Had Pope Benedict XVI omitted the citation of Emperor Manuel II Paleologus’ remarks about the Prophet Muhammad bringing only what is “evil and inhuman” to the world, a quote he himself admits was marginal to his argument, he would not have emphasized as clearly as he has done the focus of his central argument – that is modern secular rationalism needs to heed the contribution of faith to enable it to break out of the narrow confines of absolutism and fundamentalism. Which is specifically the problem with Islam, both as a religious doctrine and as a ‘way of life’.
To understand this point, Non-Muslims must focus on the difference between Islam and Islamism. Islamism is a set of political ideologies that holds that Islam is not only a religion, but also a political system that governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state according to its interpretation of Islamic Law. For Islamists, the sharia has absolute priority over democracy and universal human rights. The terms “Islamist” and “Islamism” are used often in several publications within some Muslim countries to describe domestic and trans-national organizations seeking to implement Islamic Law.
There is intense debate in the Muslim world about the differences between Islam and Islamism. The controversy is rooted in differing answers to questions about how Muslims should live, the sort of governments they should support, and the proper role of Islamic symbols, ideas, and tenets in the modern world. Those who are called Islamists argue that Islam is inherently a political religion, and that the rules and laws laid out in the Al Qu’ran and Hadiths mandate Islamic governments.
