26 November 2014 A.D. Pope Benedict XVI:
Quotations on Islam from Notable Non-Muslims
Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
(born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927) is Pope Emeritus of the
Catholic Church, having served as Pope from 2005 to 2013.
Known for his toughness on matters of Catholic doctrine, Pope
Benedict XVI gives no quarter when it comes to questions about Islam.
Unlike his predecessor, Pope John Paul II,
Benedict has never drawn flak for saying that Muslims and Christians pray to
the same God or been accused of waffling on whether Christianity is superior to
the religion of prophet Muhammad.
Still, he has dialogued with Muslims for years
and, just after his installation as pope 17 months ago, specifically mentioned
them in an address to members of other religions.
But, during a lecture Sept. 12 in Regensburg,
Germany, he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologos, as
saying, “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.”
Even though the pope described the quote as
“marginal” and “brusque,” Muslims around the world have called for the
pontiff’s death, churches in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were firebombed
over the weekend, and a nun was killed Sunday in Somalia, in an apparently
related attack.
Still, “challenging Islam is not Benedict’s
priority,” says David Gibson, author of the just-released book “The Rule of
Benedict.” “He doesn’t want to see this as a debate between equals. There’s no
theological parity between the two. He’s not there to compromise on that.
“One of the reasons he was elected last year was the cardinals felt he’d be
much more confrontational with Islam. Benedict has voiced real doubts about
Islam’s ability to reform itself.”
Benedict has studied Islam extensively and, in
a 1997 interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, dealt generously with
the religion.
“There is a noble Islam, embodied, for example,
by the King of Morocco, and there is also the extremist, terrorist Islam,
which, again, one must not identify with Islam as a whole, which would do it an
injustice,” the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said.
Still, he added, Islam does not fit in with
Western civilization.
“Islam has a total organization of life that is
completely different from ours; it embraces simply everything,” he said. “There
is a very marked subordination of woman to man; there is a very tightly knit
criminal law, indeed, a law regulating all areas of life, that is opposed to
our modern ideas about society. One has to have a clear understanding that it
is not simply a denomination that can be included in the free realm of a
pluralistic society.”
He has refused to alter his conviction that
Islam’s propensity to live by the power of the sword must be moderated.
“Certainly, it has elements that favor peace,
as it has other elements,” he told Italian journalists in July 2005. “We always
have to seek to find the best elements that help.”
Unlike John Paul, who visited a mosque in
Damascus, Syria, in 2001, Benedict is loath to mix religions. Last year, while
in Cologne, Germany, for World Youth Day, he turned down a request by Muslim
leaders to visit a mosque there, in a city known as a European base for the
radical Muslim Brotherhood.
But he did meet with Muslim leaders, who he
said are viewed “with respect” by Catholics.
“We must seek
paths of reconciliation and learn to live with respect for each other’s
identity,” he added. “The defense
of religious freedom, in this sense, is a
permanent imperative, and respect for minorities is a clear sign of true
civilization.”
In
March, the pope summoned 179 cardinals to Rome
to discuss Islam, said John L. Allen Jr., author
of “The Rise of Benedict XVI.” At issue was increasing persecution of
Christians in Islamic countries, he said in an interview
“He
feels that if we have dialogue, we need to talk about things,” Mr. Allen said
of the pope, “and not just be nice to each other. When he said on Sunday that
he wants a ‘frank and sincere dialogue,’ he meant that we have to put actual
issues on the table.
“The
great challenge is if he can find the vocabulary to raise these issues. And can
he find a conversation partner
? Are there credible forces within Islam who can engage in
a discussion based on reason?”
AND NOW, for
illustrative quotes on Islam from the son and grandson of Kenyan born Muslims, a
world class and credentialed historian, and a man notable for his robust and
unimpeachable honesty and integrity, Imam Barack Hussein Obama, see:
20 Quotes By Barack Obama About Islam and Mohammed
#1 “The future must not belong to those who slander the
Prophet of Islam”
#2 “The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to
prayer”
#3 “We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic
faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world — including
in my own country.”
#4 “As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam.”
#5 “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.”
#6 “Islam has
always been part of America”
#7 “we will encourage more Americans
to study in Muslim communities”
#8 “These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold
in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the
dignity of all human beings.”
#9 “America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in
competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and
progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”
#10 “I made clear
that America is not – and never will be – at war with Islam.”
#11 “Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent
extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace.”
#12 “So I have known Islam on three continents before
coming to the region where it was first revealed”
#13 “In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities
have been at the forefront of innovation and education.”
#14 “Throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through
words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.”
#15 “Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity
and racial equality”
#16 “The Holy Koran tells us, ‘O mankind! We have created
you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you
may know one another.’”
#17 “I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating
Ramadan here at the White House later this week, and wish you a blessed month.”
#18 “We’ve seen those results in generations of Muslim
immigrants – farmers and factory workers, helping to lay the railroads and
build our cities, the Muslim innovators who helped build some of our highest
skyscrapers and who helped unlock the secrets of our universe.”
#19 “That experience guides my conviction that partnership
between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t. And I
consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to
fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”
#20 “I also know that Islam has always been a part of
America’s story.”
AND NOW, for more
scholarly quotes from Imam Obama, see the URL.
OR, beside Imam Obama’s
insights above, a few Quranic verses that have insired many Islamo-fascists.
Qur'an 3:32—Say: Obey Allah and the Apostle; but if they turn back, then
surely Allah does not love the unbelievers.
Qur'an 48:29—Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him
are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them
bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allah and
(His) Good Pleasure. The mark of them (i.e. of their Faith) is on their faces
(foreheads) from the traces of (their) prostration (during prayers). This is
their description in the Taurat (Torah). But their description in the Injeel
(Gospel) is like a (sown) seed which sends forth its shoot, then makes it
strong, it then becomes thick, and it stands straight on its stem, delighting
the sowers that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. Allah has promised
those among them who believe (i.e. all those who follow Islamic Monotheism, the
religion of Prophet Muhammad SAW till the Day of Resurrection) and do righteous
good deeds, forgiveness and a mighty reward (i.e. Paradise).
Qur'an 4:24—Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those
(captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess. Thus hath Allah ordained
(Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided
ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property—desiring chastity, not
lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at
least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree mutually (to
vary it), there is no blame on you, and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.
Qur'an 5:33—The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His
apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should
be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on
opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for
them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous
chastisement.
Qur'an 9:5—Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters
wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare
for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the
poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Qur'an 9:29—Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day
[notice it says "fight those who do not believe," not "fight
people who are attacking you"], nor hold that forbidden which hath been
forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth,
from among the People of the Book [the people of the book are Jews and
Christians], until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel
themselves subdued.
Qur'an 9:73—O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the
hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the
destination.
Qur'an 9:111—Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and
their property for this, that they shall have the garden; they fight in Allah's
way, so they slay and are slain; a promise which is binding on Him in the
Taurat and the Injeel and the Quran; and who is more faithful to his covenant
than Allah? Rejoice therefore in the pledge which you have made; and that is
the mighty achievement.
Qur'an 47:35—Be not weary and fainthearted, crying for peace, when ye
should be uppermost: for Allah is with you, and will never put you in loss for
your (good) deeds.
Qur'an 2:106—Whatever communications We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We
bring one better than it or like it. Do you not know that Allah has power over
all things?
From the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for
Good Friday:
O
MERCIFUL
God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made, nor
wouldest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and
live; Have mercy upon all Jews, Turks, Infidels, and Hereticks, and take from
them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word; and so fetch
them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant
of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ
our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world
without end. Amen.
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