Can faiths rebuild broken bridges?

The Pope had quoted from a little-known medieval text recording debates between a Byzantine emperor and an educated Persian, back in the 14th century.

The Pope recalled that the emperor had told his adversary: "Show me just what Mohammad 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."

Even though this was a quote, the words came from the lips of the spiritual leader of a billion Christians and there was no attempt whatsoever to show that the Pope disagreed with this interpretation.

Predictably, there was a reaction from the Muslim world, and predictably the Vatican and parts of the media claimed that the Pope had been misunderstood and that the Muslim world was just over-reacting.

I cannot believe that the Pope and the Vatican were not aware of the offence that would be caused in the Muslim world. They could not have been asleep during the Satanic Verses saga and the Danish cartoons.

The speed of the response in defence of the Prophet of Islam has even surprised many Muslims and this time it has not just come from the streets, it has also come from both the intellectuals of the Muslim world and governments.

One hopes that good sense will prevail and that people will not over-react. Irrational and violent behaviour by modern Muslims (with and without provocation) has often given Islam a bad name and played into the hands of its opponents.

While only God can know the true intentions of every man, and that includes Pope Benedict, there are those who believe that the Pope knew exactly what he was saying.

The likely impact of this speech was calculated and it was designed to be provocative. If you read the whole article, besides implicitly attacking Islam as irrational, it advances an argument that Christianity is European and Europe is Christian. It is worth re-calling that just a few months before he was elected as Pope, he argued that Europe must have strong Christian identity and he openly spoke out against Muslim Turkey joining the EU.

For the most part the Pope's address was a very scholarly attempt to show how Christianity and Biblical Scripture had formed from the fusion of Greek and Jewish culture and why it was important to reconcile reason and faith. I do not think it was necessary to demonise the Prophet of Islam, unless there were ulterior motives.

Regarding the charge that Islam is irrational and incompatible with modern Europe or the West, this is total nonsense. Islam's message is rational and simple: Islam is the achievement of peace through conformity with and submission to the Will of Allah. Could the Pope or someone tell me what Christianity stands for and how rational that message is?

Muslims have always regarded Christianity as one of the great religions of the world and they have revered Jesus as a prophet of God and a great teacher. Despite this (the Vatican should not need reminding), it was one of Pope Benedict's predecessors, Urban II, who first summoned a Christian Crusade or Holy War' against Islam.

Even in today's world it is the Christian West that is creating havoc in the Middle East with occupations and ongoing oil wars, which have proved to be catastrophic for thousands of Muslims, and that have contributed to the rising tide of radicalism' and terrorism' in the Muslim world.

It is deeply painful when someone as powerful and influential as the Pope chooses to put aside independent and unbiased appraisal of the life and achievements of a great figure like the Prophet of Islam, and regurgitates old clap-trap. Islam and most Muslim scholars have welcomed objective and critical analysis, and any religion that claims to have divine origins should be able to stand-up to such analysis.

I can only hope that those of us living in the West can use many of the good things that it has offered us to reawaken the true spirit of Islam and do away with the violence and fanaticism that is dividing us all.


JAVED BASHIR, honorary visiting fellow at the University of Bradford and a governor of the Holy Family Catholic School, says it is now time for Muslims and Catholics to seek reconciliation

Pope Benedict XVI has now apologised for causing any offence to Muslims amid growing fury across the Islamic world over a speech he made implicitly linking Islam and violence.

It is time for both Muslims and Catholics to move on and seek reconciliation and enjoy the good relation they had for many centuries.

We often spend too much time and effort arguing about the differences and trying to determine whose beliefs are right and superior than celebrating the beauty of this diversity and learning from one another.

The more I understand another person's faith, the deeper I can grow as a human and as a Muslim. In addition, if we would seek areas of commonality, incredible opportunities would become available for solving problems of social injustice, inequalities, deprivation and human need; and for becoming a model as a peaceful and compassionate society.

Now it is time to put aside our religious differences and explore a path toward the challenges before us. "Faith ... must be enforced by reason. ... When faith becomes blind, it dies," Gandhi once said.

When we can get beyond the doctrines and practices, those things that are distinctive and potentially divisive, we can recognise that all religions teach us the possibilities of love and happiness. These personal aspirations transcend all other boundaries.

As the Dalai Lama said: "There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others.... Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion."

Yes, things became more complicated during the last few years. However when we move beyond individual happiness and try to impose our values upon other communities, nations and the world, the same principles hold true. Faith is intimately personal and individual. Each follows a unique path and draws upon a variety of resources, people and holy writings to enable a spiritual journey. So we must respect each other's faith rather than proving superiority.

In the 37 years of my life I've learned a great deal from the richness of other cultures and faiths. Today, I should not be concerned about the appropriate expression of my faith and the importance of living out the principles of my personal faith. But in reality there is often tension where these concerns intersect.

We need to allow for the full freedom of choice, respect each other's choices and guard against the imposition of one person's choice upon another. When we discover we have different solutions to particular issues, we need to encourage a dialogue.

We can agree to disagree on the issues that divide us and work together on issues that enhance the common good.

All religions teach a version of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If people could adopt this quality of life and service as a primary operating principle, we might make some progress toward a non-violent and peaceful world.

Jesus suggested, "Love your enemies. Blessed are the peacemakers'. If people of different faiths can respect, tolerate and work together, perhaps communities can find a way to live together in peace.