From Sunday Mercury Net:

Pope’s Birmingham open air mass targeted by Muslim group

Jul 18 2010 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

AN MP fears the Pope’s visit to Birmingham could be marred by violence after a fundamentalist Muslim group told followers to ‘convert’ Catholics attending an open air mass.

The sinister orders have appeared in an inflammatory article on a hardline website called the Islamic Standard – which also brands the Pontiff ‘evil’.

It is urging Muslims to disrupt Pope Benedict XVI’s appearance at Cofton Park in September when up to 80,000 Catholics will attend a live mass.

Last night, Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood called for a police probe into the Leicester-based website.

He said: “These supposed Muslims are doing all they can to incite violence. Sadly, if Muslims do turn up and preach at Catholics it could easily turn to violence.

“The police should look at the comments on this site because they can only serve to increase tensions and perhaps even cause riots on the day.

“This is just the warped product of warped minds and it reveals how ignorant they are about Islam.

“The Islam I know preaches tolerance, not hate, so these idiots who give Islam such a bad name should be shut down as soon possible.”

The website article claims the Pope is the enemy of Islam and after detailing his four-day UK itinerary, it reads: “But all of these events are either in restricted areas where protests are forbidden or restricted, or where no Muslims are present in large numbers.

“The Birmingham event, however, brings the Pope and those who worship him into direct contact with the the large Muslim population of Birmingham. It offers them the perfect chance to learn about Islam.

“We hope the Muslims of Birmingham take this duel opportunity to give Da’wah (preaching of Islam) to these 80,000 travelling disbelievers, whilst at the same time telling the Pope in no uncertain terms what Muslims think of his evil slanders against the last Prophet of God and his message.”

Pope Benedict, 82, is due to carry out the beatification of Cardinal Newman while in the West Midlands, during only the second Papal visit to this country since Henry VIII broke with Rome.

Security is tight but he is due to lead the open-air mass at Cofton Park, next to the disused Longbridge car plant, on Sunday, September 19.

The website threats come after the Sunday Mercury previously revealed Birmingham City Hospital is on alert for an assassination attempt on the Pope.

Security bosses have revealed that the hospital would handle any medical emergency because of its expertise in dealing with bullet injuries, caused by gang crime.

The Pontiff, who has recently spoken out against gay marriage, abortion rights and contraception, often attracts street protests during his appearances.

He was most recently attacked in St Peter’s Basilica during Christmas Eve Mass by female spectator Susanna Maiolo, who knocked him over after grabbing his vestments.

The late Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt despite being shot four times in his Popemobile as he blessed the crowds in Rome in 1981.

In 2002 it emerged that Al Qaeda terrorists had planned to assassinate the Pope during his tour of the Philippines in 1999 – but he called off the visit due to ill-health.