Way to go Pope!
Let’s try interfaith tolerance and dialogue the Pope’s way. It is not only effective in stirring emotions and riots, it also a full package: a stab, a jab, and an apology. I can’t understand what was going through his mind, when he decided to quote Manuel II Palaeologus, the second-to-last Byzantine emperor. The Pope’s quote originates from Manuel’s miserable letter after escaping the Ottoman court; where he had been held prisoner.
Let’s see, after several crusades aiming to spread religion through force, an Emperor who bears a grudge after war losses, declares:
“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.”
He then continues, saying, “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…”
So this emperor, whose empire has waged 13 crusades to spread Christianity through force, is saying you can’t spread religion through violence, and is criticizing Islam.
Would you in your right mind use such a quote to encourage dialogue and peace between religions? Let’s note that he only used the first part of the quote, and not the latter. I really loved Pope John Paul II; he was doing a great job promoting dialogue between religions. I believe he managed to promote tolerance more than any Pope during his pontificate.
Now, this new Pope comes and misquotes a “medieval text” that does not “express what he feels.” You’re the Pope; you’re trying to create more dialogue, why on Earth would you not quote something that doesn’t express your feelings. Apology accepted your holiness, I am just wondering, are you going to quote Hitler next?
++ Cartoon courtesy of Cairo Freeze
Cross linked from my blog, Chronicles Of a Utopian Writer
Join the Conversation
I thought the cartoon was directly funny!
because it hits at the truth too.
Good blog. I really wonder why the pope didn’t go ahead and finish with the rest of the quote? It really expresses, despite the hypocrisy of the original speaker, a mediating position between the bushies and some of “the others”.
However, I don’t think the pope or the emperor have any magic sword to solve the distrust and misunderstanding, and released greed that is mixing in a soup that is Iraq. Grudges are already building up. Power grabs have yet to exhaust themselves. There are too many spokes-people and some who don’t care about talking.
I think the best we can hope for is that the monthly death rate can drop down to ……?
Probably as families are forced to relocate and neighborhoods fortify themselves this will naturally allow the death rate to drift downward. With or without the Pope’s message and appology things won’t be ready for reconciliation for ……awhile.IMHO
“Islam is a hideous religion. I mean, not really. I mean, calm down, Muslims! I mean, what the hell did I just do? I didn’t say that! HELP!”
He goes and says something as irresponsible as that and then makes it his mission to promote tolerance in Muslim countries. Wow, what an amazing way to start the process.
However, some state that this wasn’t really his intention, and was merely attempting to analyze the theories behind religions. I think a lot of us might have taken his whole statement out of context due to the way it received coverage in many news networks. It would help if he were to issue a statement explaining his usage of the quote and its correct application. Notice that half of the people involved in riots today probably don’t even speak English, and decided to protest because of rumors, and surely his words were exaggerated beyond belief to incite an even bigger and more hateful reaction.
Now that’s what I call a wonderful and understanding person. He maintained respect for all religions and acknowledged their right to exist, and while doing so he gave us a great reason why interfaith understanding is crucial to decrease the amount of violence in this world.
And contrary to popular belief, the opinions of your average Muslim will not be represented in the mainstream media. But judging from the reactions all over the ‘Western’ world, it seems as though mass media is really the only source people base their opinions off of. How deeply tragic.
Nice post. I’ve just finished a dialogue with one of my commentators on my blog: http://www.naijablog.blogspot.com which you may find interesting..
We’re fortunate to live in the age of active media – we can choose what information to absorb. The blogosphere is an excellent way to share ideas and ditch inter-cultural misconceptions. But first, we begin with a suspicion about the agenda of Corporate Media Organisations and decide to find out for ourselves. Your group-blog is a valuable source in this enquiry. Keep up the good work people!