A few of my comments on today's Tuesday LIVE! show on the furor surrounding the Pope's use of a quote on Islam...
What the Pope said:
Pope Benedict's critique of the Western concept of reason last week in Germany where he recounted a conversation between an “erudite” Byzantine Christian emperor and a “learned” Muslim Persian in1391, which 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.” Neither endorsing nor condemning the quote, these words will be remembered long after the context has been forgotten, but the violent response seems to justify the quote.
Some of the furious reaction: (thanks to Daniel Pipes)
-In Britain, while leading a rally outside Westminster Cathedral, protesters called for the pope "to be subject to capital punishment."
-In Iraq, the Mujahideen's Army threatened to "smash the crosses in the house of the dog from Rome" and other groups made blood-curdling threats.
-In Kuwait, an important website called for violent retribution against Catholics.
-In Somalia, the religious leader Abubukar Hassan Malin urged Muslims to "hunt down" the pope and kill him "on the spot."
-In India, a leading imam called on Muslims to "respond in a manner which forces the Pope to apologise."
-A top Al-Qaeda figure announced that "the infidelity and tyranny of the Pope will only be stopped by a major attack."
-A nun working at the SOS Hospital in Somolia was killed, shot 3 times in the back!
The Vatican responded by establishing an extraordinary and unprecedented security cordon around the pope.
The Pope's apology:
The Pope apologized for the reactions to what he said...
"I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims," he told pilgrims. "These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. "I hope this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect."
In Italian, sono rammaricato, translates as "I am disappointed" or "I regret."
-The Egyptian opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, welcomed what it called the Pope's "retraction," but later warned that it did not amount to a definitive apology and would not be enough to satisfy all Muslims.
-Hamas spokesman said, "we do not view the statement attributed to the Pope as an apology,"
-In Iran, about 500 theological school students protested and hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami warned that if the Pope did not apologize, "Muslims' outcry will continue until he fully regrets his remarks. The Pope should fall on his knees in front of a senior Muslim cleric and try to understand Islam."
-Morocco announced it would recall its Ambassador to the Vatican for consultations following the "offensive remarks"
This is just a fraction of examples. Unbelievable.
Do you think the Pope needed to apologize? Take the poll on this page, sidebar.
My tuesday LIVE! show is not archived online, but will soon be available to our partners. This week's "Swirled Views" item of the week was on Rosie O'Donnell's outrageous comments against Christians. In the meantime be sure to tune in each Tuesday at 4:30 pm Pacific, both on KDIA AM1640 in San Francisco and online at KDIA.com (see link on sidebar)
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