Elephants in the Room

Abstract

As this review is being written, Muslims around world are ri oting in response to Pope Benedict's declaration in a university lecture that violence in name of God is irrational and so also incompatible with nature of God.The pope cited as one example among others an exchange between a Byzantine emperor and a Persian scholar on will ingness of Islam to use military power to spread word of prophet. It seems important here to say some Muslims, given what seems to be penchant of cultural critics and media pundits to use words like Christianity or Islam with same unthinking aplomb that earlier cultural sophisticates manifested in using terminology of race: the blacks did this, the whites do that, the Indians are at it again. Indeed, popular cultural critics seem largely unconcerned with political reach pope could be commanding, given his own theological and religious context. If he means it, this critique applies not only to Islamists who drive ex plosive-laden trucks into buildings but also to a large swath of Roman Catholic history.To say nothing of American president who confirms direction of war on terror, waterboarding and all, through personal conversations with deity.The pope would seem to be making a serious political and theological statement that ought to make good Christians protecting our homeland security by any means necessary sit up and listen. At its furthest reach it is a refutation of militant violence upon which modern nationalisms can be seen so readily to depend. Instead, critics and pundits have treated us to a sinkhole of shudder ing dismay at pope's cultural insensitivity. The pope's great sin here seems to be his political incorrectness, or perhaps his lack of media savvy or political obtuseness. The irony of religionists rioting in anger over suggestion that their religion has implicitly or explicitly endorsed violence goes unremarked.