No Colors, Just Black and White

By now the recent uproar in the Muslim world in reaction to an academic speech delivered by Pope Benedict XVI is old hat, but nevertheless, since this is my friggin' blog, I feel the need to express my opinion. And since blogging is one of the most powerful ways that free men and women can speak their minds, the ultimate expression of Western values, I feel this is an appropriate setting.

First, a little background: In an academic speech in the German city of Regensburg, the pope cited the writings of a 14th century Byzantine Emperor who 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." Although the quote was meant to underscore the current Pope's firm opposition to violence in connection with religion, as predictably as a Ben Affleck movie sucks, the Islamic world exploded in a frenzy of hatred and resentment of the West.

In the West Bank, two churches were firebombed, in Somalia, a nun, believed to be in her seventies, was shot dead, while a Somali cleric told followers to hunt down and kill whoever offended the prophet Mohammed. Meanwhile, religious and political leaders from Cairo to Teheran have lined up to angrily demand an apology from the Pope for doing nothing more than exercise his unalienable right as a private citizen in a democratic land to speak his mind.

On Sunday, the Pope offered an olive branch to the seething, hysterical masses in the Muslim world. "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," said the Pope. This is a cute rhetorical trick, all too common among world leaders nowadays, in which he apologizes for the reaction his words have caused, but not for the words themselves. Still, he should not have offered any apology whatsoever.

The hypocrisy of the Islamic world, and its total inability to accept criticism of any form is astonishing. They cry of Western insults and abuse, and yet today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter for the foreseeable future, Muslim religious, political, and cultural leaders will seemingly line up to see who can produce the most hateful, vile, vicious rhetoric directed at the West. They wail that the West has misunderstood them, that Islam is a religion of peaceful principles. But events on the ground offer a plainly different reality. As Christian Geyer writes in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, "what shows better than this totally disproportionate reaction, that here the correct theme was raised."

Though I am no great fan of the Pope, I and all free peoples of the world must stand firmly, and unequivocally, behind his right express his opinions without fear of intimidation or repurcussion. Any other stance is reminiscent of the rank appeasement that allowed Adolf Hitler and Fascism to arise in Europe. As Geyer writes, "in this most recent case, the west must steel itself to insist on our unconditional right to say, read, hear, and see what we want." Indeed, anything else, leads only to tyrrany and ruin.

Muslims, like all other people, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. This does not mean, however, that the West should tiptoe around their feeling, watch every word that we utter, and should an uproar such as this one occur, apologize when we have nothing to apologize for. This is a matter of our most sacred principles, that which we have fought for for centuries, and which we hold most dear. It is black and white. There is no room for gray.

If Mulims wish to change Western perceptions that they are predisposed, as part of their religious beliefs, toward violence, then I have a challenge for you: The next time a Western newspaper, political leader, or religious figure expresses an opinion that could be construed as an insult to Islam or its followers, prove us wrong. Don't take to the streets in protest. Don't storm any embasies and raze them to the ground. Don't burn images of the Pope or any other leader in effigy. Don't bomb any churches or synagogues. Don't kidnap or kill anyone. Do just as we do in the face of violent, hateful, inflammatory rhetoric originating from the Muslim world against the West every day. Ignore it.

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5353208.stm
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5353850.stm