Muslims express fury over Pope's remarks:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060915/ap_on_re_mi_ea/pope_muslims
Freedom of speech is obviously not a guarantee in the Muslim world. Pope Benedict simply quoted a Byzantine emperor who held a discussion with a Persian scholar during the 14th century over the differences between Christianity and Islam.
The quote essentially says that Islam spread primarily through the use of the sword more than anything else. And who can really argue with that? Show me that the same isn't true today--in predominately Muslim countries if you convert to Christianity (or any other religion or no religion at all) you are threatened with severe ostracism and even death. Why should 21st century Muslims get all bent over shape that these same actions were observed in the 14th century as well?
Perhaps Pope Benedict should have erred on the side of caution and simply said, "By their fruit ye shall know them..."
No comments:
Post a Comment