The Pope's Vain Hope

My Google Alert for UN Interreligious Dialogue  triggered on  UPI NewsTrack TopNews which revealed that Pope  Benedict XVI issued an apostolic exhortation in which he called upon Islamic countries to reciprocate in religious freedom.

    The full text of  "Verbum Domini" is available at Zenit. It begins with an index, which indicates that it is rather long.  The section of interest to me comes just before the conclusion.

The Word Of God And Interreligious Dialogue

The value of interreligious dialogue [117]
Dialogue between Christians and Muslims [118]
Dialogue with other religions [119]
Dialogue and religious freedom [120]

In this dialogue the Synod asked for a deeper reflection on respect for life as a fundamental value, the inalienable rights of men and women, and their equal dignity. 

life as a fundamental value

    It is a fundamental value to us, but not to Islam.

• 2:212. Beautified is the life of this world for those who disbelieve, ...
• 3:185. ...The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing). 
• 4:74. Let those (believers) who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the Cause of Allâh, and whoso fights in the Cause of Allâh, and is killed or gets victory, We shall bestow on him a great reward. 
• 6:32. And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. ...
• 9:38. ...Are you pleased with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But little is the enjoyment of the life of this world as compared with the Hereafter.

inalienable rights

Sorry, those are for Muslims only.

• Sahih Bukhari 1.8.387 :
  ...Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."

equal dignity

•  Sahih Bukhari 1.8.387 :   ..."I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us...

Our blood and property are not sacred to Muslims and we have no rights; a great basis for dialogue indeed. Reliance of the Traveller, book o, Chapter 4 details the indemnity to be paid in the case of manslaughter. Few things reflect Islam's inequity better than this provision of Islamic law.

• o4.9 ...
  

  The indemnity for the death or injury of a woman is one-half the indemnity paid for a man.

  The indemnity paid for a Jew or Christian is one-third of the indemnity paid for a Muslim. The indemnity paid of a Zoroastrian is one-fifteenth of that a Muslim....

 

All the same, dialogue would not prove fruitful unless it included authentic respect for each person and the ability of all freely to practise their religion. Hence the Synod, while encouraging cooperation between the followers of the different religions, also pointed out "the need for the freedom to profess one's religion, privately and publicly, and freedom of conscience to be effectively guaranteed to all believers":[381] indeed, "respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in that which concerns basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. Such respect and dialogue foster peace and understanding between peoples".

 

authentic respect

Yeah, right; our blood & property ain't sacred to them, is there something more we need to know before we tell them where to go?

freedom of religion

• 3:85. And whoever seeks a religion other than Islâm, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.

What does Islamic law say about religious liberty?

• o11.5
  

  -6- are forbidden to openly display wine or pork, (A: to ring church bells or display crosses,) recite the Torah or Evangel aloud, or make public display of their funerals and feastdays;

  -7- and are forbidden to build new churches.

• o11.10

  The agreement is also violated (A: with respect to the offender alone) if the state has stipulated that any of the following things break it, and one of the subjects does so anyway, though if the state has not stipulated that these break the agreement, then they do not; namely, if one of the subject people:

  -1- commits adultery with a Muslim woman or marries her;

  -2- conceals spies of hostile forces;

  -3- leads a Muslim away from Islam;

  -4- kills a Muslim;

  -5- or mentions something impermissible about Allah, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or Islam.

Islamic doctrine holds that only Islam is true, that all other belief systems are false or defiled by demonic interjection.  Where Allah's writ runs, Christians are persecuted; that is not going to change.  Islamic doctrine is fixed & immutable.  The relationship between Islam and Christianity is predator : prey.

    As far as Muslims are concerned, they alone have the truth, you have error & doubt.  There is only monologue, no dialogue; it is a one way street.  Religious freedom is for Muslims only. Dignity & rights are for Muslims only. 

    We have a desperate need for leaders, elected, academic & ecclesiastic who know the truth about Islam and have the courage to stand up and declare it.  The rest of us need to be sufficiently informed so that we can detect lies when we hear or read them. 

    For the comprehensive course, read Craig Winn's The Prophet of Doom. It is only 1000 pages long. yet it combines the most essential elements of the Qur'an, hadith, sira & tahrik.  For the short course, read Suhas Majumdar's  Jihad, The Islamic Doctrine of Permanent War.

    If you are willing to read primary sources, you can access the Noble Qur'an which includes bracketed expressions from tafsir and the translator's notes. I gave you a link to the page containing 2:190 because its footnote includes the most honest definition of jihad. You can use navigation links on that page to access any part of the Qur'an.  Sahih Bukhari and three other hadith collections are available at USC-MSA. I gave you a direct link to the first saying in the Book of Jihad. Navigation links are at the top of the page.

    If you prefer to take it all in at once, try Tafsir Ibn Kathir, which combines the Qur'an with relevant hadith and commentary. Each page has a link to its successor. I suggest beginning with Surah 8, continuing through Surah 9.