That speech

We can say with absolute certainty that the overwhelming majority of those angrily protesting the Pope's controversial lecture have not actually read it. The full text is here. The controversial section about Islam comes early on; the rest, needless to say, is an extremely tough read.

You can make a reasonable argument that Benedict could have used a less contentious example, or made it more clear that he did not necessarily endorse the opinion of Manuel II Paleologus. Times religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill also chides him for a serious factual error:

This speech, as its esoteric tone and content testifies, was an address by Professor Joseph Ratzinger, scholar, rather than by Benedict XVI, world religious leader. His mistake was his failure to distance himself from the emperor’s comments — surely inflammatory enough in their own time, but a thousand times more so when repeated today.

He can hardly complain that he has been taken out of context by thousands of enraged Muslims around the world when he is himself guilty of the same offence in regard to Manuel II Paleologus.

His address is undermined further by a serious error in regards to the Koran. “Sura 2,256 [about there being no compulsion in religion - DP]...is one of the suras of the early period, when Muhammad was still powerless and under threat.” In fact, this sura [Koranic chapter] is held by Muslim scholars to be from the middle period, around the 24th year of Muhammad’s prophethood in 624 or 625, when he was in Medina and in control of a state. Contrary to what the Pope said, this was written when Muhammad was in a position of strength, not weakness.

Still, the reaction from the Muslim world has been excessive and, if they're hoping to win over Western observers, extremely counterproductive. But just as with the Danish cartoon protests, I don't think this is about trying to change non-Muslim minds so much as trying to intimidate non-Muslims into submission:

The Muslim world will today expect a personal apology when the Pope makes his first public appearance since the controversial speech last Tuesday at the Angelus blessing in St Peter's Square, Rome.

The Pontiff spent yesterday in his country retreat outside Rome with his closest advisers as security was stepped up at the Vatican in readiness for today's appearance in which he usually discusses current affairs.

The Vatican was forced to issue a statement yesterday in a bid to defuse the affair. The move was a clear sign of the growing fears within the church that the crisis was spiralling out of control.

"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in the statement.

But while the apology from the Vatican was welcomed by most of Britain's mainstream Muslim groups, those in the Middle East were less forgiving. More protests were held in Karachi, in Gaza and in Turkey.

Lebanon's most senior Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, said: "We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels and ask him to offer a personal apology - not through his officials - to Muslims for this false reading [of Islam]".

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said the statement did not go far enough and called on the Pontiff to apologise in person.

"We feel he has committed a grave error against us and that this mistake will only be removed through a personal apology," the Brotherhood's deputy leader Mohammed Habib said.

Iran also condemned Pope Benedict XVI, calling his comments "a big mistake" and demanding an apology.

But the most worrying turn of events took place in the Palestinian territories where gangs wielding guns and firebombs turned their anger on churches. Four churches [only one Roman Catholic - DP] were targeted in the West Bank town of Nablus, while gunmen opened fire at a fifth in Gaza, leaving the walls pocked by bulletholes and scorched by firebombs.

Damian P.

Posted by damian at September 17, 2006 09:38 AM