The Pope vs Islam Stupidity

.....Pope Benedict is a respected scholar and theologian. He is by nature a cautious man and makes few errors of judgment. The words he speaks are carefully considered as to their possible effect. There are people who disagree with him on various issues, myself included, but overall most people have accepted him to be a sincere theological authority and the spiritual leader of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

.....An inhumane version of Islam has gained prominence in recent years. It's always been there, but generally ignored. The radicals of Islam have quietly become the enemies of humanity. Their ascendancy seems to have happened quickly - but it is not so. Islam has always contained an ignorant, inhumane, and militant faction, and the Qu'ran has always taught violent, intolerant, and anti-social behavior.

.....The prophet of Islam, Mohammed, was a badly flawed person. At two distinct times during his life, he wrote or is quoted in the Qu'ran. The first vision of Mohammed is rational, comforting and peaceful. The second, that written later in Mohammed's life, describes a much different person. It contains militant, dysfunctional and irrational verses, and it displays an intolerant, inhuman nature of the religion of Islam.

.....The Qu'ran unequivocally directs violence against non-believers. The extremist fanatics today use these terrible passages as a guide to their behavior. By doing so they eliminate any possibility of becoming a civilized society, competitive, enlightened, modern and accepted. Their failures guarantee continued unrest, poverty and dysfunction. Of course, they blame everyone but themselves.

.....The religion of Islam must undergo a radical and fundamental change to become acceptable in the world. Enlightened Muslims should be ashamed of their religion and they should want to make it glorious again. Unfortunately, they are mortally afraid of their radical minority.

It is hard to separate the fanatics of Islam from it's peaceful adherents. The lack of correction from within Islam by peaceful, enlightened and tolerant Muslims, paints a dismal future for them. Their constraint gives the impression that the entire religion of Islam is despicable.

.....There has been no significant effort by peaceful Muslims to speak or act against their fanatic fringe.

Pope Benedict unsuccessfully sought to find a way build a dialog. In his recent controversial lesson he said nothing that was not historically correct, and nothing that did not need saying. He spoke the truth and asked for a reasoned response from the religion of Islam. In doing so, he quoted a Byzantine figure who said, in the 14th century, that Islam had some problems.

.....The over-reaction was typical. Radical Muslim clerics interpreted the quotation as the Pope's opinion (it wasn't) and a mortal insult to Islam. Their reaction was ridiculously and exceptionally stupid.

Try again Pope Benedict.

But do not appease these brutes.