and respect Muslim immigrants to our countries in the same way that we hope and ask to be received and respected in countries of Islamic tradition. I ask and I humbly entreat those countries to grant Christians freedom to worship and to practice their faith, in light of the freedom which followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries. Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Qur'an are opposed to every form of violence." The idea that Islam suffers from "hateful generalisations" and that actually striving to understand it will show it to be a peaceful religion, provoked the wrath of those who see Islam instead as a violent political ideology. Well-known anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller attacked Pope Francis for his call to treat Muslims with "affection and respect", saying his document was a "disgrace". "When did he become an imam," Geller wrote on her anti-Islam blog, Atlas Shrugged. "At a time when Christianity worldwide is under siege by Islamic jihadists, the leader of the Catholic Church claims that the Qur'an teaches non-violence. As Christians across the Muslim world live in abject terror and fear kidnapping, rape and slaughter to the bloodcurdling cries of ‘Allahu akbar,' the pope gives papal sanction to the savage," she added. "Nothing will be gained by this refusal to face reality. Christians will still be slaughtered in the name of Islam and jihad all over the Muslim world. And now the Pope has forbidden Catholics to speak honestly about what is happening and why. It's a disgrace." Geller has long been a controversial figure in North American for her anti-Islam writings and speeches. She was one of the leaders against building the Park 51 Centre in New York near the site of the former World Trade Centre. And she sponsored a series of ads in subway stations and on public buses that condemned Islam and in some cases call on Muslim to renounce their religion. In 2011, the Southern Poverty Law Centre, named her group "Stop the Islamisation of North America" a hate group, and said it was a "powerhouse of propaganda." "Pamela Geller is the anti-Muslim movement's most visible and flamboyant figurehead," the SPLC wrote at its site. "She's relentlessly shrill and coarse in her broad-brush denunciations of Islam and makes preposterous claims, such as that President Obama is the 'love child' of Malcolm X. She makes no pretense of being learned in Islamic studies, leaving the argumentative heavy lifting to her Stop Islamisation of America partner Robert Spencer. Recognising him as an inspirational model and icon, America's widely circulated and reputable Time magazine has named Pope Francis as its person for 2013. It singled him out specifically for his tolerance and "the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all." "He took the name of a humble saint and then called for a church of healing. The first non-European pope in 1,200 years is poised to transform a place that measures change by the century," the Time said.
