The Muslims are miffed. Again.

And again its because something unfavorable was said about their founder, Mohammed, and their faith, Islam. The last time the drive-by miffing had to do with cartoons which were unfavorable to their prophet, Mohammed. Never mind the fact that it was Muslim Clerics who brought in cartoons which were not printed in Jyllands-Posten in order to rile the Muslims up in the Middle-East. Never mind the fact that the cartoons which were run in Jyllands-Posten were on their second run in a year. No, that situation, which resulted in riots, demolition of buildings, and the taking of lives, wasnt about the truth, rather, it was about flexing the Muslim muscle for all the world to see, or as my mama used to call it: pitching a fit. Back then, with the cartoons, the Muslims were miffed that their prophet was depicted as the inspirer of violence. After all, we all know Mohammed was a peaceful man, right? A tolerant man, right? And to demonstrate it, Muslims took to the street and destroyed property, took lives (1) and marched along holding such peaceful signs as massacre those who insult Islam and Europe you will pay, your 9/11 will come (2). The Jyllands-Posten protests werent the first in modern history, either. In 2002 a Nigerian newspaper suggested that Mohammed, had he lived today, might have picked a bride from among the Miss World contestants, some 200 people died as a result of Muslim protests: Dozens were killed in northern Nigeria in rioting that erupted after a newspaper suggested the Prophet Mohammed would have approved of the Miss World beauty contest. The death toll in the town of Kaduna was an estimated 105 with a further 521 injured taken to hospitalAngry mobs in the mainly Muslim city 600 kilometres (375 miles) northwest of Lagos burnt Christian churches and rampaged through the streets stabbing, bludgeoning and burning bystanders to death (3). And, as with the cartoons, any attempt to an apology, shy of a serious grovel, didnt placate the now angered Muslims (4). And now we come to the issue of Pope Benedicts speech at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Just what did he say that miffed the Muslims this time? To begin with, theres a context to consider. The speech wasnt about Islam, rather, it focused on reason and university life and how those fit together with religion. He goes on to reflect on an event:

I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by Professor Theodore Khoury (Mnster) 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 The dialogue ranges widely over the structures of faith contained in the Bible and in the Qur'an, and deals especially with the image of God and of man, while necessarily returning repeatedly to the relationship between - as they were called - three "Laws" or "rules of life": the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur'an. (5) The Pontiff then went on to explain the content of the dialogue: In the seventh conversation [text unclear] edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: There is no compulsion in religion". According to the experts, this is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. (6) Thus far, the Pope has not said word one in terms of his own opinions about Islam or Mohammed. Rather, he focuses on a discussion between others as recorded many years ago. 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 Mohammed 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" (7). Aside from the fact that the Pope was citing a conversation between other than himself, and offers no personal opinion about the comments made by the parties cited, for some reason the next paragraph gets lost in news reporting of the event, and is completely lost in the Muslim mindset: 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 (8). Again, I will remind the reader that the Pontiff was addressing the issue of violence in religion, and whether or not the two are compatible. He used, as an example of opinions, a conversation between the Byzantine Emporer Manuel II

Paleologus and an unknown, but presumably educated Persian, some time in the late 1300s. This conversation was related many years later by Professor Theodore Khoury. Just exactly what did the Pontiff say which could cause such outrage amongst Muslims? Was the Pontiff wrongly representing Islams growth? The speech wasnt about Islam, rather, it was a discussion about how the Christian faith should be spread. And while it did highlight the differences between Christianity and Islam, the speech wasnt intended to insult Muslims, unless of course, the history of their religion is considered an insult to Muslims. Islam: Spread by Peace or Pieces? If you listen to the voices of Islamic revisionists and their sympathizers, theres a conspiracy (has been for years) to make Islam look bad. Of course, everyone who says Islam was spread by violent means in its early years is naturally so brain dead that they could never look this information up for themselves, right? And, of course, the Christians are part of this conspiracy. The reason, according to one source, is that we Christians are a jealous lot and always have been: Most of Western writers, especially under the influence of the Church, have never failed to accuse Islam of spreading by force of the sword. The causes of this prejudice lie mainly in the fact that the spread of Islam has often occurred at the expense of Christianity. While Islam has for centuries obtained numerous conversions from Christianity without much effort or organized missionary activities, Christianity has almost never been able to achieve conversions from Islam in spite of sophisticated means and well-organized missionary activities, and it has always been at a disadvantage in its competition with Islam for fourteen centuries. (9) Christianity has never been jealous of Islam. To begin with, Christianity doesnt target people from Islam for conversion. The message is that God so loved the world, not just Muslims, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) and the great commission (Go Ye into all the world) doesnt target Muslims. In other words. Christianity has never seen conversion as a competition. On the other hand, Islam does. Islam counts and boasts on numbers. Christianity talks of souls. Did Islam spread by violence? 624-627 A.D.: Mohammed attacks Jewish Arabic tribes for refusing to convert to Islam. Eventually all of the Southern Arabic tribes are destroyed. 626 A.D.: During a trip to proselyte for Islam, Mohammed captures a group of about 600 people from the Banu Kurara tribe and forces them to chose between conversion to Islam or their lives. About 300-400 were beheaded.

627 A.D.: Banu-Qurayza tribe of Jews were besieged by Mohammeds military for 25 days before surrendering due to starvation. Mohammed had a trench dug around the main market of Medina, the men were made to stand by the trench with their hands bound behind their backs, then shoved one by one alongside the trench where they were forced to kneel. They were then offered a last chance to convert to Islam. Failure to convert resulted in the head being cut off and corpse kicked into the ditch. An estimated 900 were slaughtered that day. It is said none converted. After Mohammeds death, the slaughter continued until the expansion of the Islamic Kingdom was finally stopped, but not until thousands had died for refusing to convert to Islam. Islam: The Religion of Peace? Ultimately one is left to ask the question: If Islam is so peaceful, why cant Muslims seem to resolve their problems through peaceful means? Imagine, if you will, what would happen if Christians worldwide had responded, and in equal percentages, to anti-Christian and anti-Jesus media presentations and statements from high profile persons? Take for example the alleged artistry of Andres Serrano and his work Piss Christ. Could something more inflammatory have been made than a Crucifix submerged in the so-called artists own urine? It won the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts Award in the Visual Arts competition, sponsored with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a government agency offering support and funding for artistic projects. How many Christians hit the streets, destroying property and maiming others? How many Christians threatened Serranos life? And then theres the work of Chris Ofili. His depiction of the Virgin Mary brought a lawsuit in 1999 between then Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. What was offensive about it? Close ups of female genitalia cut from magazines, anyone? How many Christians hit the streets, destroying property and maiming others? How many Christians threatened Ofilis life? And then theres some recent television attempts to portray Christianity- even the less evangelical among us, such as Episcopalians, as bumbling bigoted boobs, as is the case with The Book of Daniel, an NBC sit-com that, thankfully, didnt quite fly. Its pro-homosexual overtones; portraying a minister as a prescription drug addict who has conversations with a non-biblical representation of Jesus, wasnt exactly the most flattering image of modern Christianity. How many Christians hit the streets, destroying property and maiming others?

How many Christians went to the NBC building and set it on fire? If you want to say Mohammed hasnt been accurately portrayed by historians, you can do so. But we have a saying down here in the South: The apple doesnt fall far from the tree. And if the responses to the Popes comment do anything, its to support the idea that Islam breeds anger and violence and possibly has done so from its inception. The Pope hasnt apologized to the satisfaction of some Muslims. And others are trying to tell the Pope what is, and is not, Christian. Is it their place to tell a person of another faith what is, and is not, appropriate to that faith? Hardly. But when you think you can tell Gods Viccar on Earth what to say and do, then your ego probably tells you that you can define another mans faith for him. Something Muslims arent fond of others doing to them. But hey, you cant find the Golden Rule in the Quran.
(1) Muhammad cartoons: a timeline, February 17, 2006; CBC News In-depth: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/islam/muhammad_cartoons_timeline.html (2) Sky News, Sky.com, Muslims March on Embassy, February 3, 2006; http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13501917,00.html (3) Miss World leaves Nigeria, CNN News, Friday, November 22, 2002, http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/11/22/nigeria.missworld/ (4) Pope's remarks on Islam spark outrage in Middle East, Seattle Times, Sept. 15, 2006 But Muslim leaders said outreach efforts by papal emissaries were not enough. We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels ... and ask him (Benedict) to offer a personal apology not through his officials, " Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon's most senior Shiite cleric, told worshippers in Beirut. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003260031_webpope15.html Pope Benedict Apologizes in Person for Muslim Offense, September 17, 2006, Bloomberg.com: The apology is the second for the pope in two days after a statement was released yesterday through the Vatican in which the pope reiterated his respect for Islam and said he was sorry his speech had been interpreted in a way he hadn't intended. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news? pid=20601100&sid=av6o1F4J98Xg&refer=germany (5) Faith, reason and the university: memories and reflections, The Guardian Unlimited, Address given by the Pope on Sept. 12, 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,,1873277,00.html (6) Ibid (7) Ibid (8) Ibid (9) THE EXTRAORDINARY SPREAD OF ISLAM AND ITS MAIN DYNAMICS, July 23, 2000. http://www.thewaytotruth.org/islamandhumanity/spreadofislam.html Special Note: If you scroll down to the bottom you will see that credits include only Muslim sources.