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May 4, 2006
Australia: Cardinal Pell's 'Islam and Western Democracies'
Here is the speech; it is long, it is deep, and there is no substitute for reading it whole. (No full endorsement on our part is implied.): Islam and Western Democracies.
September 11 was a wake-up call for me personally. I recognised that I had to know more about Islam.In the aftermath of the attack one thing was perplexing. Many commentators and apparently the governments of the "Coalition of the Willing" were claiming that Islam was essentially peaceful, and that the terrorist attacks were an aberration. On the other hand one or two people I met, who had lived in Pakistan and suffered there, claimed to me that the Koran legitimised the killings of non-Muslims.
Although I had possessed a copy of the Koran for 30 years, I decided then to read this book for myself as a first step to adjudicating conflicting claims. And I recommend that you too read this sacred text of the Muslims, because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives - at least.
Can Islam and the Western democracies live together peacefully? What of Islamic minorities in Western countries? Views on this question range from näive optimism to bleakest pessimism. Those tending to the optimistic side of the scale seize upon the assurance of specialists that jihad is primarily a matter of spiritual striving, and that the extension of this concept to terrorism is a distortion of koranic teaching[1]. They emphasise Islam's self-understanding as a "religion of peace". They point to the roots Islam has in common with Judaism and Christianity and the worship the three great monotheistic religions offer to the one true God. There is also the common commitment that Muslims and Christians have to the family and to the defence of life, and the record of co-operation in recent decades between Muslim countries, the Holy See, and countries such as the United States in defending life and the family at the international level, particularly at the United Nations.[...]
Posted by Ruy Diaz at May 4, 2006 1:09 PM
Comments
I'm so glad to see you are covering this. IMO this is an extremely important breakthrough, to see a public figure be so honest about the nature of the islamic religion. I would urge everyone to disseminate Cardinal Pell's article as widely as possible. Though given in February, I don't know why it has taken this long to reach a wider readership, but newspapers, all media, politicians etc should be bombarded with it, whether or not you otherwise agree with the RC church, we must stick together and this article is certainly one of the most honest that has been written by a mainstream figure, and that can help to breach the dykes of PCism.
Posted by: Silvester ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 4, 2006 8:35 PM
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