... And Where He's Still in the Dark

摘要

Benedict's definition of what it means to be European ignores the positive contributions of Islam. Since delivering the speech in which he quoted a 14th century Emperor who said the Prophet of Islam had given nothing positive to humanity and had commanded followers to use violence to spread their faith, Pope Benedict XVI has been subjected to bitter Muslim reaction around the world. Benedict has responded by sayinghe regretted the consequences of his misunderstood words, but he did not retract his statement—perhaps rightly so. After all, he had simply cited an ancient Emperor. It is Benedict's right to exercise his critical opinion without being expected to apologize for it—whether he's an ordinary Roman Catholic or the Pope.