Faith and Reason?
During a recent speech at the University of Regensburg, Pope Benedict XVI made a comment that has inflamed the Muslim world. In a discussion about how faith and reason can coexist, he mentions a religious dialogue that took place between the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian around 1391:
In the seventh conversation-controversy, edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the jihad (holy war). The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: “There is no compulsion in religion”. It is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur’an, concerning holy war. Without decending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the “Book” and the “infidels”, he turns to his interlocutor somewhat brusquely with the central question on the relationship between religion and violence in general, in these words: “Show me just what Mohammed 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”. The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. “God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats… To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death…”.
Muslim religious leaders and governments have condemned this passage of the speech and demanded a retraction and apology by the pope. Politicians in Turkey have compared him to Hitler and accused him of trying to restart the Crusades (Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire, is now the Turkish city Istanbul). Two churches in the West Bank have been fire-bombed, one Catholic, the other Anglican, and four small bombs were set off in a youth center in Gaza City run by the Greek Orthodox Church. Demonstrations and rallies are taking place in most of the Muslin countries.
I have to wonder how many of these people have read the full speech, which is not about Islam, but is actually criticizing the popular western view that reason and faith cannot coexist. In quoting the above passage, he was making a point that religion and violence are incompatible.
While maybe the Pope’s choice of material to quote was not the wisest, I don’t understand why many Muslims are so quick to take offense. How many negative and/or offensive cartoons and statements by religious and political leaders have been made in the Muslim world against the west, Judaism and Christianity? Countless. It just seems that there are too many people in the world just looking for an excuse, any excuse, to hate (I’m talking about Christians and Americans here too). I don’t see this going anywhere good. People hating each other and killing over religion makes no sense. Think of all the senseless deaths in the name of religion: the Crusades (because the Holy land just HAD to be saved from the infidels), the Inquisition, the conversion of the New World, the Witch Trials and the Holocaust are just a few examples. I wouldn’t want a God who endorses these kinds of behaviors.
Read more at: SpiegelOnline, International Herald Tribune, Aljazeera, Washington Post
Skeletons need not apply
The Madrid fashion week has banned runway models with BMI’s (Body Mass Index) less than 18 (18.5 to 24.9 is considered “ideal”). While Madrid is a small show, the mayor of Milan is talking about enforcing a ban on that city’s famous and influential fashion week and protestors in London are asking that city to follow suit. CNN.com reports that:
Organizers say they want to project an image of beauty and health, rather than a waif-like, or heroin chic look.
But Cathy Gould, of New York’s Elite modeling agency, said the fashion industry was being used as a scapegoat for illnesses like anorexia and bulimia.
“I think its outrageous, I understand they want to set this tone of healthy beautiful women, but what about discrimination against the model and what about the freedom of the designer,” said Gould, Elite’s North America director, adding that the move could harm careers of naturally “gazelle-like” models.
CNN International aired an interview with a top modelling agency rep in Milan who stated that if the ban went into effect there, 80% of his models would be disqualified. France does not seem to be taking the controversy seriously, SpiegelOnline (in German) headline’s this story with: “Paris laughs over skinny model ban.”
And to continue our racism in Germany discussion
It looks like the NPD (neo-Nazi National Democratic Party) will obtain enough votes (6-7%) to enter the state assembly of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but luckily they will probably not get the mandatory 5% needed to enter the Berlin state parliament. SpiegelOnline reports that:
The far right has done well in the east because acceptance of democracy among ordinary people there is still weak after decades of communist rule, say analysts. The failure of the mainstream parties to cope with the mass unemployment and social upheaval after unification had made people more receptive to the radical right, Funke said. “Many people have the feeling that they’re superfluous.”
Their anger has provided fertile ground for the NPD, especially among young people, said Funke. Xenophobia is widespread because immigrants have become scapegoats for economic woes. There is little awareness of the Holocaust because Germany’s Nazi past wasn’t addressed under the communist regime. “In their racist aggression they think ‘we finished them off, that’s cool,’” Funke said.
And to continue the discussion of problems in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at a September 9th football match, fans of Hansa Rostock made monkey noises and chanted racist slurs at Shalke 04’s Gerald Asamoah, the Ghana born football star who played on German’s World Cup Team. The team has been fined €20,000 and the fans may be banned from the stadium for several games.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
they did it AGAIN? how thick can you get? asamoa was insulted over the last years — very often by hansa rostock fans. as a result they were both banned from attending the matches *and* had to pay fines. now that they’re back, it looks like they haven’t learned a thing.
::shakes head::
and about the pope. i am not a big supporter when it comes to the vatican, but the thing is that fundamental islamists misunderstand the speach on purpose. it’s the only way to enrage fellow muslims (who probably have not had the chance to read a faithful tanslation of the speach) in order to join the ranks of the radicals. that’s how religious wars have been kindled ever since.