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EDITORIAL: The Pope and Islam

 
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stix
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Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 5184
Location: USofA
PostPosted: Wed May 13, 2009 7:51 pm    Post subject: EDITORIAL: The Pope and Islam Reply with quote
I thought this Washington Times editorial was an interesting read. I am in general agreement.. however, I am sure others will see it otherwise. I offer a few random excerpts from the editorial,

Quote:
Pope Benedict XVI's outreach tour of the Middle East this week failed to placate critics still smarting from his riot-inciting comments in a 2006 speech at Germany's Regensburg University. The pontiff at that time quoted 15th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus who said: "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 pope said he regrets any hurt feelings, but some Muslims want more contrition.

Those who object to the idea that Islam was spread by the sword are not at war with Pope Benedict but with history. What are now called Muslim lands used to be Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian lands. Force was the key element in the rapid expansion of the caliphate in the century between the death of Muhammad in 632 and the Muslim defeat at the hands of the Franks in the Battle of Tours in 732

The pope is brave to stand by his faith. Mutual respect can only come when both sides face reality and embrace history, warts and all. It is plainly farcical to assert that Islam was never spread by the sword, just as it would be historically inaccurate to say Christians and Jews never raised the sword. If apologies are in order, we are still waiting for any apology from the Muslim world for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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wildbill



Joined: 25 Dec 2009
Posts: 257
PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Pope is absolutely correct. To deny this reality is nothing but a cowardly, idealogical, naive, politically correct attempt to elevate humanism to its highest form. Doing so presupposes that man's wisdom, intellect, and self determination are sufficiently capable of creating a utopian universe through negotiation and compromise where all peoples who live in different worlds with different gods, opposing beliefs, conflicting values and goals, can somehow peacefully cohabitate and live happily forevermore.... an absurd notion indeed! The concept indicates a complete ignorance of the foundational roots of the ever increasing problems in the middle east.
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