Friday, May 05, 2006

Religion of Peace?

Cardinal Pell sparks outrage over Koran comments
Australia's Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell has sparked furious reaction today with his description of the Muslim holy book as an incitement to violence.

In a speech delivered to a group of Catholic business leaders in the United States, the archbishop also took aim at what he claimed were hysterical and extreme claims about global warming, saying the west's obsession with climate change is a symptom of pagan emptiness...
So why the outrage? God only knows; but these days, one will be persecuted or ridiculed for pointing out the obvious...
"I recommend that you, too, read this sacred text of the Muslims, because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives."

Having read the sacred text, Cardinal Pell then sets out what he discovered. The Koran, he says, is riddled with invocations to violence. There are so many of these, he says, that after about 50, or 60, or 70 pages, he stopped taking notes.

He goes on to say that considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited.

This should be no surprise to anyone but the uneducated or the willfully ignorant.

here and here.

No comments: