Sheikh Salah Coveting the Caliphate?

Islamic Movement's leader, Sheikh Raid Salah, seems to be coveting the currently unoccupied position of Caliphate over all the Muslim world. Hmmmm. According to the Jerusalem Post, Salah urged both Hamas and Hezbollah to hang onto their hostages and use them to secure the release of "all the security prisoners currently incarcerated, and all Israeli Arabs imprisoned for security reasons.

At the annual gathering, drawing some 50,000 to the soccer stadium in Umm el-Fahm, Salah also said that the day "was not far off" that Israel's rule over the Temple Mount would be thrown off, and Jerusalem would become the capital of a new Muslim Caliphate. Methinks he sees himself in the starring role of this little production.

In response to Pope Benedict XVI's recent comments about Islam, which have sparked protests throughout the Muslim world, Salah condemned the statements, and hoped that they had been unintentional.

I'm sure the Pope didn't mean to insult you when he condemned your senseless slaughter of innocent civilians, no. In fact, according to Ha'aretz:

The new Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said that the pope's position on Islam is unmistakably in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God."

"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," Bertone said in a statement.

And I know Reuters isn't the best source for reliable opinions but this video shows your brethren burning an effigy of the Pope. That's really not a very nice way to show your interest in peaceful coexistence, now is it?

In fact, the burning of Churches in Nablus was even worse--injuring and killing innocent and peaceful worshippers who wanted nothing more from life than to praise His Name in the holy land.