[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Pope may have done Islam a favour
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:12:38 +0200
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**http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,20436604,00.html
Pope may have done Islam a favour
Debate is needed on the Koran's teaching, says William Rees-Mogg
19sep06
JOURNALISTS should not criticise Pope Benedict XVI for his lecture at
Regensburg. He has done only what every sub-editor on a newspaper does every
day. Confronted with a long and closely written text, he inserted a lively
quote to draw attention to the argument. We all do it. Sometimes the quote
causes trouble, but more often it opens up an argument that is needed.
The question is not whether the quotation from the Byzantine emperor Manuel II
Palaeologus is offensive: it is. The question is whether the emperor is
justified in what he said.
His main thrust was at least partly justified. There is a real problem about
the teaching of the Koran on violence against the infidel. That existed in the
14th century, and was demonstrated again on September 11, 2001. There is every
reason to discuss it. I am more afraid of silence than offence.
The Pope's actual quotation is not just a medieval point of view. It is a
common modern view - even if it seldom reaches print, it can certainly be found
on the internet. It went: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and
then you shall find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread
by the sword the faith he preached."
Is it true that the Koran contains such a command, and has it influenced modern
terrorists? The answers, unfortunately, are yes and yes.
The so-called Sword Verse from Chapter 9 must have been in the emperor's mind:
"So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever
you find them.
"And take them captive and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in every
ambush."
This does shock many Muslims: extremists are angered by the implied criticism
of those who quote it, while moderates who cannot disavow the terms of the
Koran prefer more evasive interpretations. The shock it creates shows the
importance of the doctrine. One man who does not question the meaning of the
verse is Osama bin Laden. His attitude is discussed at some length in Chapter
14 of an excellent new book, The Qur'an, a Biography, by Bruce Lawrence, who is
professor of Islamic studies at Duke University, North Carolina.
Lawrence observes the use of this verse as a central argument for jihad in bin
Laden's manifesto in 1996; that was a declaration of war against native and
foreign infidels.
Lawrence makes several relevant points. Bin Laden selects only those verses
that fit his message, and then cites them exclusively for his own purposes. He
ignores both their original context and also the variety of historical
differences between committed Muslims about how to apply their dicta. He
collapses the broad spectrum of Koranic teaching into a double requirement:
first to believe and then to fight.
Lawrence also draws attention to the qualifications that surround the Sword
Verse; particularly that those infidels who repent should be allowed to go
free: "For God is most forgiving; most merciful." It is impossible to reconcile
the consistent Koranic teaching that God is most merciful with suicide bombing,
which is indiscriminate and murders faithfuls and infidels alike.
It is a mistake to think that all the major religions are identical: they have
real differences of doctrine that have real impacts on human society. What is
true, however, is that no religion shall survive for more than a generation or
two unless it has a substantial element of truth in it.
It is natural for Christians of different denominations to love what they have
in common without ceasing to be aware of their differences. A Christian should
also rejoice in the positive spiritual values of the other major religions. It
is natural for a Christian to feel enriched by Judaism, which was the religion
of Jesus; or by Platonism, the philosophy of the opening chapter of St John's
Gospel and of St Augustine. Yet Christians also find spiritual truths in
Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. There is a
significant link between aspects of Islamic Sufi mysticism and the Christian
mystical tradition.
When one lists these religions it becomes obvious that there are two problems:
violence and the influence of reason, both of which Benedict identified.
Violence is a fault from which no major religion has historically been free. It
is one of the great scandals that so many persecutions have taken place in the
name of Jesus. This has been more or less true of all the great religions:
human beings are the most savage of beasts, and they will kill each other in
any cause, however noble.
Yet, nowadays, Islam is the only major religion in which violence is a serious
doctrinal issue. It is true that tribalised Catholics and Protestants in
Ireland have only recently stopped killing each other and vengeful Sikhs
assassinated Indira Gandhi in India, but neither the Catholic nor the
Protestant churches believe in terror; nor do the Sikhs.
A significant proportion of the Islamic community does believe that suicide
bombers are martyrs carrying out a religious duty. Suicide bombing causes
Islamophobia. There are varying degrees of authority and uniformity in
different religions; rather low in most cases. This pluralism has its own
virtues, but in Islam they are outweighed by the disadvantages. Those imams who
preach al-Qa'ida's view of the duty of jihad are not required to answer to any
authority, even reason.
Islam has only partially experienced the modern process of enlightenment and
reform, which was, after all, resisted by a number of pre-Vatican II popes.
Benedict will have done Islam a service if he has started a debate within Islam
and between Islam and the critics.
The Times
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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