Did the Pope really insult Muslums around the world?

Pope Benedict gave a speech in Germany in September 2006 in which he referred to a statement made centuries ago in which a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor said that the words of the Qu'orn (Muslum holy book) were evil and inhuman. This caused outrage around the world. What follows is a letter I sent to a Canadian cardinal in which I find fault with the Pope's remarks.

There are times when we say things that can be construed as insulting even though in our hearts, it is not our intention to offend. This is what happened when Pope Benedict, while giving a lecture at his old alma mater, the University of Regensburg, cited criticisms of the Prophet Mohammed by a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor, Manuel II, who was debating with a learned Persian. The quotation included;

“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.” unquote

I don’t think anyone believes that His Holiness misquoted Manuel II but his timing was most unfortunate. We are currently living in an era where radical Islamists are killing people all over the world and doing it on any pretext they can devise for themselves. Gasoline by itself is inert but put a match to it and you know what follows. When the Pope made his remarks, he in effect, put a match to the gasoline and now we are in the conflagration that ensued.

Anyone familiar with the Qu’oran realizes that there are statements in that holy book that do in fact promote putting to the sword, non believers. Let me quote from a translated version from verse ‘008.012’

“When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” unquote

I suppose one could interpret that passage to mean that the people who were alive during the time of Mohammed, Islam’s greatest prophet, the spreading of the word came about by the use of the sword. That doesn’t mean that that directive should be followed in our time any more than the directive that people who work on the Sabbath should be stoned to death.

Where the Pope blundered was when he said and again I quote from his lecture;

“Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman.....”

The 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor made a terrible blunder when he used the word, “only” when making that statement to the Persian. His statement could be construed to mean that the only things in the text of the Qu’oran are evil and inhuman.

I have read the Qu’oran and there are some very beautiful passages in it that are not evil and inhuman. I will quote some of them. The following are from verses, 004.002, 004.007 and 004.008, for example.

“And give to the orphans their property, and do not substitute worthless (things) for (their) good (ones), and do not devour their property (as an addition) to your own property; this is surely a great crime.”

“Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether there is little or much of it; a stated portion.”

“And when there are present at the division the relatives and the orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it and speak to them kind words.”

How can anyone who has read the Qu’oran say that that holy book is filled with verses that are only evil and inhuman?

The mistake the Pope made was that he didn’t go further and state that the Qu’oran has many verses that promote peace, justice, forgiveness and understanding.

Admittedly, suggesting that non believers should have their heads cut off with a sword and their fingertips chopped off is evil and inhuman but we must be mindful that when the Qu’oran was written, doing such things to human beings may very well have not been considered evil and inhuman. The Old Testament in which Muslims accept as Christians do, have many examples of massacres that were at those times, considered just and honourable.

When Hitler massacred the Jews, he couldn’t justify his actions simply because it was OK to kill innocent persons thousands of years earlier. As the centuries moved forward, so did the hearts and minds of human beings. In this day and age, we don’t condone slaughtering innocent people on the premise that they are non-believers. It would be evil and inhuman and I sincerely believe that all honest and god-loving Muslims believe that also.

An historical context has arisen since the Crusades. Muslims could not ignore those wars against Islam anymore than Muslims can ignore the wars of today occurring in Afghanistan, Iraq or the recent conflict in Lebanon.

The strong words Pope Benedict used in describing Islam, especially those inexpedient words emanating from the 14th century, ran the risk of offense. He infuriated a great many Muslims around the world and his apology simply wasn’t enough to quench the fires of hatred that followed his untimely address at the university in Germany. Worse yet, the Islamic radicals used his speech to inflame more hatred of Christians, resulting in a Catholic nun in Somalia being murdered, many churches desecrated and many people injured.

In reading the text of the Pope’s address, it is easy to see where he was going with his speech especially when he said;

“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.” unquote

The Pope was right when he tried to get the message across to those who heard his lecture that people in our time should not be trying to force others into accepting their faith under the threat of death---something many radical Islamic regimes are attempting to do.

I think he could have bolstered his speech if he had admitted that Christians in centuries past were no better and that Christianity also did evil and inhuman things to the non-believers in the past. Instead, he omitted that deplorable part of the history of Christianity from his speech, leaving the Muslims to suspect that he was blaming them and only them for the wrongs done against other human beings. It is far easier for all of us to accept criticism from someone when the critic admits his own failings.

The Pope’s second blunder occurred when he attempted to apologize for his unfortunate remarks. In the presence of more than 40,000 people, the Pope said he had chosen the theme of the relationship between faith and reason by saying to the throng;

"In order to introduce my audience to the dramatic nature and current importance of the subject, I quoted some words from a Christian-Muslim dialogue from the 14th century in which the Christian - the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus - presented to his Muslim interlocutor, in a manner we find incomprehensibly brusque, the problem of the relationship between faith and violence.”

He went on to say: "This quotation, unfortunately, has lent itself to misunderstandings.”

There is an understatement if I ever heard one.

His Holiness was apologizing for causing the conflagration that followed his speech rather than apologizing for quoting the Byzantine Christian emperor. That is akin to a drunk driver apologizing to the parents for the loss of their child without apologizing for being drunk in the first place.

People who give speeches must take great care to make sure that when quoting a historical figure, their listeners will not feel insulted or suspect that they approve of what that historical person said.

I was confronted with this dilemma when I addressed a United Nations conference in Bangkok in April 2005. I am the father of the UN bill of rights for young offenders and I was reporting to the delegates from 140 countries, what has happened to young offenders around the world since the UN General Assembly passed the Rules in January 1986.

My message was that many of the abuses brought upon the young people in the institutions were still being caused by the staff rather than it being the policy of the state. I quoted the words of one of the world’s most evil persons who ever existed. His name was Hosse. He was the commandant of the death camp, Auschwitz. I quoted him by saying;

“This so-called ill treatment and torture in detention centers, stories of which were spread everywhere among the people and later by the prisoners who were freed, were not, as some assumed, inflicted methodically but were excesses committed by individual prison guards, their deputies and men who laid violent hands on the detainees.” unquote

There was no outcry or outrage when I quoted the words of this man. I told the delegates that he was one of the world’s most evil men who ever lived. But obviously what he said at his trial before he was hanged as a war criminal was true and most appropriate when used to bring my message to the delegates. I quoted him again in November 2005 when I addressed the Second World Conference on the Rights of Children that was held in Lima, and I will quote him in October 2006 when I will address the Second International Conference on the Rights of Children in Europe as their keynote speaker in Brussels. I didn’t get any flack in Lima nor do I expect any in Brussels. It’s OK to quote people from the past irrespective how good or evil they were so long as the quotation serves a useful purpose.

The Pope, in my opinion was quite correct to quote the 14th Century emperor to get his message across that it is wrong to force religion on others at the point of a sword but he was wrong in not immediately stating immediately thereafter that the Qu’oran also encourages peace, justice and decency. It was his failing to do so that caused the Muslims to react the way they did, and sadly, the blood of that saintly nun in Somalia who forgave her murderers before she died at their hands, is on the Pope’s hands.

We are all prone to making mistakes because we are human and fortunately, the ones most of us make are not so bad that lives are lost as a direct result of them. The Pope made a blunder that will live on in history. That will be his legacy. He would have been wiser if he had used the services of someone in the Vatican who was an authority on world problems and the feelings of Muslims instead of venturing out on his own.

I sincerely hope that that blunder will be his last one. If he continues on blundering his way through his papacy, he will be referred to in time as Pope Benedict, the fool.
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Needless to say, the cardinal didn't write me back.