Let’s get some odds of the Pope being burned in effigy

The BBC reports that some Muslims are none too keen on what the Pope said yesterday… or rather, who the Pope quoted yesterday: A statement from the Vatican has failed to quell criticism of Pope Benedict XVI from Muslim leaders, after he made a speech about the concept of holy war. Speaking in Germany, the ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

The BBC reports that some Muslims are none too keen on what the Pope said yesterday... or rather, who the Pope quoted yesterday: A statement from the Vatican has failed to quell criticism of Pope Benedict XVI from Muslim leaders, after he made a speech about the concept of holy war. Speaking in Germany, the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things. Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution on Friday criticising the Pope for making "derogatory" comments. The Vatican said the Pope had not intended to offend Muslims.... The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said the Pope's remarks "aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world".... In his speech at Regensburg University, the German-born Pope explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity, and the relationship between violence and faith. Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul. The emperor's words were, he said: "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." Benedict said "I quote" twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul". "The intention here is not one of retrenchment or negative criticism, but of broadening our concept of reason and its application," he added in the concluding part of his speech. "Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today." Click here for the controversial excerpts from the speech. And here's a link to the full text of the speech, as posted by the Vatican. Question to readers -- will this be the sequel to the Muhammed cartoon controversy, something not quite as serious, or something even more serious? UPDATE: OK, less than 24 hours for the burning of the Pope in effigy. If the Feiler Faster Thesis ever gets applied to world politics, I expect to see effigy-burning take place within an hour of whatever triggers the controversy. Meanwhile, Juan Cole has little sympathy for the Pope, "The Pope was wrong on the facts. He should apologize to the Muslims and get better advisers on Christian-Muslim relations."

The BBC reports that some Muslims are none too keen on what the Pope said yesterday… or rather, who the Pope quoted yesterday:

A statement from the Vatican has failed to quell criticism of Pope Benedict XVI from Muslim leaders, after he made a speech about the concept of holy war. Speaking in Germany, the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only “evil and inhuman” things. Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution on Friday criticising the Pope for making “derogatory” comments. The Vatican said the Pope had not intended to offend Muslims…. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said the Pope’s remarks “aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world”…. In his speech at Regensburg University, the German-born Pope explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity, and the relationship between violence and faith. Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the Turkish city of Istanbul. The emperor’s words were, he said: “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.” Benedict said “I quote” twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was “incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul”. “The intention here is not one of retrenchment or negative criticism, but of broadening our concept of reason and its application,” he added in the concluding part of his speech. “Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today.”

Click here for the controversial excerpts from the speech. And here’s a link to the full text of the speech, as posted by the Vatican. Question to readers — will this be the sequel to the Muhammed cartoon controversy, something not quite as serious, or something even more serious? UPDATE: OK, less than 24 hours for the burning of the Pope in effigy. If the Feiler Faster Thesis ever gets applied to world politics, I expect to see effigy-burning take place within an hour of whatever triggers the controversy. Meanwhile, Juan Cole has little sympathy for the Pope, “The Pope was wrong on the facts. He should apologize to the Muslims and get better advisers on Christian-Muslim relations.”

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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