Pope Benedict and Islam
Published September 17th, 2006 in Turkey, Politics Tags: benedict, islam, politics, pope, vatican.
Pope Benedict XVI has managed to create a fresh controversy and managed to spark a firestorm of protest from Muslims around the world with his ‘lecture’ at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where had once been a professor. Many of the World’s leaders joined the protest, mainly from countries with predominantly Muslim populations, however the criticism also is supported by many nations with mainly Christian populations, like Italy and France.
Benedict said that rationality was the Greek contribution to Christianity and was intrinsic to it. As an example, he quoted an obscure medieval text about what “the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus” told an educated Persian about reasonableness and religion. According to Benedict, the 14th-century emperor said that “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… Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence or threats.”
Had Benedict stopped there, most probably his speech would have passed off without even being noticed by most of the world. Instead he quoted the far harsher words the emperor had spoken immediately before: “‘Show me just what Mohamed 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.’”
Following the outrage from the Muslim world against this comment, the Vatican released a statement that said Pope Benedict XVI “sincerely regrets” that Muslims have been offended by his words about Islam and violence in a speech, but stopped short of the apology demanded by many Muslim leaders in the Middle East and Asia. (For those who don’t know, in diplomacy and politics, saying ’sorry’ is not the same as saying ‘I apologize’ as they have different meanings).
The most severe criticism came from Pakistan, where the parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Pope for making what it called “derogatory” comments about Islam and seeking an apology from him.
Turkey’s top Islamic figure, Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu, a cleric who sets the religious agenda for Turkey, asked Benedict to apologize about the remarks and accused the Pope for raising tensions before the pontiff’s planned visit to Turkey in November on what would be his first papal pilgrimage in a Muslim country. Bardakoglu said he was deeply offended by remarks about Islamic holy war the Pope made Tuesday during the pilgrimage to the pontiff’s homeland, and called the remarks “extraordinarily worrying, saddening and unfortunate.”. Bardakoglu said that “if the pope was reflecting the spite, hatred and enmity” of others in the Christian world, then the situation was even worse and that the remarks “reflect the hatred in [the Pope’s] heart. It is a statement full of enmity and grudge”. He said he was offended, and called the words “extraordinarily worrying, saddening and unfortunate”.
The Pope has already been criticised in Turkey for his opposition to it joining the European Union, and his advocacy for a Christian element in the EU constitution. Salih Kapusuz, the deputy leader of the ruling party, which has its roots in Islam, said Benedict’s remarks were either the result of “pitiful ignorance” about Islam and its Prophet or a deliberate distortion of the truth. The PM of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked if the flap would affect the planned trip to Istanbul, where the pope hopes to meet with Orthodox leaders who are headquartered there, and he left open the possibility of cancellation saying “I wouldn’t know’ and mentioned that Benedict was speaking “not like a man of religion but like a usual politician.”
The Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, the spiritual center for the world’s Orthodox Christians, said that the “course which relations between the Christian and Muslim faiths is taking …. is deeply hurting” (Patriarch Bartholomew I).
In Britain, the head of the Muslim Council, a body representing 400 Muslim groups, said the emperor’s views quoted by the pope were bigoted.
“One would expect a religious leader such as the pope to act and speak with responsibility and repudiate the Byzantine emperor’s views in the interests of truth and harmonious relations between the followers of Islam and Catholicism,” said Muhammad Abdul Bari, the council’s secretary-general.
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It looks like the world (especially the Muslim world) is very surprised by the Pope’s remarks. The reality is that Cardinal Ratzinger, as he was known before becoming Pope, has often been at the center of criticism for his views on Islam. He was uncomfortable with Pope John Paul II’s attempts to improve dialogue with the Islamic world. His predecessor was the first pontiff to step inside a mosque, during a visit to Syria in 2001. During his time as a cardinal, Pope Benedict opposed Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, saying it belonged to a different cultural sphere, adding that its admission would be a grave error against the tide of history and that Turkey should find its own place in the ‘Islamic World’. And in 1996, he wrote that Islam had difficulty in adapting to modern life.
Assuming that the Pope is a smart and intellectual person (one would certainly hope so!), who knew how his speech will be interpreted in the Muslim world, one can only conclude that he actually wanted to start a conflict, just shortly of his trip to Turkey. It appears that he (and the Vatican) wants to become a more political figure than a religious one and play a role in the current escalating world conflict. And quoting a Crusades-era Christian emperor makes me think that the Vatican will be becoming less and less friendly towards Islam and the Muslims in the future. We’ll see what follows.
11 Responses to “Pope Benedict and Islam”
- 1 Trackback on Sep 17th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
- 2 Trackback on Sep 17th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
did you read the actual speech? i di (english translation) and he is actually criticism both christians and muslims for the lack of understanding…and unfortunately, it seems the reaction by the muslim world simply reinforces the image of people unable (unwilling) to respond with dialogue…this poe wants to engage muslims beyond the symbolic gestures of the earlier pope to get down to real exchange…do you think that’s a bad idea?
js,
If the pope really wants to start a good dialogue environment, then I’m all for it. But the fact that he started this long journey of dialogue and peace with a quote from a crusade-era emperor who called Islam’s prophet Mohammed ‘a bringer of things only evil and inhuman’, was bound to start a conflict, don’t you think? I am sure there was a better way to express what he meant to say, especially in the current state of the affairs between the Christian and the Muslim world.
Thanks
If the shoe fits… The violent reaction of the Muslim world has spoken volumes about the ‘religion’, and has proven the Pope’s quote to be true. Killing a nun…? Come on, is that what Allah would really want?
BlogForFreedom,
Obviously not. But attributing those atrocities to Islam and Muslims in general by calling Islam a ‘violent religion’ is just plain dumb.
Radical Islam is a problem not just for Christians and the west, but for regular Muslims as well. I’d like to remind you that these people don’t only kill nuns, christians and/or westerners, they kill Muslims as well without any discretion.
Although Pope is not known to be
commenting on other faiths but
today he could not resist the
temptation of expressing that
violence and Islam has been
found to be going together.
His views are expected to
raise an intense debate
Pope Benedict XVI weighed in Tuesday
on the delicate issue of rapport between
Islam and the West:
He said that violence, embodied in the
Muslim idea of jihad, or holy war, is
contrary to reason and God’s plan,
while the West was so beholden to
reason that Islam could not understand it.
Even if human race agree that western devils and USA
are enemies of Islam.
But why Muslims attack in India, a docile community with
no imperialist aspirations and home to the second largest
population of Muslims.?
Can Muslims explain this?
Why the Islamic invaders super imposed their mosques
on temples while Britishers and other rulers like Portuguese
never did it?
Why Muslim youth ask other religion’s partner to convert to
Islam for marriage and not vice verse?
Why is it that a Muslim flares up on reference to Koran or
any other dictates of mullahs by any non Muslims?
Why Muslims cant bear criticism like other do?
Why is it that the unrest is always linked to
Muslims in the world?
Can Muslims deny that in Koran, sunna and Sharia
or whatever by correct name these are called ,there
is clear mention for treating women as filth and treating
non Islam world as non believers and deserve to be
eliminated? It is exclusive and sick mind’s attitude.
The fact is that most of Muslims who are illiterate are
brain washed by mullahs and fanatics in Islamic community
to wage war in name of Jihadwhich itself is foolish and
uncivilised word.
Muslims capture or crush non Muslims and their property?
It is time Muslims reform their medieval and obsolete thinking,
intolerance to criticism to their holy books and practises,and
self praise of Islam and degrading other religions.
Muslims are restless lot with self assumed chastity and purity
and frog eyed vision about their religion.
They must update and open up themselves and learn to respect
all humanity and remain in their limits.
No race on earth can be assumed to be infinitely tolerant to their
violent and vociferous means and noise and should not therefore
be taken for granted
It is historical fact that Muslims have never lived in peace in their
history since inception.
It is time Muslims start behaving and mind their own religion and
business.
i would like to know how muslims feel when the head of the caholic church humbled himself and prayed to Almighty God in the blue mosque?
and how many muslims actually believe what the Quran says concerning christians to be the closest in affection to muslim? of course not all christians are good but ingeneral, how muslim think about that verse?
To Amin’s questions. there also have been instances where Great Muslim leaders have prayed in Chritian churches (at the opening of Spain for example). I definitely believe in the verse you refer to about Christians being the closest. Especially those who believe in one God not the trinity
to Gope Lalwani, You obviously don’t know much about islam and only go with what you see and hear about it in the media. Yes, I do deny that Qur’an says to treat women as filth and non-Muslims to be eliminated. In fact, Men and women in Islam are equal and have different responsibilities. The rights given to each are based on the responsibilities necessary to maintain a proper household and society. Muslim youth ask partners to convert to Islam because it is the right way/the truth and having both parents as Muslims assures the kids will grow up in an Islamic environment