Holy See, Holy To-Do

The Muslim world is roiling over remarks by Pope Benedict XVI'; offended politicos, clerics, and the ever-unhappy Man in the Muslim Street in Pakistan, Malaysia, Lebanon, Egypt and elsewhere are demanding an apology. A couple of churches have been firebombed (neither of them Catholic), while in Iraq, there's actually a threat to murder Iraqi Christians unless Benedict makes amends.

(As it happens, the Christians of Iraq are overwhelmingly members of Eastern rite churches and have nothing whatsoever to do with the Vatican. But why should the righteous defenders of Muslim honor bother themselves about such details? They're too busy sharpening their khanjars so as to demonstrate the peaceful nature of Islam.)

So what did Benedict say exactly? He delivered a lecture last week in Germany on faith and reason, and it contained a quote from a 14th century document, a dialogue between the Byzantine emperor and a Persian scholar.

In the course of their discussion about religion, the Emperor Manuel II Paleologos says, "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."

Now, Benedict didn't suggest in any way that these were his own views; this was an academic lecture. Thus, Muslims like myself who find these words ill-considered should indeed demand an apology, but not from Benedict. Muslims should join IraqPundit in demanding an apology, personal and abject, from Manuel II Paleologos. I'm aware he's been dead for centuries (and for that matter, may never have spoken the words at all), but details like that are nothing compared to the pure flame of my righteous anger!

Actually, Benedict has already issued a statement saying he didn't intend any offense, though apparently that's not good enough for some people. In retrospect, it's clear that Benedict would have been wiser -- and certainly more diplomatic -- had he distanced himself from the quotes in his abstruse text.

On the other hand, I can think of a lot more pressing matters for Muslims to be angry about. How about taking to the street over the murderers who have been disgracing our religion by shedding oceans of innocent blood in its name? On Thursday, a car bomb blew up outside a Baghdad orphanage. In all the wide sweep of the Muslim Street, is there no one sufficiently disgusted to raise his voice over such a thing? It should be easy enough, especially since a common excuse has been that the perpetrators of such evil cannot be Muslims. Surely, if such "non-Muslims" are killing Iraqi Muslims in great numbers, it's worth the attention of the pious. Speak up, the death cries of hundreds and hundreds of innocent Iraqis murdered every month are drowning your outrage.