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September 19, 2006

Australia: Cardinal Pell Embroiled In Islam Controversies

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, featured on this site in May following an address he had made which criticised some of the violence of Islam. Cardinal Pell is an intelligent and straightforward man, and his speech before brought condemnation from some irrational quarters of the Muslim community. Recently the hysterical supporter of armed jihad abroad, Salaist preacher Samir Mohtadi of Coburg Melbourne, challenged the Cardinal to a debate.

Mohtadi's line of argument is typical tu quoque/ad hominem nonsense, such as: "He said something that has made the Muslims very angry. This ignorant man does not know Christianity, let alone Islam." Mohtadi also called the Cardinal a "clown". Mohtadi, who said the Bible should be banned because of obscenity, wanted a live televised debate. Unfortunately, this never happened. Mohtadi is an intellectual cockroach contained to Cardinall Pell and it would be entertaining to see his arguments squished.

The full text of Cardinal Pell's earlier address, made in Naples, Florida on 2 April this year, can be found at Sydney Catholic. Entitled: "Islam and Western Democracies," the commentary unflinchingly addresses the issues which are currently driving Muslims around the globe to hysteria and violence - the innate violence at the heart of Islam and the Koran.

Following Pope Benedict's address at Regensburg University in Bavaria on September 12, the Muslim world seems to be proving the point's earlier made by Pell, and obliquely referenced by the Pope, that Islam contains aspects of violence which are "ungodly".

So it was perhaps inevitable that in Australia, the debate on the Pope's speech should involve his Cardinal, George Pell, who would become a lightning conductor for Muslims' rantings.

Cardinal Pell did "fire the first shot", so to speak, when he casually observed that the protests in the Pope's speech showed the violence in Islam. He also made a dig at Australian Muslim leaders for being "unhelpful" in their responses to the issue.

Yesterday, following the Pope's apology for "causing offence" which failed to quell some of the Islamic ire, Pell said in a statement: "The violent reactions in many parts of the Islamic world justified one of Pope Benedict's main fears. They showed the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats and actual violence."

"Our major priority must be to maintain peace and harmony within the Australian community, but no lasting achievements can be grounded in fantasies and evasions."

The Cardinal commented that it was a "sign of hope" that violence had not flared up within Australia following Benedict XVI's address to his former university.

He specifically targeted the so-called "mufti" of Australia, Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilaly, and Ameer Ali, the head of John Howard's "Muslim Community Reference Group", an advisory body, for his their comments which he classed as "unfortunately typical and unhelpful."

He said: "It is always someone else's fault and issues touching on the nature of Islam are ignored. Sheik Alhilali often responds to criticism by questioning the intelligence and competence of the questioner or critic."

On ABC Radio, he later expanded on this, saying of the "mufti": "I'm tempted to say almost never does he address the criticism of Islam but diverts the question away from it and I think resorts to evasions."

When asked if there was a link between violence and the religion of Islam on ABC, Pell was diplomatic. He said: "I'm not sure. I would welcome some clarification from our Islamic friends on that point." He claimed he had asked Islamic leaders about violent texts in the Koran but "I'm still waiting for any sort of detailed response to my questions."

On Ameer Ali, Pell said the former head of AFIC had asked for Benedict to be more like the recent Pope John Paul II than like Pope Urban II, who initiated the First Crusade.

Pell said of this: "In fact the Pope's long speech was more about the weaknesses of the Western world, its irreligion and disdain for religion and he explicitly rejected linking religion and violence. He won't be calling any crusade."

Pell continued: "Today Westerners often link genuine religious expression with peace and tolerance. Today most Muslims identify genuine religion with submission (Islam) to the commands of the Koran. They are proud of the spectacular military expansion across continents, especially in the decades after the Prophet's death. This is seen as a sign of God's blessing."

While thanking some moderate Muslims for their contributions he stated that "evil acts done falsely in the name of Islam around the world need to be addressed, not swept under the carpet."

The news on Cardinal Pell's strong position is covered by Reuters, AFP via the Khaleej Times, Associated Press via the International Herald Tribune, Nine MSN, CNS News, the Sydney Morning Herald, News.com.au, and Catholic News.

Originally Dr Ameer Ali decided to call an end to the arguments concerning the Pope's speech, according to ABC.net.au. He felt the issue of the Pope's Regensburg address should be put to rest, following Benedict XVI's apology. However, having been named by Cardinal Pell, he seemed to want to continue the feud with the Archbishop of Sydney.

He said he thought the Cardinal was trying to continue the argument over the Pope's statement. "The fundamental problem here is the rhetoric or the terminology that comes out of the quotation, that's what angered the people. It was a medieval rhetoric which provoked a medieval response, both should be condemned and now the Pope has apologised and that's the end of the matter," Ali said.

He said he would not be seeking to continue dialogue with George Pell on the matter. He stated: "I know Cardinal George Pell, he's an interesting man....I used to have a chat with him and he's a good companion. He's a scholar, he's a nice person and we have nothing against Cardinal Pell, this controversy has been taken out of proportion completely. I think we should stop it."

However, he told Reuters that the Cardinal's comments were "especially unhelpful in a charged atmosphere."

At a security conference in Canberra, the capital, Samina Yasmeen, an academic, said: "The fact that Cardinal Pell decided to come into the controversy and add more to that, I think it's a dangerous thing."

The "mufti", Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, said nothing, but his pet rottweiler and official spokesperson Keysar Trad did the talking for him. Trad said: "Islam has nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of and if Cardinal Pell is up to this challenge he is welcome to this public forum."

Waleed Aly, a lawyer, and a member of the board of the Islamic Council of Australia, said on ABC Radio that Pell's listing of violent verses in the Koran was "a very crude way of approaching a religious text and I think he would know that. He's being very, very, simplistic."

Nada Roudee, acting as spokeswoman for the Islamic Council of New South Wales, said "Violence has been a universal phenomenon; it's not confined to a particular faith,"

But I know no stories of Christ going caravan raiding (Sura 8), nor do I know of any stories of Christ going into battle against infidels. The founder of Islam, the so-called prophet of Islam, was violent, as well as sexually incontinent.

Though the Pope made little reference to the personality of Mohammed in his Regensburg address, many Muslims saw the speech as an attack upon Mohammed. There is a fear that if non-Muslims learn too much about the moral failings and psycotic impulses which motivated Mohammed, then Islam will crumble.

So while anyone even dares to suggest that Islam and its founder is violent, then many Muslims are using that innate Islamic violence to silence criticism, thereby proving their critics right.

Already a group in Iraq calling itself the Mujahideen Shura Council, a branch of Al Qaeda in Iraq, has vowed to murder and wage violent jihad in response to Pope Benedict's speech. On an internet site on Sunday, states Swiss Info, the group said: "We shall break the cross and spill the wine...God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome...God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen."

Now what on earth did Pope Benedict say in his speech at Regensburg to merit such violent and ungodly abuse? The Pope's speech has been used as a pretext for violent followers of a violent ideology, founded by a violent "prophet" to do the only thing that comes naturally to them, to make threats of violence.

And of course, no infidel kaffir, Christian, or cartoonist, must ever dare say that Islam is innately violent.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 19, 2006 8:01 AM

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