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What Muslims can learn from the Pope’s U.S. tour

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, Q & A on Apr 20, 2008

When I ask Muslim-Americans what they appreciate most about living in this country, the answer usually comes back, “the First Amendment.” That’s the U.S. constitution’s guarantee of free worship, free assembly, free press and, ultimately, free speech.

This past week in America, Pope Benedict gave plenty of free speeches. We all expected him to be on his best behavior. But I hoped that his “best” would mean daring Americans of all faiths — Muslims, included — to use their constitutional freedoms and push their own religious leaders.

Push them to do what?  To speak up for the human rights of all, from Muslims facing genocide in Darfur to Buddhists fighting Chinese occupation in Tibet to Christians struggling for survival in Iraq. Delivered from the podium of the UN general assembly, what a message this would have sent on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

His Holiness might even have celebrated American Catholics as an example of how constitutional liberties can elevate people of faith into people of conscience.

For years, Catholics in the U.S. have exercised their freedom of expression to defend the dignity of young parishioners who’ve been molested by priests. In short, they pushed their religious leaders to respect human rights.

They’ve finally succeeded: On his American tour, the Pope surprisingly — and repeatedly — acknowledged that the Church has abused Catholic children through sexual malfeasance and official silence. According to The New York Times, victims, many of them adults by now, may be getting more opportunities from the Vatican to report their experiences.

The moral of my story is simple. Full-bodied use of the First Amendment can compel a Pope once known as “God’s rotweiller” to reveal his deeply human conscience.

Muslim-Americans ought to follow the Catholic lead. And, having shown that he’s trying to practice what he preaches, the Pope should challenge them to do so. No doubt, many moderate mouthpieces of Islam would accuse Benedict of “offending” Muslim sensitivities. Let them howl.

The Pope’s past perceived slights against Islam have sparked new conversations between Muslims and Catholics. At seriously high levels, I might add: An open letter from 138 Muslim scholars, a response to it from numerous Christian authorities and, later this year, an unprecedented formal dialogue where the participants will be received by the Pontiff himself.

To be sure, I’m no fan of scripted inter-religious dialogues, which usually amount to heart-tugging, mind-numbing gestures of little impact and less consequence.

But I’m a huge partisan of unexpected conversations.

Which is exactly what I had in Rome a year and a half ago with Pope Benedict’s then-deputy for inter-religious affairs, Cardinal Paul Poupard. At one point, the Cardinal grabbed my hand and showed me around his personal library. The 76-year-old effused about his books like a child who’d just decorated his room with the funkiest glow-in-the-dark planets. I say that affectionately: Cardinal Poupard couldn’t contain his joy at hosting a young Muslim woman who shared his love of big ideas. It was utterly charming.

It was also sincere. On the day that I met him, he and the Pope had just arrived home from a diplomatic mission in Turkey. They wanted to mend fences after the global uproar over Benedict’s speech at Regensburg University, in which he quoted an obscure Byzantine emperor who thought Islam had nothing to offer civilization. (In a minute, I’ll link you to a statement I made about why I don’t share Muslim anger about those remarks.)

In the wake of a bridge-building breakthrough, and exhausted from the trip anyway, Cardinal Poupard could have canceled his appointment with a Muslim reformist. But he kept it. Truth is, I’m the one who had to beg off to make my next engagement! What can I tell you? I figured that my audience with the Cardinal would be 15 minutes of polite formalities. It became a hi-octane 90-minute exchange about the need for an intellectual renaissance in every faith, including that religion called atheism.

See my point about embracing unanticipated dialogues, even (or especially) when they emerge from “offensive” remarks?

With that in mind, here’s a TV commentary I delivered after the Pope’s controversial speech at Regensburg U. I’m addressing why, as a faithful Muslim, I don’t believe he should have to apologize for causing offense. Once you watch the video or read the text, tell me where you think I’ve gone wrong. Create a conversation where none would have existed before.

Meanwhile, may His Holiness continue to hear Catholic dissidents. In so doing, may he affirm that introspection is the enemy of dogma, not of faith.