Apology?

Taken from Houston Chronicle

...the violent response of some Muslims not only makes the pope's point but also slanders their religion more effectively than some centuries-old quote ever could. What is the Arabic word for irony?

Between this latest controversy and the rioting earlier this year over cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, there seems something pathetically reflexive about some Muslims' reaction to perceived religious insult. It's as if they are addicted to the faux power to be found in throwing a tantrum, threatening violence, demanding attention, forcing apologies.

Of course, faux power is, by definition, not real. Real power effects change. Faux power makes noise and changes nothing. When they behave like this, Muslim radicals highlight the difference — and the fact that they don't know the difference.

Ultimately, this latest episode speaks less to papal error than to the fact that Islam is being hijacked by ignorant thugs who use violence — both threatened and real — as a conduit to power. Not justice, power. And fake power at that. In the process, they make Islam seem synonymous with bombings, beheadings and blood.

If anybody owes Muslims an apology, it's they.