New in PJ Media:
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, who as grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar is the foremost cleric in Sunni Islam, met up again with his pal Pope Francis in Bahrain on Friday and gave us one of the best episodes yet of their ongoing buddy-movie series. Whenever these two get together, they always serve up fresh steaming piles of cynical deception, Islamic proselytizing, and Leftist agitprop, and Friday’s episode was no different. In fact, it was one of the most outstanding examples yet of how Islamic leaders use interreligious dialogue to further their own ends, playing their naïve Christian counterparts for fools again and again.
At the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue, according to Church Militant, al-Tayyeb asserted that “what is said and promoted from time to time about the institution of war in Islam against the infidels is not true. Indeed, it is a real lie about Islam and the life of its prophet, even if this is affirmed by some followers of the same religion, a religion that is based on evidence and testimony, not on ambiguity and lies.” The “lie” that al-Tayyeb had in mind was the readily demonstrable proposition that Islam is the only major world religion that has a developed doctrine involving warfare against the subjugation of unbelievers. Despite statements to that effect from numerous Muslim clerics and the undeniable evidence of over 42,000 violent jihad attacks worldwide since 9/11, al-Tayyeb insisted that it was all a misunderstanding.
We have, of course, heard this song before, and al-Tayyeb was aware of that, telling the pope: “I hope you are not bored with the constant claims that Islam is a religion of peace and equality.” Pope Francis, of course, was just the opposite of bored. He can’t get enough of that sort of thing, as back in 2013 he himself declared, with imperviousness to facts and evidence that was truly breathtaking, that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.”
Why is this so hard for Westerners to grasp? Well, it’s largely because it isn’t remotely true, but as far as al-Tayyeb was concerned, it was because Muslim scholars have been less than “diligent in letting Westerners know about true Islam.” He said that they should “continue to highlight what Islam encompasses in terms of lofty ideals, human brotherhood and cooperation, and other commonalities that the West and East agree on and welcome.” Yeah, good idea. Maybe he can explain where exactly the Qur’an calls for “human brotherhood and cooperation” with non-Muslims, whom the Islamic holy book calls “the most vile of created beings” (98:6).
There is more. Read the rest here.
