The Pope Has Spoken

I am guilty. I am guilty of praying. I am guilty of fasting and giving money for the poor. I am guilty of believing in one God and of spreading his word. I am guilty of being coercive, violent and retarded. I am guilty of embracing fascism. I am guilty of being a Muslim. That, in a nutshell, is what being a Muslim in the 21st century is equivalent to according to President Bush and the Vatican pope. I thought that the incident of the caricatures of the prophet was going to be the end of things. I was mistaken. I was beyond rage when I first heard the words of the head of the Catholic Church speak ill of Islam, one of the three heavenly religions. Being a Muslim believer was not the only reason why I was so offended, but to think that a man of the church, 'the' symbol of supreme love and forgiveness, could utter these words against a holy religion was a contradiction that my simple mind would not absorb.
To accuse Arabs, particularly Muslim Arabs, of being terrorists is one thing, but to redeem an entire heavenly ideology as being evil is another. Extremists exist in all religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The Catholic Church is notorious for having corrupt clergy men and being highly political. Ku Klux Klan and the puritans are examples of groups and organizations that terrorized people in the name of the Christian religion. But does that mean that it is a true reflection of the Christian beliefs? Of course not! For those (Muslims and otherwise) who argue that jihad is at the core of Islam, I would ask them to hit the books and read what jihad is really all about! Jihad is holy war between two armies. It has its principles and rules. It is not haphazard violence. Violence and bloodshed never was and never will be a pillar in the religion of Islam. While Al Qaída and other "terrorist" organizations do misrepresent the concept of jihad, what is happening in Palestine, Iraq and other Arab countries is very justified. These people are fighting occupation and western dominion. They are fighting for an identity and independence. The prophet never coerced people into Islam, and many of none-Muslim civilizations flourished under the rule of Islam. This is quite contrary to our present times, where the Christian west continues to dominate and suppress the Muslim countries. In physics there is a basic rule that states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What acts of "violence" we see around the world today are nothing but a response to the discriminating and often demeaning lens Muslim Arabs are viewed through.
In all cases, I don’t blame the pope. His unawareness of a section entitled "the Faux Pas of the Vatican Pope" present in his training manual, in addition to the political influence of his already incorrect views and prejudices, are enough to allow a slip-up of such colossal size to take place. However, I pity the people who took his words for granted without getting the facts checked. And there I see a striking resemblance with us Arabs, who rarely, if ever, dare to question authority. The weight of the responsibility is also shared by us Muslims for not knowing by heart our history and origins. Now is the time for people to go to history books, to read, learn, and know, only then we may able to tell the difference between right and wrong.