Monday, October 09, 2006

The Pen, the Sword and the Pontiff

There is no doubt about the stupidity of the bleeding heart left wing liberal journalists with their mealy-mouthed criticisms of the Regensberg address. One such writer is Madeline Bunting, and her critical article (which showed that this journalist loves to project her own stupidity onto others)against the Regensberg address. This article has been answered by Lee Harris who soundly refutes the nonsense written by Bunting. Lee Harris addresses the following comment:
An elderly Catholic nun has already been killed in Somalia, perhaps in retaliation for the pope's remarks; churches have been attacked in the West Bank. How is this papal stupidity going to play out in countries such as Nigeria, where the tensions between Catholics and Muslims frequently flare into riots and deaths? Or other countries such as Pakistan, where tiny Catholic communities are already beleaguered?" In answer to this rather sarcastic statement about the acumen of Pope Benedict XVI, it seems that Madeline Bunting has made are rather sweeping assumption, one that is challenged by Harris: "Papal stupidity" is strong language. But a few paragraphs before this harsh phrase, Madeleine Bunting has prepared us for it by arguing that "even the most cursory knowledge of dialogue with Islam teaches...that reverence for the Prophet is non-negotiable. What unites all Muslims is a passionate devotion and commitment to protecting the honor of Mohammed." A Pope who did not know that "reverence for the Prophet is non-negotiable" must, therefore, be guilty of egregious stupidity.
The assumption? "reverence for the prophet (mhrih) is non negotiable". It is a statement like that which makes me think that Muslims have raised this sex-pervert, child-molester, thief, murderer, and slave trader to the position of deity. I began to suspect that this was the case when the mindless mobs began their riots over a bunch of cartoons that were good for a laugh and more than likely represented Osama Bin Laden or Nasrallah, than anything resembling Mohammed the child molester.
I will not address the points raised by Harris, because they are all good points, but I disagree when she uses Michael Servetus the arch heretic as an example of someone speaking truth - unfortunately Michael Servetus did not speak the truth and he received a just punishment for the time because of his refusal to recant his heresy. One has to keep in mind that what was uppermost was not so much the fear of criticism but the fear of the heresy spreading and not being able to combat the lie.
What is wrong in Islam, is that people do not have freedom of expression. Anyone who does not toe the line is considered an apostate, and the punishment in the countries where Sharia is practised is death. The majority of the mob who took to the streets cannot even read, and they had no real idea about what was stated. They are never given the opportunity to examine the violent aspects of Islam, and to decide for themselves that the violence must be removed. They have become like mindless idiots as they take to the streets in obedience to their masters, the radical mullahs. We are not even aware of exactly what they were told during the Friday sermons to cause such a ruckus and riots. The mullahs have the ability to stir up the mob and when the mob is stirred up then anything can happen. They only need a slight pretext before they send the mob into a new overdrive.
This is why not only do I agree with Lee Harris, but I have added my own thoughts to a well written article. I believe that there are other issues that Madelaine Bunting has failed to address. I suspect that she has not addressed those issues because the outcome of trying to be honest about Islam for a change goes against the grain of left wing politics.
It is the bleeding hearts, who act as willing fodder for the bull that comes out of the mouths of the alleged moderate Islamic spokesmen that is the real problem here. These are the people who are totally incapable of doing their own independent analysis of what was stated in the Regensberg address, the resulting riots, and for that matter any reporting that comes from the Middle East that concerns the Gaza Strip, Iraq and Afghanistan. These bleeding hearts listen to their masters, take it down word for word, but they do not have the brains to check out whether what they are being told holds the truth. Instead you will get comments such as that of Bunting that shows a journalist who is very self-opiniated but who shows no ability at all when it comes to self-examination, introspection and critical analysis.