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(IslamToday), September 2006 – Muslims have been greatly
offended by references made about Islam in a speech that Pope Benedict XVI
delivered on September 12 at the University of Regensburg entitled
"Faith, Reason and the University – Memories and Reflections".
Muslims were insulted by the speech's misrepresentation of Islam as a
religion that is spread through violence.
The Vatican defended the speech
claiming that the Pope was merely quoting the words of Byzantine Emperor
Manuel II Paleologus from a medieval text. In the Vatican's official
statement of 16 September, it reads: "As for the opinion of the
Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted during his
Regensburg talk, the Holy Father did not mean, nor does he mean, to make
that opinion his own in any way."
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Let There Be No Compulsion in Religion One of the
fundamental truths established by the sacred texts is that no one can be
compelled to accept Islam. It is the duty of Muslims to establish the
proof of Islam to the people so that truth can be made clear from
falsehood.
What Does Islam
Say about Terrorism? A look at the
various principles of Islam which show that Islam is truly a mercy to the
world, and the indiscriminate violence and terrorism is not condoned by
the religion.
Justice in
Islam Justice as a
basic objective of Islam and a moral virtue, and the standard of justice
envisaged by the Quran.
Women’s Liberation
through Islam The various
civil, social, political and economic rights which have been given to
women in Islam.
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In the Pope's subsequent apology,
he apologizes for the reaction that Muslims had to his speech and affirms
that the views of Emperor Manuel II do not reflect his own, saying:
"At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the
reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the
University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the
sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval
text, which do not in any way express my personal thought."
However, many Muslims do not
consider this explanation and apology to be sufficient. For one thing, it
only addresses the quotation form Emperor Manuel II, though the
misrepresentations of Islam contained in the speech are not limited to that
quote. Also, his apology is merely for the Muslim's reaction and not for
any fault in the speech itself.
To understand this better, we
need to look carefully at the key paragraphs of the speech – paragraphs
three and four – and clarify what about them Muslims find offensive:
Here is paragraph three of that
speech:
In the seventh conversation
edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy
war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no
compulsion in religion". According to the experts, this 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 Quran, concerning holy war. Without descending to
details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the
"Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his
interlocutor with a startling brusqueness on the central question about the
relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "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, after having expressed himself so
forcefully, 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", he
says, "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...".
As we can see, this paragraph is
not merely a quotation of a passage from a medieval text. The quoted words
of the Emperor form only a part of it, and much of what is offensive and
inaccurate in this paragraph is not from that quotation, but from the words
of Pope Benedict XVI himself.
The Pope introduces the quote by
mentioning that the Emperor must have known the verse of the Quran that
reads "There is no compulsion in religion." This is a claim being
made by the Pope. He then goes on to assert on the basis of some
"experts" that this verse was revealed in the early days when
Islam was weak. He then goes on to say that the verses relating to
"Holy War" came later.
These are the Pope's words. They
are inaccurate and their implications are sinister. They are inaccurate
because the verse "There is no compulsion in religion" was revealed
to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Madinah when Islam was at its
most powerful. The Pope's words imply that the verse which declares there
is no compulsion in religion was only for the early days of Islam and was
replaced with more militant injunctions when Islam grew stronger. Again,
this implication does not come from something quoted from Emperor, but from
the words of the Pope.
Here, the Pope needs to clarify
that Islam does not preach violence against non-Muslims and that Muslims do
not advocate spreading Islam through violence, since this is the
implication of his own words. Therefore, this is something that he has to
either explain or retract, and it is something about which Muslims feel he
should apologize.
After Pope Benedict XVI makes
these observations about the verses of the Quran, only then does he begin
quoting the words of the Byzantine Emperor, which include the statement:
"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"
He makes no effort to distance
himself from this statement or t show that he disagrees with it, which is
something that a man of his position should have taken pains to do,
especially after preceding this quote with the introduction that he gave.
It is good that the Pope has now
made it clear that the words of the Byzantine Emperor do not reflect his
own views. However, more is needed. He needs to apologize for his poor
choice of words that lead listeners to believe that he supports the
Emperor's idea that Islam advocates the spread of faith through violence.
He also needs to clarify his preceding statements about the verses of the Quran
– statements which are inaccurate and which imply the same negative meaning
as the Emperor's.
We will now look at paragraph
four:
The decisive statement in this
argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with
reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes:
For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement
is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent.
His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of
rationality. Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R.
Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is
not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal
the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practise idolatry.
We should note that in this
paragraph the Pope does not quote the Byzantine Emperor at all. Here he
quotes from the comments made by Theodore Khoury, the editor of the
Emperor's writings, which are being cited as an analysis of those writings.
The statement of Khoury that he quotes here seeks to explain the difference
in attitude between the Emperor and the Muslims towards violence by saying
that Muslims do not subject God to the dictates of reason.
At this point, it would have been
necessary for the Pope to state his disagreement with Khoury's general
statements about Islam. He needed to clarify that the views being expressed
about Muslim beliefs by Khoury and those supposedly held by the
"educated Persian" are not representative of the beliefs of the
vast majority of Muslims. As it stands, paragraph four merely reinforces
the idea that the Emperor's views about violence and those of the Muslims
are in actuality opposing views.
The fact is, Muslims agree with
the Emperor's words: "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"
This is the very idea enshrined
in the Quran – in the verse that the Pope wrongfully dismisses – where
Allah says: "There is no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out
clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped
the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows
all things." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 256]
Therefore, a clearer apology is
needed from the Pope where he at least admits to having chosen his words
incorrectly, and where he makes it clear that he is not advancing the idea
that Islam espouses irrational violence as a means of spreading the faith.
We as Muslims need to make clear
exactly what grievances we have with the Pope's speech. We need to be
precise in what we say and show where the Pope's speech was in error. In
doing so, we need to take the opportunity to explain the true, peaceful
teachings of Islam and to call people to Islam. We must restrain our anger.
We must avoid all acts of violence and impropriety, conduct which only
serve to advance the falsehood that Islam is a violent religion. We must
also understand that though demonstrations and protests communicate to the
world the anger that the Muslims feel, they do not explain to the world
exactly what was wrong with the Pope's statements or why his apology is
insufficient. What is needed is for us to speak calmly and convey a clear,
well-reasoned message.
And Allah knows best.
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