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| Pope Francis visiting the Temple Mount and meeting the Muslim clerics and Catholic cardinals, Jordan’s Prince Ghazi, chief adviser to the king for religious and cultural affairs |
Pope Francis Defends Jihad, Says Christianity Has
Similar Roots in Idea of Conquest
“And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the horn, that
the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the
people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the
city.” Joshua 6:20 (The Israel Bible™)
Islam and
Christianity share the “same idea of conquest”, and for that reason, Islam
should not be viewed as a threat, said Pope Francis in a
newspaper interview this week.
“It is
true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam,” he conceded
to the French Catholic newspaper La Croix. “However, it
is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus
sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest.”
Ostensibly,
the Pope was drawing a parallel between the Islamic “conquest” known as jihad,
a holy war or struggle waged against infidels, and Christian missionizing.
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| Arab refugees entering Europe. |
The
comparison was part of a larger conversation about the increasingly desperate refugee crisis currently
facing Europe.
Pope
Francis has been an outspoken voice on the issue of Arab refugees who seek
asylum, encouraging governments to take in migrants and “integrate” them into
western societies despite widespread concerns that the largely Muslim
populations might harbor extremist or terrorist elements.
Francis has repeatedly argued in favor of coexistence, peace, and tolerance in all areas of life but especially towards Muslims. He set his own powerful example last month when he brought a dozen refugees from the Greek island of Lesbos back to Rome with him after a diplomatic visit.
Francis has repeatedly argued in favor of coexistence, peace, and tolerance in all areas of life but especially towards Muslims. He set his own powerful example last month when he brought a dozen refugees from the Greek island of Lesbos back to Rome with him after a diplomatic visit.
The
Pontiff said that the Western attempt to “export” democracy to Arab countries
is partly to blame for the collapse of central control and rise in Islamic
extremism in Middle Eastern states.
Westerners
must also consider the issue of cultural relativism, he added, echoing a common
left-wing sentiment.
“In the
face of Islamic terrorism, it would be better to question ourselves about the
way in an overly Western model of democracy has been exported to countries such
as Iraq, where a strong government previously existed,” he noted. “Or in Libya,
where a tribal structure exists. We cannot advance without taking these
cultures into account.”
“Ultimately,
coexistence between Christians and Muslims is still possible,” the Pope
insisted.
The key
is integration, he stated. “The worst form of welcome is to ‘ghettoize’ [the
migrants]. On the contrary, it’s necessary to integrate them,” he said. He
pointed to the example of the perpetrators of Belgium’s horrific terror attack,
saying that though they were naturalized Belgian citizens and children of
migrants, they “grew up in a ghetto.”
The
leader of the Catholic Church mentioned London’s newly appointed Muslim mayor,
Sadiq Khan, as a model for positive integration. The mayor took his oath of
office in a cathedral and made his first act as mayor attendance at a Holocaust
memorial ceremony.
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| Sadiq Khan |
However,
Khan may not have been the best example, as he also has a past of affiliation with terrorists,
most notably Zacharias Moussaoui, an al-Qaeda member who was one of the
perpetrators of 9/11. Khan, a lawyer, defended Moussaoui after the massive New
York terror attack. Khan also is known to have ties to a number of Muslim
extremists.
Perhaps
aware of the contradiction of idealizing such a man, Pope Francis added that
Khan’s election reminded him of his predecessor Pope Gregory the Great.
Gregory, who reigned from 590-604 C.E, “negotiated with the people known as
barbarians”, said Francis. Those “barbarians” were later integrated into
Christendom.
Francis
also suggested that integration of Muslim immigrants could help boost Europe’s
falling birthrates.
While
acknowledging that Europe is rooted in Christianity, he warned Europeans
against taking a “triumphalist” and “vengeful” nationalistic view of these
roots.
“Yes,
Europe has Christian roots and it is Christianity’s responsibility to water
those roots. But this must be done in a spirit of service as in the washing of
the feet,” he said, invoking a Christian principle which he has championed in
his years as Pope.
Indeed, in March the Pope himself washed the feet of Muslim migrants,
proclaiming them “children of the same God.”
Related Posts:
Abra Forman is the
Managing Editor of Breaking Israel News. A native New Yorker, she moved to
Israel in 2011 after participating in the inspiring program Livnot and
experiencing kibbutz life in the North. Abra completed a B.A. in English
Literature at Binghamton University in 2009. After making aliyah, she studied
Hebrew at Hadassah College and then earned a Master's degree, also in English
Literature, from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where she has lived for four
years. She can be reached by email.
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