September 15, 2008

Talking Out of Both Sides of Your Mouth

I found this story in the latest edition of The Alabama Baptist and confirmed it with a simple web search. It seems the king is talking out of both sides of his mouth. On one hand you have good King Abdullah calling for reconciliation among various religions and on the other is the desperate reality of those citizens in his nation that are not followers of Islam. I find it intriguing that a mere two weeks after the King's much ballyhooed leadership toward interfaith cooperation that his surrogates continue an unrelenting campaign of religious intolerance. It seems that dialogue in Spain is fine but arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment are better at home.

Claude Salhani praises the good King's efforts saying, "In addressing the issue of religion as a source and motivation for today's violence, the king is moving in the right direction." King Abdullah's Experiment, Claude Salhani, The International Herald Tribune, July 29, 2008 (emphasis added). With all due respect, Mr. Salhani, I disagree completely. It would seem by his actions that the King is simply perpetuating the religious source and motivation for today's religious violence rather than addressing it.

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