Hmmm…this is a pretty odd story.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is writing a letter to Pope Benedict, following an unprecedented letter to U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this month, a newspaper said on Thursday.
Allahpundit at Hot Air writes:
These letters are hardly unprecedented…Their origins go all the way back to Mohammed, who often issued letters to the kings of lands he was about to attack to invite them to accept Islam before Mohammed would invade to convert them by the sword… This, now second letter from the hand of Ahmadinejad is a da’wa–a call to Islam. It follows Mohammed’s traditional letters. Implicit in such letters is the threat that if the recipient doesn’t accept Islam voluntarily, he and his land will accept it by force. Or die resisting.
In Crazy Mahmoud’s mind, he has now written to the chief of the world’s top secular superpower and is writing to the chief of the world’s unbelieving (vis a vis Islam) religious superpower (there being no equivalent of the pope in Islam). He is inviting them both to accept Islam, both personally and on behalf of their nation and church. Unless I miss my guess, in the letter to Benedict he will be, in essence, calling upon the Catholic Church to accept Islam–or die.
[Post edited because my joke was lame. - Admin]
UPDATE: Alexandra has by far the most interesting post on this story.
May 18th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Cheap shot at Robertson, Ma’am. He hasn’t the power to incinerate millions of innocent people, only the power to annoy them. The Iranian Oddball has that power.
Since we learned that his recent epistle to Bush amounted to a demand to convert to Islam or die, I think he is far more dangerous to the world than Pat has ever been, despite the Democrats attempt to use Pat’s silly rhetoric for political gain.
May 18th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
My joke about Robertson was not that he is evil, but that he might LOVE to get such letters because he seems to love to be in the press.
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But I can see where it would be taken wrong, and possibly not all of my jokes “work.” Clearly that one didn’t. I’ll edit it. My intention was not to compare Robertson in kind to the Iran menace!
May 18th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Am I the only one to entertain the possibility that Benedict might die a martyr? Anyone who wanted to could easily do the job that Agca failed to do at some Wednesday audience. And am I the only one to believe that Benedict isn’t all that worried about it?
May 18th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Maybe Benedict should respond with an invitation to accept Jesus Christ as his personal saviour.
May 18th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Gathering Storm
Just when the West comes to term with the fact that Christ was the Prophet Ahmadinejad knew him to be all along, a mere man, not a God, our Thug-In-Chief would explode onto the world stage and proclaim the arrival of salvation for all through the retur…
May 18th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Anchoress, if they offer me a chance to accept Islam or die I will choose to die. As Paul said, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Jesus Himself said saving our physical life can cost us our eternal life. Just let it be quick, or if not, let the Lord stand by me so I’m not giving anyone the satisfaction of seeing my pain.
May 20th, 2006 at 11:06 am
As a distant relative to John Sobieski, I’d like to help Mahmoud Ahmadinejad achieve his destiny and help him join the Muslim visionaries that came before him. If Pope Benedict, or George Bush for that matter, had invited him to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, imagine what the media reaction would have been.
May 20th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
[...] Oh, lovely. Mahmoud, Son of Xerxes, has sent another letter off, this time to Pope Benedict XVI. Can’t wait to see what madness comes out of this letter. [...]