Well, the news has broken all over the place: B16 made comments that offended Muslims. What were they? Here's a link to excerpts. Although I don't know what got the Muslims going, perhaps it was this:
[W]ith a startling brusqueness on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, [the Byzantine emperor said]: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
Are these the words that have set the Muslims to threatening protests ("Benedict's remarks on Islam and jihad in a speech in Germany unleashed a torrent of rage that many fear could burst into violent protests"). That's like a person protesting allegations about his drunkenness by drinking a bottle of whiskey.
And I'm waiting to hear: What did Muhammad bring that is both original and good?
And: Can this be discussed, or must everything devolve into rage and protests? (Everyone knows the answer, of course: When dealing with the Islamic world as a whole, there is no discussion. It's all rage. To the extent there are peaceful elements in Islam, they're drowned out by the violent, and it's the violent we must contend with.)
