A few weeks back, I wasn’t surprised to read the headlines marking Easter: Pope Benedict Baptizes a Muslim. Does the Pope want a pat in the back for being the savior of a man who once belonged to a religion that supposedly harbors terrorism, according to the Baptized Magdi Allam, whose conversion closely resembles Michael Savage’s sudden shift from the left to the right of the political spectrum: strange and absolutely sudden. But is the Pope trying to motivate the general Muslim world to think twice about their faith? Or, is the Catholic Church alarmed by the fact that, now more than ever, there are more Muslims in the world (about 20 percent of the world’s population) than there are Catholics (about 17 percent of the world’s population)?
Let’s not forget how he initiated his relations with the Muslims in his early days by this notorious quote in a speech intended to galvanize Europeans to their Christian roots: “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.” And, the intended prose worked. Islam was made into “them” for Europeans and the Catholic leader turned out to be not only a good Pope, but a shrewd politician, as well.
As can be seen, the Pope’s infatuation with Islam is not a very pleasant one. During a time when Islam is highly at risk of misrepresentation, the Pope is simply adding salt to the wound. Of course, he is certainly not obliged to act otherwise. But it also must be said that he does not have any right to misrepresent Islam in general, and especially so blatantly. I am amongst the majority of Muslims who feel this way.
Unfortunately, big leaders attract big media attention, which sometimes leads to the total skewing of a set of beliefs or even a faith. Islam has had its share of this since its inception and now, more than ever, we definitely don’t need it. Debate and dialog, however, is certainly an option and should be convened regularly amongst and within members other faiths or beliefs.
Finally, it is also up to Muslims to alter their image in the media, and other venues in which we are highly stereotyped. Not all Muslims will convert to Catholicism, and the Pope’s actions are simply to unify, yet again, a divided Europe, the unification of which he has no power over except by way of his favorite scapegoat—the vicious Muslim terrorists. And despite the fact that Magdi Allam’s lies about his own religion’s widespread violence (which clearly points out to his lack of knowledge about his own faith), the fact of the matter is that the majority of Muslims think and act otherwise.
A recent Gallup poll of Muslims in 39 countries surveyed that 92 percent of Muslims believe that attacks on civilians are never justified. When asked to explain their stance, a significant number of the group cited the Koran's insistence on safeguarding innocent life as a moral duty, as reported by the International Herald Tribune.
With all due respect to the current Pope, I must say I really miss the late Pope John Paul. I’m the kind of person who will go out of my way in order for others to feel comfortable, all the while respecting their beliefs. Pope John Paul did just that and he reached out to many different faith communities in the hopes of making the world a more peaceful place.
Pope Benedict, however, is vigorously treading on a path of false assumptions and false knowledge. He's better off doing his research before representing Islam to his extensive audiences and seeking to bring an end to the gap between his community and others, something I’m sure is in accordance with Jesus Christ's teachings.
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