BENEDICT XVI, MANUEL II PALEOLOGUS, MUSLIMS & THE REGENSBURG LECTURE

BENEDICT XVI

As perhaps the most erudite individual to occupy the throne of St. Peter in modern times, Benedict XVI returned to Regensburg University in Germany, where he had once been a professor of theology, to deliver a lecture on September 12, 2006.

Speaking in German on the topic of faith and reason, the Pope's words were received with rancor throughout the Muslim world.  From Karachi to London, Muslims took to the streets, characterizing the lecture as an insult against Islam. Leaders of the eight major schools of Islamic theology and jurisprudence would sign letters of protest, and grand muftis from throughout the world would add their voices to a growing chorus of protest.

Protesting Muslim

Rapidly, the protests turned violent, as churches were attacked, Christians in Muslim lands were set upon, and, in Somalia, a nun was killed.  Non-Muslims scratched their heads, wondering how an academic lecture had led to such an outburst of violence.

The answer lay in a few paragraphs of the Holy Father's lecture, in which he quoted passages from scholarly works by Professor Theodore Khoury, dealing with a dialogue on Christianity and Islam between the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an unnamed "educated Persian," which likely took place

 in 1391, near Ankara in the Eastern Roman Empire.

MANUEL II PALEOLOGUS

In the course of the dialogue, the idea of jihad, or holy war, was spoken of.  In Sura 2, v. 256 of the Koran, it is stated that, "There is no compulsion in religion."  The Emperor Manuel II, however, was curious as to how this statement squared with later Koranic verses, which sanctioned holy war.  Going further with his ideas, the Emperor stated, "Show me just what Mohamed 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."

Continuing, Manuel II likened force in religion to "unreasonableness," and stressed that those who acted irrationally acted in  ungodly fashion.  In other words, violence in the service of faith is outside the nature of God.

The Persian's rejoinder was that the nature of God (or, Allah) was far beyond reason, and that His absolute transcendent being allowed Him to act in such ways as to contradict reason and even to work in ways that were in opposition to His own law.  Thus, God is never beholden to even reveal reality to worshipers.

In response to the many protests coming from Muslims from all quarters, Benedict XVI stressed that he was engaging in an academic exercise at Regensburg, and the quotations from the 14th century should not be taken as being expressive of his own views.  Nevertheless, the Muslim reaction was most revealing, inasmuch as it could be taken as distress on the part of  believers in comprehending that the all-powerful God of the Koran could conceivably distort the truth,  destroy His own law and deceive His followers. With this in mind,  the dispensation of taqiyya, or lying & concealment, which may be found in various portions of the Koran, takes on greater significance and enhances our understanding with regard to how Muslims might seek to advance Islam, in such  ways as to exceed the ordinary  bounds of ethics, morality and honesty.

All of this brings forth, as we reflect on the present state of relations between Western Civilization and Islam, a question of no little significance:  "What, dear readers, has really changed since the 14th century?" 

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