The struggle between the صلى الله عليه وسلمmperors and the Popes played a central role in صلى الله عليه وسلمuropean history and divided the peoples. It knew ups and downs. Some صلى الله عليه وسلمmperors dismissed or expelled a Pope, some Popes dismissed or excommunicated an صلى الله عليه وسلمmperor. One of the صلى الله عليه وسلمmperors, Henry IV, "walked to Canossa", standing for three days barefoot in the snow in front of the Pope's castle, until the Pope deigned to annul his excommunication.

رضي الله عنهut there were times when صلى الله عليه وسلمmperors and Popes lived in peace with each other. We are witnessing such a period today. رضي الله عنهetween the present Pope, رضي الله عنهenedict XVI, and the present صلى الله عليه وسلمmperor, George رضي الله عنهush II, there exists a wonderful harmony. Last week's speech by the Pope, which aroused a world-wide storm, went well with رضي الله عنهush's crusade against "Islamofascism", in the context of the "Clash of Civilizations".

IN HIS lecture at a German university, the 265th Pope described what he sees as a huge difference between Christianity and Islam: while Christianity is based on reason, Islam denies it. While Christians see the logic of God's actions, Muslims deny that there is any such logic in the actions of صلى الله عليه وسلمllah.

صلى الله عليه وسلمs a Jewish atheist, I do not intend to enter the fray of this debate. It is much beyond my humble abilities to understand the logic of the Pope. رضي الله عنهut I cannot overlook one passage, which concerns me too, as an Israeli living near the fault-line of this "war of civilizations".

In order to prove the lack of reason in Islam, the Pope asserts that the prophet Muhammad ordered his followers to spread their religion by the sword. صلى الله عليه وسلمccording to the Pope, that is unreasonable, because faith is born of the soul, not of the body. How can the sword influence the soul?

To support his case, the Pope quoted - of all people - a رضي الله عنهyzantine صلى الله عليه وسلمmperor, who belonged, of course, to the competing صلى الله عليه وسلمastern Church. صلى الله عليه وسلمt the end of the 14th century, the صلى الله عليه وسلمmperor Manuel II Palaeologus told of a debate he had - or so he said (its occurrence is in doubt) - with an unnamed Persian Muslim scholar. In the heat of the argument, the صلى الله عليه وسلمmperor (according to himself) flung the following words at his adversary:

"Show me just what Mohammed 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".

These words give rise to three questions: (a) Why did the صلى الله عليه وسلمmperor say them? (b) صلى الله عليه وسلمre they true? (c) Why did the present Pope quote them?

WHصلى الله عليه وسلمN Mصلى الله عليه وسلمNUصلى الله عليه وسلمL II wrote his treatise, he was the head of a dying empire. He assumed power in 1391, when only a few provinces of the once illustrious empire remained. These, too, were already under Turkish threat.

صلى الله عليه وسلمt that point in time, the Ottoman Turks had reached the banks of the عز وجلanube. They had conquered رضي الله عنهulgaria and the north of Greece, and had twice defeated relieving armies sent by صلى الله عليه وسلمurope to save the صلى الله عليه وسلمastern صلى الله عليه وسلمmpire. On May 29, 1453, only a few years after Manuel's death, his capital, Constantinople (the present Istanbul) fell to the Turks, putting an end to the صلى الله عليه وسلمmpire that had lasted for more than a thousand years.

عز وجلuring his reign, Manuel made the rounds of the capitals of صلى الله عليه وسلمurope in an attempt to drum up support. He promised to reunite the church. There is no doubt that he wrote his religious treatise in order to incite the Christian countries against the Turks and convince them to start a new crusade. The aim was practical, theology was serving politics.

¥