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September 14, 2006
Turkey: Turkey's Top Islamic Cleric Attacks Pope Over Islam Remarks
Oh, the nerve. Following Benedict XVI's incidental remarks on Islamic Jihad, Ali Bardakoglu, Turkey's top Islamic cleric, has gone on the rampage spreading vicious falsehoods, if not outright lies. Among those I can detect:
1. Islam was all about conversion by the sword since the beginning; forced on coerced conversions came late to Christianity, largely as a response to Jihad.
2. The Crusaders never occupied "Istanbul" because "Istanbul" didn't exist. Back then it was called Contanstinople, and the incident he's refering to was not an occupation, but rather a riot of the Western Crusaders.
3. The first Crusade was called in 1095, in response to an appeal for help by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Commenus, and they were defensive wars. The doctrine and practice of Jihad preceeded the Crusades by nearly five centuries.
4. I know of no record of torture of Jews and Orthodox Christians by the Crusaders. Although Muhammad himself ordered torture, according to Muslim canonical texts.
So, in other words, to keep the peace, the Pope would have to apologize to either an uninformed fool, or more likely, to a self-righteous liar, and shameless propagandist: this is no way to conduct a dialogue; the Pope's hope to establish a dialogue with these people is both utopian and dangerous.
Here's the story: Turkish cleric attacks pope's Islam remarks
Alternate link: Turkish official raps Pope, discourages visit
Posted by Ruy Diaz at September 14, 2006 1:48 PM
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