Last week in a speech in
Germany, Pope Benedict XVI quoted from a little-known medieval text recording debates between a Byzantine emperor and an educated Persian. The Pope recalled that the emperor had told his adversary: "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 acknowledged the "startling brusqueness" of these remarks, but went on to express his view that "spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable".
Now, the Islamic world has erupted in anger, again.
There have been demonstrations demanding his replacement, clerics have demanded his death, a hit-man imprisoned in
Turkey has warned of his assassination if he visits
Turkey, five churches in
Palestine were attacked and a nun was shot in
Somalia by gunmen.
It is just like the aftermath of the Danish cartoons that made fun of the Prophet, or Salman Rushdie's
book, The Satanic Verses that vilified Mohammed.
Anger, outrage and violence were followed by death threats.
Hmmm…what do we learn here?
Maybe the Pope was Right?
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