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Ok, I am no fan of the Nazi Pope, but the recent speech that sparked a controversy in the Muslim world got me thinking about him again. Earlier this week, the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only “evil and inhuman” things. Though he never retracted the statement, he did release a statement as read by Vatican Secretary of State “The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers.” But not all accepted his apology, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said the statement did not go far enough and called on the pontiff to apologize in person. There are two ways of looking at this situation:

1) The Pope’s quote was wrong and Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, in which case, his statement should be tolerated and his apology peacefully accepted.
2) The Pope’s statement was correct.

If Islam indeed was about tolerance, why are Muslims intolerant towards western ideas? If, Islam indeed was about peace, how then can we explain more than half the raging conflicts worldwide?

Not to say that western religions are tolerant or peaceful, but they neither claim nor pretend to be. 

And for those who want to know what the Pope really siad, here it is (Pope on Holy War):

I was reminded of all this recently, when I read… of part of the dialogue carried on - perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara - by the erudite Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both.

In the seventh conversation…the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the “Book” and the “infidels”, he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: “Show me just what Muhammad 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.”

The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, 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,” he says, “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.”

Tags: Politics, Media, History, Hitler, Church, Middle East, Conspiracy, War, Secular, Islam, Stupid, Terror, socio-political, Islam, Tolerance, Peace