NOW...IS ISLAM A PEACEFUL RELIGION

Perhaps it would be instructive to look at what is happening to Pope Benedict over the past few days for an answer.

First ... just what did the Pope do? You can read the Pope's entire speech by clicking on this link. If' your not into reading Pope's speeches, I'll lift out the part that has started all of this controversy.

Pope Benedict moves into the area of his speech that has sparked the controversy with this paragraph:

"I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by Professor Theodore Khoury (Münster) of part of the dialogue carried on-- perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara-- by the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both. It was probably the emperor himself who set down this dialogue, during the siege of Constantinople between 1394 and 1402; and this would explain why his arguments are given in greater detail than the responses of the learned Persian."

Pope Benedict then goes on to quote one particular. This is something the Byzantine emperor said to the Persian on the subject of Islam and jihad, or holy war.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Now remember ... these were not the words of the Pope. These were the words of some emperor over 600 years ago. The emperor evidently thought that Islam was a violent religion, and that it was the commands of Mohammed that made it so.

So ... how do Muslims react to the Pope's revelation that a Byzantine emperor 600 years ago thought that Islam was a violent religion? Why, with violence, of course? Muslims murder a nun in Somalia. They burn churches in Gaza, and they go on their grand marches and demonstrations reminiscent of the violence they spread after that Danish cartoon mess.

And so what is the inescapable conclusion that we're left with? Islam is a violent religion. Don't take Empereor Paleologus' word for it ... just watch Muslims!

Is it just me, or does it make sense to you that if Muslims didn't want the rest of the world to consider Islam a violent religion, they wouldn't get so violent every time someone say's they're violent? Come on, folks! How hard is all this?