Letters

Bef

ore his visit to Turkey, we examined Pope Benedict XVI's controversial remarks on Islam. Our readers looked beyond a clash of civilizations and encouraged soul searching among all faiths

It would be better if Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders would seek open dialogue with Muslim clerics rather than confront them with inflammatory debate [Nov. 27]. Christianity and Islam have glorious yet violent pasts; both have lost their way with stubborn claims to exclusive truth and the consequent rise of intolerant fundamentalism. Leaders of neither religion can claim the moral high ground, given their failure to shelter the innocent during the great wars and genocides of the 20th century. In the 21st century, both religions have the moral obligation to face the future together.
Edward D. Walker
East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.

TIME's story said, "The Roman Catholic Church's own record in the religious-mayhem department is hardly pristine," suggesting that the church has no business criticizing jihadist Islam. But right now Muslims are free to practice their faith in Christian-dominated nations, while non-Muslims in predominantly Islamic countries are severely, sometimes violently, restricted. The Pope is to be commended, not sneered at, for sticking his neck out for the sake of interfaith dialogue based on doctrine, reason and truth.
David Pearson
North Branford, Connecticut, U.S.

It is strange to find the term reason in a religious debate, especially when there is no mention of the single most important human value that defines what we really want and need and that allows everything else to fall into place: namely, compassion.
Sergei Heurlin
Culver City, California, U.S.

Demagogic leaders can exploit a host of religious texts to advocate the use of violence. Even Satan can recite Scripture. Perhaps we should be less concerned about the particular doctrinal precepts of Islam and more concerned about poverty and insufficient educational standards in the Middle East.
Stephen D. Wagner III
Massapequa Park, New York, U.S.

It is difficult for any sensitive person to relate to the papal view of faith as brought forth in his Regensburg address. Faith is commonly known as a trust not based on logic or reason, but on a transpersonal relationship with a higher power. I would beg His Holiness to enunciate the connection between faith and reason in the context of humanity as a whole. Faith is neither Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Jewish nor Buddhist, nor is it a monopoly of any one segment of the human race. It is also appalling that the 9/11 events—a crude, revengeful act by a few semi-educated individuals—has drawn the battle lines of a supposed clash of civilizations, allowing the Pope to deliver an address remarkable for its ignorance of history.
Tariq Jamil
Lahore, Pakistan

Any decent, fair-minded person has a moral obligation to condemn extremism, religious or secular. But the Pope's peremptory linking of Islam and violence is irrational and irresponsible, especially when such a wildly inaccurate judgment comes from somebody whose religion has historically caused more extensive and brutal suffering than Islam ever has.
Husam Dughman
Toronto

The article on Pope Benedict XVI leaves one with the impression that the Pope is a moral leader of great stature. He is not. His stances on abortion, contraception and stem-cell research are deplorable and, because of his authority, extremely harmful to many innocent people. Since Islam shares many of his mistaken values, we should fear that he will use any successful contacts made during his visit to Turkey to expand the influence (and harm) of his moral mistakes.
Gerald H. Paske
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.

Monotheistic religions that lay claim to the one and only possible truth are doomed by their very nature to end up in conflict. The only way out is to free ourselves from these ancient divisive creeds and thus extinguish those dangerous fires of righteousness. A little more humility about the human condition and our relation to a higher power would go a long way toward healing what divides us.
Carolyn D. Lewis
Ocean View, Delaware, U.S.

The Challenge to Islam
Re Father Richard Neuhaus' viewpoint [Nov. 27], in which he explained that Pope Benedict XVI is challenging Muslims to confront hard truths: Islam indeed has a menacing aspect, and the Pope finally addressed it directly. Since the defeat of the Turks in Vienna in 1683 and the subsequent decline of Muslim power, jihadists have dreamed of reconquering the Christian West. Islam has an expansion policy, which is that every Muslim has a duty to spread the religion in the name of the Prophet. Criticized as a myopic hard-liner when elected, Benedict might become the Pope of progress in Christian-Muslim relations.
Veith Ruehling
Augsburg, Germany

Neuhaus made the most important point of all when he said, "Mosques proliferate throughout cities in the West, while any expression of non-Islamic religion is strictly forbidden in many Muslim countries." No matter what moral failures we find in the "Christianized" West, people have the freedom to exercise their faith and religion. For people to be deprived of that freedom in Muslim countries is blatantly immoral.
James E. Ruark
Kentwood, Michigan, U.S.

Commentator Tariq Ramadan's viewpoint column urged the West to remember "the critical role that Muslims played in the development of Western thought" [Nov. 27]. If Ramadan wants to bolster the image of Islam in the West today, however, he would do better to implore Muslims around the world to protest any and all acts of violence, intimidation and terrorism committed in the name of Allah. Until then, how can Ramadan blame anyone for fearing Muslim immigration? Only when Muslims learn to accept Christians and members of other religions will they no longer be taken as a threat to world peace.
Jack Treese
Simi Valley, California, U.S.

Lessons of Vietnam
President George W. Bush's visit to Vietnam was another missed opportunity to make amends for his failed policies [Nov. 27]. Instead of acknowledging the peaceful nature of his visit to a former enemy nation and declaring that, despite the present situation in Iraq, he looks forward to the day when a future American President can visit Baghdad and safely travel by motorcade through the capital, he sheepishly avoided the comparisons of Iraq with Vietnam. Americans know Iraq is a mess, and maybe the President knows Iraq is a mess. But before it can be cleaned up, we need a President who can engage the world and pony up to reality.
Christopher E. Berg
New York City

Bush seemed to suggest that the lesson of the Vietnam War was that we should have stayed the course. But the real lesson of the Vietnam War was that we should never have intervened. The U.S. war against that poor country left millions of innocent Vietnamese civilians dead and millions more wounded. The other lesson we failed to learn was how easily the U.S. government can lie and lead us into war. In Vietnam it was the big lie about a U.S. warship's being attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. In Iraq it was the even bigger lie about weapons of mass destruction.
Massimo Podrecca
New York City

While in Hanoi, President Bush said, "We tend to want there to be instant success in the world, and the task in Iraq is going to take a while." I would like to remind everyone that it was the Administration that said invading Iraq and securing the country were going to be a walk in the park, an affair of a few months at most.
Philip de Louraille
Los Gatos, California, U.S.

President Bush demonstrated that he has learned little if anything from history when he said that the main lesson of Vietnam is, "We'll succeed unless we quit." The Vietnam War was lost after 58,000 American troops and millions of Vietnamese civilians died over 14 years. More bombs were dropped on that tiny country than were used by all sides in all of World War II. That's giving up? The lessons of Vietnam are many, but chief among them are that invading forces cannot subdue a native population fighting a guerrilla war; that Americans will not support endless costly wars of choice; and that humility, caution and planning are essential in military operations.
Daniel Brezenoff
Long Beach, California, U.S.

Rebuilding the House
Incoming house speaker Nancy Pelosi failed in her campaign to elect her ally John Murtha as House majority leader [Nov. 27]. But why should anyone have been surprised by Pelosi's decision to support the populist Murtha? The Democrats' gain in the election was primarily driven by dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, not support for left-wingers. I'm not sure, however, that either party deserved to win. The constant bickering and lack of focus on results shown by both parties are appalling and discouraging.
Glen Wilson
Westerville, Ohio, U.S.

Less than two weeks on the job, and already Pelosi is screwing up. I have to admit I am loving it. After years of hearing Republicans called everything from cowboys to Nazis, it's a blast watching the Dems fall over one another to make fools of themselves.
Michael Chimenti
New York City

Win the War! Save String!
TIME reported that American troops in Iraq are using Silly String to detect trip wires affixed to bombs [Nov. 27]. Rather than ask civilians to mail cans of it to the troops, shouldn't we just ask Halliburton to order it by the truckload? That would make the acquisition much quicker, since the company seems to have an unlimited government expense account. Or have the Defense Department buy Silly String directly from the manufacturer and ship it using military transport, which would be less expensive. Here's a third idea: purchase all the Silly String you can find, and drop it off at the closest military base to be shipped along with the same troops whose lives the stuff could save.
Karen Garner
Newport News, Virginia, U.S.

When Flying was Fun
While U.S. airlines are stripping amenities, some international carriers have begun offering come-ons like in-flight gambling and cell-phone use [Nov. 27]. But in its early days, commercial air travel was an exciting, glamorous affair, as described in our March 28, 1949, cover story on Pan American Airways' founder Juan Terry Trippe:

"Last week Juan Trippe was ready to guide his Pan American Airways in a great new adventure which would make the world every man's oyster. And like the old Portuguese captains, who held a last open house on their high-pooped ships before they sailed off, Juan Trippe was also showing off his newest ship of the air. The ship was a great, fat-bellied Boeing Stratocruiser, the first delivered to any airline. When it flew into Boston last week, it created the biggest stir since Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis landed there in 1927 on its triumphal tour. Some 50,000 people ... broke through police lines to rubberneck at the world's newest and biggest (71 tons), fanciest and fastest (up to 375 m.p.h.) commercial airliner ... At Chicago, crowds jostled for peeks at its spiral staircase and its underbelly cocktail lounge with fuchsia-colored seats ... Next week, wearing a crepe-paper lei on its shiny nose, it will take off for Honolulu." Read more at timearchive.com.