I agree with Daniel Pipes...

Submitted by on behalf of Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi (Israel), Jan 23, 2006 at 12:59

I agree with Daniel Pipes when he writes: "The Koran indeed can be interpreted. Indeed, Muslims interpret the Koran no less than Jews and Christians interpret the Bible, and those interpretations have changed no less over time. The Koran, like the Bible, has a history."

He is absolutely right. There exist plenty of Koranic commentaries, written in different periods by Muslim scholars belonging to different theological schools. Claiming that the Koran is "something dropped out of Heaven, which cannot be adapted or applied" is what one can expect to hear from someone having a very superficial understanding of the Koran and of religions in general, not from a pope having the reputation of a learned theologian. Moreover, orthodox Jews believe about the Torah exactly the same thing which Muslims believe about the Koran: it is not the word of Moses, but the word of God which was revealed to Moses. Judaism should be irreformable, too.

I must say I am surprised by Benedict XVI since he is pope. When a Cardinal, he used to say things which one can accept or reject, but in any case things having sense. Since he is pope, he starts saying absurdities. A Catholic friend of mine asked me to accompany him to listen to the Xmas mass in S. Peter Square, and I accepted, especially because I had never heard Benedict XVI preaching live and was curious to hear him. During his homily, he said: "In this Holy Night, Jesus was born as a baby, and this is highly significant. We must ask ourselves 'why was Jesus born as a baby?'." I wondered: is anyone born adult? Every human being is born as a baby! Why should the case of Jesus be "highly significant"? Some days ago, Benedict XVI claimed that "Catholic schools need more freedom in Italy", and this shocked everyone. Catholic schools are absolutely free; Benedict XVI was simply asking for more funds for Catholic schools from the Italian government. People started wondering: does the pope confuse freedom with money?


Istituto Culturale della Comunita' Islamica Italiana
http://www.amislam.com

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