It never ceases to amaze me. Muslims are at it again. You would think after the last fiasco they would have learned a bit about how to react to criticism in the civilized world. Last time something like this happened a huge number of Muslims reacted to a bunch of cartoons they deemed offensive to their religion with violence. Then after weeks of such violent protest across the world, they decided to have a holocaust cartoon-fest which was rife with holocaust denial and strident anti-Semitism!
This time it is the Pope. In referring to recent events where people were forced to convert to Islam through threats of violence, he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who described some Islamic teachings as "evil and inhuman." But even after an apology for offending Muslims, the national news media carried news stories about continued angry and violent anti Catholic and anti Pope demonstrations taking place all over the Muslim world. In one instance a nun was murdered. On one website, Al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies have posted a warning to Pope Benedict, proclaiming a holy war and warning that the pope and the West are "doomed," adding that the only choices ahead are between converting to Islam or death Meanwhile, protests against the pope's remarks continue today from the Middle East to Asia. In Pakistani ruled Kashmir, protesters chanted "Death to the Pope."
The Pope need not have apologized. The reaction to his words actually proved his point!
So why do I bring this up? Because I could not believe my ears this morning.
During the course of a given work day in my lab, I will often listen to radio talk shows. This morning I happen to be listening to The Laura Ingraham Show. So what does a Jewish caller do on the radio talk show do? She decides to bash the Catholic religion calling the Pope a Hyporcrite! Why? Because Christainity is guilty of the same thing kind of violence. She then cited the Spanish Inquisition as an example of it.
What an idiot! I have no clue if the caller was Orthodox or not, but she did identify herself as Jewish. To castigate a church who has done a 180 almost 50 years ago and has since gone out of their way to try and repair the kind of damage done to their image by the Inquisition. We live in a world that is becoming increasingly dangerous because of Islamist fanatics… and this caller chooses to bring up the inquisition and bash the Pope!
What could she have been thinking? What could she have possibly hoped to gain? The host, Laura Ingraham is one of the most pro Israel, pro Jewish radio talk show hosts on the air. Her show is nationally syndicated. And she is a converted Catholic! For a Jew to identify herself as such and then call the host’s spiritual leader a hypocrite is both foolish and wrong. At this point in history when the Pope is making a statement about the inherent violence of Islam criticizing the Pope is virtually as stupid as calling Franklin Roosevelt an anti-Semite would have been before the invasion at Normandy during World War II.!
And this is a mentality I often encounter here. Whenever I say anything positive about our Christian supporters, whether it is Evangelicals or Catholics, I get sentiments like those expressed by this woman! What’s the matter with you people?! Can’t you see you are bititng the hand that feeds you? Don’t you understand that Christians are not the enemy? The enemy are Muslims. Get a clue!
