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September 19, 2006
Holy War?
I never thought anyone could be more easily offended than Andrew Sullivan, but radical followers of Islam have proven me wrong.
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and Iran’s supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff’s remarks on Islam.Salman Rushdie, the Mohammed cartoons, the Newsweek story about a Koran and now the Pope's comments. Each of these events has caused Muslims around the world to take to the streets, shout, hold up signs and threaten violence against those who have offended them. In some cases, though, there is more than simply a threat of violence. In Somalia, a nun was murdered in retaliation for the Pope's comments.Protests broke out in South Asia and Indonesia, with angry Muslims saying Benedict’s statement of regret a day earlier did not go far enough. In southern Iraq, demonstrators carrying black flags burned an effigy of the pope.
Islamic leaders around the world issued more condemnations of the pope’s comments, but some moderates in the Middle East appeared to be trying to put a damper on the outrage, fearing it could spiral into attacks on Christians in the region.
I don't want to be too much of a pessimist, but it seems we're on the verge of a war between Catholics and Muslims. The Pope has been burned in effigy and his life has been threatened. It would not surprise me at all if an angry extremist were to make an actual attempt on his life. I hope it doesn't happen, but fear that it will.
If people had actually taken the time to absorb what Benedict was saying, they would see a reasonable man making a reasonable point. Unfortunately, though, many of those who ascribe to a radical interpretation of Islam are not reasonable people, and they react out of emotion. Far too often, that emotion manifests itself as violence.
Radical Islamicists have crossed a line. A servant of God has been murdered, another has been threatened, all in the name of 'religion.' I was raised Catholic, but have moved to a protestant church and have not practiced the Catholic faith in a long time. I disagree with the Pope on quite a few theological issues, but respect him for taking a stand on this issue - faith should never include the regular infliction of violence on innocents.
If this truly is a war of ideologies, I hope protestants will stand with the Pope at this time and counter threats of murder with the truth of Christ - the path to heaven is not paved with the bodies of innocents slaughtered in the name of 'jihad.' It's guaranteed by the grace of God and the sacrifice of His son.
This war has taken an ugly turn. I hope and pray that it does not get uglier.
Posted by slublog at September 19, 2006 12:09 AM
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