THE POPE'S COMMENTS ABOUT ISLAM

By Tony Sayegh

I am afraid that there is more to this event than a slip of the tongue on the part of the Pope or simple ignorance of Islam. It comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric against political Islam and Islamic resistance movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, as well as Iran. It has to be seen in the same context as Bush's recent adoption of the "Islamic fascists" label to denigrate political Islam.

Usrael and the neocons (with the EU under their wings) keep talking about and preparing for a "long war" or "World War IV" and "clash of civilizations" against Islam. Bush compares this "struggle" with the struggle against the Nazis (World War II) and the Soviet Union (World War III). These comments by the Pope have to be seen as an opening shot and a major auxiliary to the shaping political/military confrontation.

After Carter became president, the US used its influence to have a Pole selected as the Pope (John Paul II). Immediately, he was put to use in agitating in Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe against Communism and the Soviets. He played no small part in the process that ultimately led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Since political Islam is the "threat" du jour, I see this Pope and this message in the same light.

If this is the case, then this is a significant escalation that is catapulting us indeed towards what might become an irreversible clash of civilizations and a new Crusade. God help us!