Just in case you missed it...

WARING: I wrote the following post late at night after reading the article mentioned below. It is a bit raw and probably too cynical. I would certainly welcome your feedback. If you are too easily offended, please stop reading now. Otherwise, read at your own risk! You have been warned!


On Friday, Pope Benedict the XVI was accused of making racist and inflammatory comments during a speech he gave at a German university of Tuesday. During this speech he quoted from a text of a conversation between a Byzantine Emperor and an Islam scholar written in the 14th c. You can find the full article here. The text he quoted says this, "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." Since Friday, he has been castigated by nearly every Muslim nation in world. In large, the criticism tends towards ad hominem attacks referring to the Pope's ignorance with one leader likening the Pontif to Hitler and Mussolini. They say that the comments are a mis-characterization of Islam and it is untruthful to portray it as an "intolerant" and "violent" religion. I would like to address this in 3 ways. First, I would like to put out an anecdotal rebuttal. Knowing that this is not necessarily the strongest argument, I will bolster this with a secondary historical approach. Finally, I will let the Islamist speak for themselves.

#1 I know of a person (Western European) who is currently living in Iraq and have received regular emails in which he recounts the situation as it looks on the ground in Iraq. It is a very eye opening witness. There is a large amount of news that never even makes it into the press. We only see the really awful stuff, and even that is through the lens of Western media, which may or may not have its own agenda. Through the diaries of this person, I can see there are both accurate and inaccurate portrayals of Islam and that not all Muslims represent true Islam. However, I do know that recently an Islamic cleric has urged all Muslims to kill at least one American before Ramadan. It is very difficult for me to imagine Father Flanagan standing before the congregation during Sunday mass urging his flock to bag a Muslim for Jesus this Christmas season. Additionally, how many men, women, and children have been brutally murdered in terrorist/suicide attacks by Jews and Christians in the last decade? When is the last time you saw the headline splashed across the front page "Christian Militant Group Hijacks Plane Killing 285 Passengers", not to mention the thousands killed in the 9/11 attacks? Nowhere, in my limited understanding of the Bible, does it promise a heavenly reward and a martyrs death if you kill yourself while murdering others.

#2 In the Koran, there is the following passage, "When Quraysh became insolent towards God and rejected His gracious purpose, accused His prophet of lying, and ill treated and exiled those who served Him and proclaimed His unity, believed in His prophet and held fast to His religion, He gave permission to His apostle to fight and to protect himself against those who wronged them and treated them badly......(Sura 22.39-41) This is not the only place in the Koran that justifies a "Holy War" or "Jihad". At this point I must admit that in the Old Testament times, God did command many things for His people regarding war and the displacement of those who had occupied the Holy Land. And certainly there is a purpose in establishing His position as the one God, the almighty. But the new covenant established in Jesus Christ has abolished the old ways by fulfilling the Law. God's people were never to remain in bloody combat for all their days, but it was the spiritual war in which Christ has ultimately given us victory. Such can not be said about Islam. Unfortunately, due to my current location and lack of reference material, I am unable to fully develop this point. There is significantly more to be said. You can read more here. This article would seem to corroborate most of what I know about Islam through various articles and an excellent "Geography of the Middle East" taught by a professor who was very sympathetic to the Muslim cause.

But just in case I am wrong in my first two points, which I must admit is entirely possible (more so with the 2nd than the 1st), I will let the Muslims answer in their own words.

#3 These quotes are taken directly from a September 15 AP article. Emphasis is added by me.

"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence" Tasnim Aslam, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman

How, if the typical Muslim response is not one of violence but rather of level-headed engagment, could the Pope possibly be encouraging violence?

"In Cairo, Egypt, about 100 demonstrators gathered in an anti-Vatican protest outside the al-Azhar mosque, chanting 'Oh Crusaders, oh cowards! Down with the pope!'"

In what way should we take the statement "Down with the pope"? Do they mean "down" in the sense that he should step down from his position as pope because of his apparent bent towards bigotry? Or do they mean "down" in the you-had-better-check-the-bullet-proof-glass-on-the-pope-mobile sense? Can past actions predict future behavior? If so, I would be leaning towards the latter of these two suggestions.

"'The pope has thrown gasoline onto the fire ... in a world where the risk of a clash between religions is high,' said Haluk Koc, deputy head of the Republican People's Party, as a small group of protesters left a black wreath in front of the Vatican's embassy in Ankara.

What is the meaning and symbol of a black wreath? The last time a Turkish group laid a black wreath was during the Danish cartoon fiasco. These protestors chanted "Europe, do not test our patience."

I only wonder whose patience is really being tested.