No, there has been no such reaction to the celebrity's outlandish remarks. I couldn't resist this headline as a parody of the very serious situation involving the continuing reaction in parts of the Islamic world to words of Pope Benedict XVI in quoting Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, a historical figure.
Here is the controversial statement of the Holy Father and, most importantly, his following paragraph.
Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels," he turns to his interlocutor somewhat brusquely with the central question on the relationship between religion and violence in general, in these words: "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."
The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably ("syn logo") is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats.... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...."
These paragraphs were part of a scholarly address at the University of Regensburg in Germany, in which BXVI was discussing the relationship between faith and reason and the role of Greek culture.
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