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September 17, 2006

UK: Times Letter Writers Denounce Muslim Bullying

The Times letters pages have always been regarded as a high point in public debates. When a series of letters in the mid-nineteenth century appeared in the Times, concerning toads found in hollow stones and whether or not these were real or the product of hoaxes, the exchanges gave rise to the naming of a popular dish of batter and sausage as "toad in the hole."

The letters page of the Times contains now some extremely sharp criticism of the Pope's critics, and with the exception of a Muslim contributor and a leftist from Toronto, the letters show that overall, there are some people who have at least read the context of the Pope's words, spoken at Regensburg on September 12.

The Muslim draws upon the Pope's membership of the Nazi Youth League, when it was compulsory for young Germans to belong to this group. The Muslim, Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob of London, seems under the illusion that young Joseph Ratzinger had some choice to elect or not elect to be part of the Nazi system. And of course, being a Muslim, he conveniently fails to mention that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin Al-Husseini, was welcomed by Hitler, and that during the war, there was in Bosnia a Muslim division of the Nazi army. With Al-Husseini's support, 100,000 Bosnian Muslims joined the Nazi army.

So Dr Qutob states: "His Holiness seems to be oblivious to his membership in Germany's Hitler Youth during which time the most inhuman suffering and injustice was meted out to the Jews on the streets of Europe. He should have remembered how anti-Semitism can transcend every human standard to paint a grim and appalling picture of human depravity."

The fact that Muslims supported the Nazis of their own volition and not under duress says more about Muslim fascism than it demonstrates any valid criticism of the Pope.

The other critic, John Chuckman from Toronto, bemoans the fact that the Pope is anti-gay. Benedict XVI might not support gay relationships, but he is not advocating their murder or execution. In Iran, at least 4,000 gay men have been executed since the 1979 revolution. But Chuckman is not concerned about Islamic oppression of homosexuals in the here-and-now as he is convinced that " the institution of the papacy still functions as though it were the 14th century." As if Vatican II never happened, of course.

But apart from these two hypocritical contributors, and one supporter of Byzantine gnosticism, the rest of the letter writers are not in the least convinced that the Islamic world had any cause to go on the offensive.

Philip McGough of Nottingham concludes: "The day that Muslims worldwide display the same concern for Western susceptibilities that we are currently obliged to display for theirs will be the day that serious dialogue between the two can begin."

David Mathieson of Epsom. Surrey writes; "The Pope did not give offence. His enemies took it."

"Taking offence is a blackmail strategy and any excuse, real or imagined, will do: it is seen in the belligerent drunk, growling "What are you lookin' at?" or the gang member who draws a knife because he has been "dissed". It works because polite, educated respondents try to treat this as a real question, to apologise and negotiate."

"You cannot negotiate with a drunk or a knife, and you cannot negotiate with those who manufacture offence as a weapon."

To read the Times' letters page, click here.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 17, 2006 6:07 PM

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Posted by: Maggie4Life at September 19, 2006 2:36 AM

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