Regrettable

It's been a while since I said something about current affairs. The last time I said something, was about Israel's attack on Lebanon. Damn, that made my blood boil.

Last month, the Pope said something most Muslims thought would never come out from a man of his stature. He had quoted the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II, who was known for his hatred of Muslims. Being a former professor of theology, he should have known better than to tread on religious sensitivities by quoting, "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".

Personally, I feel this is worse than the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) printed in the European press. Unsurprisingly, the backlash was even worse this time round. Not only effigies of the pope was razed, there were even calls for his head coming from Somalia. Now that's a little absurd isn't it? After all, the Pope was only delivering a lecture. Having done so in his native German, it is highly plausible that such a quote was taken out of context as has been done and witnessed countless times before. Prior to his quoting that line, he was talking about the unacceptable practice of forced conversions and that conversions should only be done through reason and reason alone. He goes on after that quote by saying further that the Emperor Manuel II describes in detail why the spreading of religion through violence is unacceptable and goes against the nature of God.

No, I'm not defending the Pope for his actions or intended meaning. I condemn what he said as for thousands of years, there are deinitely better alternatives to quote examples from. I have read through many commentaries on this subject and the acid-laced words that has been used to describe this unfortunate event, yet I can see the polarity of it all. On one hand you have the western government and religious organizations defending the lecture while on the other hand, you have the Muslims defending their religion's honor and condemning the Pope. I too felt the same way, angered by the quote. However, upon reading the transcript, I felt that it was taken out of the context of the lecture. I still feel that he shouldn't have used that as an example, but he did have a point, even if he failed to understand the reasons behind the so-called "forced conversions".

Funny isn't it that the Pope had to use that example in his lecture when his lecture could be better served by recounting how the Crusaders massacred the inhabitants of Jerusalem when they conquered the city in 1088, or the genocides in the Balkan Peninsula, ethnic cleansing anyone? It's a bit shortsighted on the part of the Pope for him to quote something sensitive such as that. Having called for religious dialogue and tolerance, it would have been better served had he taken the time to understand Islam himself before launching himself into muddied waters with such a diatribe again.

Another thing that strikes me is how jumpy the world had become. This is not the only case of something ascribed to someone being taken out of context. Tun Mahathir had that when he claimed Jews ruled the world by proxy and the whole western world felt violated and demanded an apology. Well, the roles are reversed now and here we are, Muslims, described as a religion of peace and tolerance, calling for the head of the Pope.

We all need to take a step back and contemplate before acting. Sadly, that is the one thing we find hardest to do.