See Islamic Council of Victoria director Waleed Aly:
"Here, the vociferous protests came from people who, quite clearly, have not bothered to read Benedict's speech. Worse, some (like al-Hilali and Ameer Ali) themselves regularly complain of being quoted incorrectly and out of context. Had such critics done their homework, they would have noted Benedict's description of Manuel II's "startling brusqueness". Manuel's point was that violent doctrine could not come from God because missionary violence is contrary to rationality. Benedict's point was a subtle one: that Manuel draws a positive link between religious truth and reason. This was the central theme of the Pope's address. He was silent on Manuel's attitude to Islam because it was beside the point he was making."
The rest is also worth reading, and I especially liked his use of the phrase "overblown response of surreal imbecility"; surely a keeper for future situations of all kinds. But his first 2 paragraphs nailed it, echoing Rev. Sensing's point yesterday before making his own:
"Let me get this straight. Pope Benedict XVI quotes the 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus asserting before a Persian Islamic scholar that the prophet Muhammad brought nothing new to the world except things "evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". Some Muslims clearly interpret Benedict to be quoting Manuel with approval, and take offence at the suggestion that Islam is inherently violent. The response is to bomb five churches in the West Bank, and attack the door of another in Basra. In India, angry mobs burn effigies of Pope Benedict. In Somalia, Sheikh Abu Bakr Hassan Malin urges Muslims to "hunt down" the Pope and kill him, while an armed Iraqi group threatens to carry out attacks against Rome and the Vatican.
There. That'll show them for calling us violent...."
It's a good article, well worth reading for its content as well as its surprising origins.
By the way, just who was Emperor Manuel II Paleologus? The Corner has the very brief brief.
That is terrific! Not only is it very well written and makes many good points, but it is written by a director of the "Islamic Council of Victoria." I'd love to see quite a lot more like that. News coverage is full of Islamic lunatics and terrorist apologists from CAIR. With representatives like that, Islam insults itself with no assistance needed from cartoonists or Popes. More Muslims like Waleed Aly need to sound off, if the Islamofascists are to be seen as a vocal minority rather than the main body of the religion.
I've read the whole speech, and I am offended by the Pope's apparent disdain for the "Reformers" and I am going to go home and listen to my wife's Sinead O'Connor cd and play hacky sack. If the Pope persists on this path, I will make a giant paper mache of his head. This is his final warning.
Hi all:
Let me be the sour puss: it,s written by a Moslem in a non-Moslem country. I'll be impressed when it comes from an important poobah in a Moslem country. Until then, the words are empty platitudes
xavier