Salmiya

It is absolutely true (but difficult to believe) when the Iranian President Ahmadinejad claimed on Monday in an interview with NBC that nuclear weapons belong to the 20th century. But what about female suicide bombings of pilgrims? Also on Monday this week at least 25 people died in three(!) suicide attacks against Shi'a pilgrims in Baghdad on the occasion of the Kadhimiya mourning. Three years ago, almost 1000 died in a stampede on a bridge across the river Tigris when rumors were suddenly spread that suicide bombers were among the pilgrims. This is clearly not 21st century but can be compared only with the darkest periods of the Middle Ages. I have my deep problems with the faintest understanding for Iraqis still fighting Americans in their country instead of doing everything to overcome the obvious reasons why they are there after all. But what about sectarian fights between Sunni and Shi'a, urging women(!) to wearing dynamite under their loose-fitting robes in order not to...

The critical remarks on Islam made by Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of his Regensburg lecture on September 12, 2006 seem to lead eventually to dialogue. The Pope received last week a delegation of Shi’a clerics from the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Vatican. The inter-religious study theme tied in with the main topic of Benedict’s lecture, Faith and Reason in Christianity and Islam. The delegates agreed upon the following: 1. "Faith and reason are both gifts of God to mankind." 2. "Faith and reason do not contradict each other, but faith might in some cases be above reason, but never against it." 3. "Faith and reason are intrinsically non-violent. Neither reason nor faith should be used for violence; unfortunately, both of them have been sometimes misused to perpetrate violence. In any case, these events cannot question either reason or faith." 4. "Both sides agreed to further co-operate in order to promote genuine religiosity, in particular s...