--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Irmeli Mattsson" > <Irmeli.Mattsson@> wrote: > <snip> > > In my opinion the pope addresses this issue in the speech relatively > > tactfully by a quotation of the issue that he sees to be at the core > > of the problem. > > Just so we know what we're talking about here, > this is the quotation that has angered Muslims > (from an AP report on Yahoo! News): > > "In his speech on Tuesday, Benedict quoted from a book recounting a > conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel > Paleologos II and an educated Persian on the truths of Christianity > and Islam. > > "'The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war,' the > pope said. 'He said, I quote, "Show me just what Muhammad 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."'" > > Whatever the truth of the last part of the sentence > (and it's not quite the slam-dunk some seem to think), > it's the first part that is so offensive to Muslims: > the only new things Muhammad brought were evil and > inhuman. It's not hard to grasp why that has aroused > such fury. Imagine the wrath of Christians if a non- > Christian were to say the only new things Jesus brought > were evil and inhuman, citing, say, Jesus' instruction > to hate one's father and mother! > > The big problem was that the pope *did not repudiate* > the offensive part of the quote. He could have made > his point about violent jihad just as well if he'd > said to start with that he didn't condone the first > part. > > It's too bad that slip (among others, but that was the > worst) was so inflammatory that it was hard to hear > the rest of what he said dispassionately. > > And he *still* hasn't apologized for it. All he's > said is that he was sorry Muslims were offended by > it. >
I just cannot see the speech as offensive. The quotation becomes offensive only, when it is taken out of the context of the whole speech. The pope is quoting a Christian Byzantine Emperor, who is trying to challenge an educated Persian by his claims and questions. I have very difficult to imagine that the Christians would feel deeply hurt and offended had the claim been made by a muslim about Christianity. Instead the Christians would have tried to defend their own view by answering to questions of the emperor and trying to refute his claims. We have also to remember what kind of audience this speech was given to. The pope is a former professor of theology, and he was invited to speak at the University of Regensburg. It is a scholarly speach for other scholars. Why do the muslims feel the need to control even what can be expressed in the academia of a western country? Irmeli To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
