I don’t understand the outrage many of the Islamic faith are displaying over the recent speech by Pope Benedict XVI. Frankly I don’t want to understand it.
The full text of the Pope’s speech, translated into English, can be read at http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=46474. It’s not easy reading. I wonder how many currently expressing outrage have bothered to read this. I would be willing to be very few have.
He qoutes a from a conversation between the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus , one of the last emperors and who reigned in the early 15th century. This is what folks are objecting to:
In the seventh conversation edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the jihad (holy war). The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: There is no compulsion in religion. It is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat.
But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur’an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the “Book” and the “infidels,” he turns to his interlocutor somewhat brusquely with the central question on the relationship between religion and violence in general, in these words:
Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.
Those fomenting the recent violence take the emperor’s quote out of context as if it were the words of Pope Benedict. They disregard the topic of the pope’s address, “Faith and Reason”. The Pope continued:
The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul.
God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats… To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death….
The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God’s nature.
This reminds me of the previous outrage over a cariacature of Mohammed where his turban was rendered as a bomb, implying that Muslims were terrorists who will riot and bomb in the name of their religion. Many protestors howled this was blasphemy to depict their prophet thusly and that they were a peaceful people. How was this expressed? They responded with riots and bombings, thus confirming the stereotype depicted in the cartoon.
Now the radicals are demanding the Pope apologize… or else. Riots have broken out in many places. Several churches have been burned, none of which were Roman Catholic! An elderly nun has been killed. Islamic leaders in Gaza have demanded the Pope accept Islam… or else. Al Qaeda in Iraq has vowed jihad over the Pope’s comments. A Somali cleric is urging the assasination of the Pope.
None of these people are denying the veracity of what the Pope said in his speech, or even his quotes of Manuel II. Their outrage is over his daring to repeat a comment made 600 years ago that Muslims act in violence, and deliberately taken out of context and atributed to Benedict XVI. Well, to paraphase the emperor, show me what Islamic culture has produced in modern times and there you will find things that are evil and inhuman.
Should a Islamic leader care to deny that he can be asked several simple questions. Where are the technological breakthroughs created by Muslims? Where are their great works or art, music or literature. Show me their great universities. Show me their centers of culture and prosperity. Where are the great works of this “Religion of Peace”? Naming works of a Muslim living in the West does not count. This applies only to those living in the various Islamic countries of Asia and Africa. Even the great engineering works in Dubai are the work of Western-educated architects and construction companies, rather than natives of that region. Instead we get war zones, poverty ridden countries, oppressive regimes, and suicide bombers.
Once again our enemies, the islamo-fascists of the world, are showing themselves for what they truly are: Evil. These are folks who want us dead, not because we invaded Iraq and Afghanistan but rather because we simply live and are not one of them. When will we be wise enough to see this?
Posted in Scouting News by John E. Pannell on September 20th, 2006 at 4:07 pm 
I’ll write more about this later if we decide to go.
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