Islam worse threat than Communism, says Sudanese bishop

Rome, Italy, Jun 2, 2004 / 22:00 pm

In a revealing interview with the Italian daily, “Il Giornale,” Bishop of Cesare Mazzolari of Rumbek, Sudan, said the Islam that he knows and which brutally persecutes Christians in that African country is the “true face” of Muslims, and he emphasized that Islam is a graver threat to the future of Christianity than was communism.

The Sudanese bishop, who was born in Italy, spoke with Stefano Lorenzetto of “Il Giornale” on Sunday, May 23.  According to Vatican observer Sandro Magister of “L’Espresso” online, the interview is “an exceptional document,” “the perfect picture of a bishop on the frontlines who knows ‘his’ Islam well, has seen it in action, and describes it precisely: An Islam of crucifixions, slavery, forced conversions and deception.”

Magister, who publishes the interview in its entirety in his weekly column, points out that for Bishop Mazzolari, there is an abyss between Islam and Christianity because “Allah is not the same god as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

In his analysis of the interview, Magister underscores that Bishop Mazzolari does not romanticize Christian guerrillas, nor does he exalt the West or Western Christendom.  Nevertheless, he believes that the “clash of civilizations” is “just beginning.”

Bishop Mazzolari, with tears in his eyes for his beloved Sudan, told “Il Giornale” that he expects to die a violent death:  “The time of martyrdom is approaching.  I hope the Lord gives us the grace to face this shedding of blood.  There needs to be purification.  Many Christians will be killed for the faith.  But the from blood of the martyrs a renewed Christianity will spring forth.”

The moving interview and analysis by Magister can be found at:
www.chiesa.espressonline.it/english