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Pope
Benedict XV1 attack on Islam and Prophet
Mohammed is recognition that he has fallen into
the trap of the bigots and racists when it comes
to judging Islam on the actions of a small
number of extreme elements.
The leader of the Catholic Church quoted from a
book that recounted a conversation between 14th
Century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel
Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the
truths of Christianity and Islam.
"The Emperor comes to speak about the issue of
jihad, holy war," the Pope said: He said, I
quote: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that
was new, and then you will find things only evil
and inhuman, such as his command to spread by
the sword the faith he preached."
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
interest of truth and harmonious relations
between the followers of Islam and Christianity.
By his Islamophobic remarks he has hurt and
caused a lot of dismay and anguish throughout
the Muslim world.
Religious leaders from Turkey to Pakistan and
organizations ranging from international Islamic
bodies have accused Pope Benedict of displaying
ignorance and bigotry. Apparently aware of the
delicacy of the issue, the Pope described the
phrases on Islam as "brusque", and pointed out
several times in his speech that he was quoting
- although he neither explicitly agreed with nor
repudiated the Emperor's views.
As a religious leader, the Pope must cultivate
an attitude of respect and dialogue toward other
religions and cultures. The Pope's statements
reflect his lack of wisdom and doesn't have a
correct understanding of Islam. His remarks were
either the result of pitiful ignorance or a
deliberate distortion of the truths. "The Pope
has thrown a gasoline onto the fire --- in a
world where the risk of a clash between
religions is high", said Haluk Koc, a Deputy
Head of the Republican's Peoples' Party in
Turkey. The Pope's planned tour of Turkey in
November appears to be in doubt. Ali Bardakoglu,
Turkey's leading Islamic cleric, said that he
was deeply offended by the remarks and called
them "extraordinary worrying, saddening and
unfortunate".
The world is tired in religious wars and
conflicts. Muslims and Christians are obliged to
turn their attention towards the future. We live
in perilous times, and we must not only separate
religion from violence but also not give
religious legitimacy to violence in any shape or
form.
Communication and co-operation between Islam and
Christianity make an essential contribution to
the abolition of religious fanaticism, an
intellectual sickness of the religious person
and to foster friendship between nations. Only
then it will assist in our peaceful coexistence
of common understanding.
A meaningful dialogue is the only acceptable way
to bring Islam and Christianity closer. All
misunderstanding and preconceptions be put
aside. One must cultivate mutual trust in order
to achieve better understanding. Let us not
forget, that many local churches, such as the
three ancient Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of
the East - Constantinople, Alexandria, and
Anitoch, live today in the Islamic World.
Orthodoxy coexists and seeks dialogue with
Islam.
Dialogue is necessary if one has to overcome the
past and the present of alienation,
confrontation, enmity and hatred. Those who are
responsible for this dialogue like the Pope,
must make every effort in a constructive manner
to solve the prevailing problems of our world,
to build a more human society characterised by
justice and fraternal love.
About the Author:
Professor SYED WARIS SHERE, has taught at the
University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg,
Canada. Professor Shere has written several
books including "IN SEARCH OF PEACE"
(with a foreword by Lord Home, former Prime
Minister of England) and "ARM DISARM FOR PEACE".
Professor Shere is a former resident of Patna
and was educated at St. Xavier's and Patna
Collegiate School.
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Comments: |
The Pope moved his lips and uttered
a few words that have riled up
sentiments in so many. While I agree
that a man sitting of the highchair
of the Vatican should not indulge in
making comments that are hurtful,
one must also look at the different
side of the coin.
The campaigns that were launched
over the centuries that engulfed the
original cultures of , Turkey,
Central Asia, and India were very
bloody and ruthless. Even today, the
Shahi Imam does not miss an
opportunity to criticize other
faiths. Though the Pope's comments
were insensitive, he essentially
held up a mirror to the faces of the
fundamentalists in the Islamic
community as if saying, "see how it
feels ?"
While many eastern faiths are seen
by their followers as a code of
conduct, Islam (which started of
being based on a code of conduct) is
often interpreted by its followers
as a self consuming passion which
makes people identify first by their
faith and second even by their
species! They (the fundamentalists)
have taken it so far that the word
'intolerant' has come to be seen as
a synonym for 'Islam' by most
peoples of the world. This is
unfortunate. One's faith should be
nothing more than a moral rudder of
one's life. The few years that man
gets to live in this world should be
spent in doing good things rather
than trying to live for a religious
expansionist agenda.
There is no question that there is a
need for an emergence of a moderate
Islam - one that is not
expansionist, more tolerant and more
peaceful. If the rules of conduct
are to be enforced on those who
criticize us (the Pope, in this
instance), then we must enforce
these rules on ourselves first. -
Arecee - Sept. 26, 2006
Violent protests by followers of
Islam and cries of giving death to
any person expressing any dissent,
even to the followers of Islam,
justifying killing of innocents on
any pretext & calling it Jihad only
proves the point made by Pope. Even
though he has expressed regrets,
others will not be convinced. If the
world is to be convinced of Islam
being a peace loving religion all
sane followers of Islam, the
community leaders & intelligentsia
should show courage to denounce all
violence in the name of religion.
Then only they can prove the Pope to
be wrong. - Mithilesh Kumar - Sept. 28, 2006
Some time ago, I was reading a story
in a children's book. I am giving a
short version of the same below:-
A holy man used to travel on a
particular road every day. On this
road lived an old lady known for her
ill temper. Every day, this lady
would throw garbage on the holy man
as he crossed in front of her house.
This routine continued for several
days. One day, as the holy man
crossed the lady's house, no garbage
was thrown upon him. Intrigued, the
holy man went inside the house. He
found that the lady was ill. The
holy man was concerned; he helped
and nursed the lady to regain her
health. The lady was ashamed of her
past behaviour and became a follower
of this great man. Do you know who
this holy man was? He was Prophet
Mohammed.
I fail to understand how the
followers of this great Prophet have
become "intolerant". - Shitanshu
- Sept. 28, 2006 |
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