The Pope, the Emperor and the Persian Preacher
Amir Taheri

Let us get one thing out of the way first. The Pope, like anyone else, has the right to express his opinions, even if, he offends some people. Those who disagree with him also have the right to respond by exercising freedom of speech. However, they are not allowed to kill priests and burn churches- acts expressly forbidden in Islam.

Now let us turn to what Pope Benedict XVI had to say in his lecture at the University of Regenburg in Germany last week.

Contrary to first impressions, the lecture was not aimed primarily as an attack on Islam as a faith that, divorced from reason, is violent. The Pope’s principal target was Protestant Christianity in all its versions.

The Pope’s thesis is simple: from early days, thanks to Saint Paul, Christianity discovered Hellenic philosophy. This “distillation” was a rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek enquiry.

Unlike most of the critics of the Pope’s speech in Regensburg, Amir Taheri has taken the time to read what was actually said and the context in which it was said. He finds the Pope’s argument defective, however. In this Asharq Alawsat op-ed, Taheri argues that the Pope does not have a clear understanding of how Hellenism was incorporated within Islamic philosophy, nor does he have a deep understanding of the term jihad, using it in is stereotypical form.

Agree with him or not, this article is worth reading.