Pope Benedict XVI speaking to representatives of the Islamic community while visiting Germany:

Past experience teaches us that relations between Christians and Muslims have not always been marked by mutual respect and understanding. How many pages of history record battles and even wars that have been waged, with both sides invoking the name of God, as if fighting and killing the enemy could be pleasing to him. The recollection of these sad events should fill us with shame, for we know only too well what atrocities have been committed in the name of religion. The lessons of the past must help us to avoid repeating the same mistakes. We must seek paths of reconciliation and learn to live with respect for each other’s identity.

I liked that particular quote. One of the things I liked best about Pope John Paul II was his persistant efforts to reach across the intangible borders to people of other cultures, faiths and those whom the church had wronged. Though I am not a Roman Catholic (my Grandmother is) I hope to see that example continued by Pope Benedict XVI.

Don't get me wrong: I am not a fan of wishy-washy "let's sacrifice all of what we stand for in the name of inoffensive harmony".

Not at all.

People who disagree with each other can still offer each other civility and respect, let alone the right to exist. It does not have to degrade into base hatred and nihilism.

Pope Benedict XVI seems to agree.

I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield to the negative pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect, solidarity and peace. The life of every human being is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values.

From an article over at World Net Daily:

A federal court of appeals ruled yesterday Wisconsin prison officials violated an inmate's rights because they did not treat atheism as a religion.

"Atheism is [the inmate's] religion, and the group that he wanted to start was religious in nature even though it expressly rejects a belief in a supreme being," the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said.

The court decided the inmate's First Amendment rights were violated because the prison refused to allow him to create a study group for atheists.

I can sympathize with the decision on a microscopic trees-for-the-forest level. Atheism is certainly a belief. I think it is as unfair to discriminate against atheistic study groups as it is to deny "fresh air breaks" to non smokers. (funny, that)

But a religion?

Perhaps I need to look the word up. Maybe I don't understand myself. I cannot be accused of being the most scrupulous practitioner of organized religion.

DICTIONARY.COM defines it thusly:

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.

A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.

The life or condition of a person in a religious order.

A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.

A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

MERRIAM-WEBSTER offers this:

Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back -- more at RELY

1 a : the state of a religious (a nun in her 20th year of religion) b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Is it just me, or is it ironic that an institution that we demand to be so secular... finds itself passing judgement on secular terms, using the most non-secular interpretation of the word?

My father says that this story is too absurd to even discuss, but it has an odor about it that just seems to Orwellian for me to not take notice.

This is simply one of those times where thought I agree with the logic of the argument, nevertheless something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Kamal Nawash, the founder of the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism, published an open apology that needs to be passed around.

You should read the whole thing, but here is the core of it:

As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious leaders and "intellectuals" to do the right thing. Instead, we will start by apologizing for 9-11. We are so sorry that 3000 people were murdered in our name. We will never forget the sight of people jumping from two of the highest buildings in the world hoping against hope that if they moved their arms fast enough that they may fly and survive a certain death from burning. We are sorry for blaming 9-11 on a Jewish or right wing conspiracy. We are so sorry for the murder of more than three hundred school children and adults in Russia. We are so sorry for the murder of train passengers in Spain. We are so sorry for all the victims of suicide bombings. We are so sorry for the beheadings, abductions, rapes, violent Jihad and all the atrocities committed by Muslims around the world. We are so sorry for a religious education that raised killers rather than train people to do good in the world. We are sorry that we did not take the time to teach our children tolerance and respect for other people. We are so sorry for not rising up against the dictators who have ruled the Muslim world for decades. We are so sorry for allowing corruption to spread so fast and so deep in the Muslim world that many of our youth lost hope. We are so sorry for allowing our religious leaders to relegate women to the status of forth class citizens at best and sub-humans at worse.

We are so sorry.

Mulsims denouncing Terror is something the world desperately needs before bigotry and religous racism become the standard instead of the despised exception.

The world really is big enough for all of us to live in peace.

Really.

I promise.