listen to reason

One of the most astonishing things about the coverage of the Pope's controversial speech is this: no one bothers to read it. After a good deal of digging, I found it. And I find nothing whatever that could possibly be seen as an attack on Islam, or as a characterization of modern muslims as violent crusaders. He had nothing to apologize for, and the fact that an irrational political reaction forced him to apologize is greatly to be lamented. For it undermines the purpose of his talk: the importance of reason in religious conviction. Just to quote from the concluding paragraph of his talk:

The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur - this is the programme with which a theology grounded in Biblical faith enters into the debates of our time. "Not to act reasonably, not to act with logos, is contrary to the nature of God", said Manuel II, according to his Christian understanding of God, in response to his Persian interlocutor. It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures. To rediscover it constantly is the great task of the university.

Manuel II Paleologus was an educated Persian, familiar with both Christianity and Islam, and the Emperor of Byzantium during the late 14th and early 15th century. This is the context in which the Pope quotes him:

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, a brusqueness which leaves us astounded, 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". 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. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".

Now, just for the record, there were certainly a great many swordpoint conversions during the early rise of Islam, and many of these occurred under the direct influence of Mohammed. Though the Koran expressly forbids forced conversions, this prohibition was easily made marginal by merely offering non-muslims the choice to convert. It was an offer you could freely refuse, but a refusal could have violent consequences. Such was the freedom they offered their adversaries. The muslim community today has the power to gag powerful figures like the Pope when he makes even oblique references to Islamic religious violence. Osama Bin Laden, however, makes the most direct references possible. In his World Islamic Front Statement, "Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders", Bin Laden quotes several of the bloodiest passages from the Koran, including this one:

Fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem.

Modern muslims would do well to address this issue directly, rather than merely shaming any public figure who uncovers it in the course of his speech. A central belief of Islam is that Mohammed is the Messenger of God, and the Koran is considered to be one of the infallible vessels of that message. There are a great many bloody passages in the Koran, in which Mohammed encourages his people to kill and die in religious militanism. As peace loving muslims everywhere attempt to distance themselves from terrorists, they face the difficult situation of having also to distance themselves from their prophet and from their holy book. It's a difficult situation; I sympathize with them deeply. But though its obvious that bigotry must be challenged wherever it is found, this should not mean gagging and shaming even those who are attempting to create a foundation for a rational discourse about religious matters. That is a form of bullying, and bullying is contrary to God's nature.