What Pope Francis Doesn’t Understand about Islamic Terrorism

In the wake of the murder in a church of an elderly French priest by a supporter of Islamic State, the pope issued a statement declaring that his followers shouldn’t “be afraid to say” that what is happening constitutes a “war.” He then went on to clarify: this is “a war of interests, for money, resources. I am not speaking of a war of religions. Religions don’t want war. The others want war.” Denis MacEoin comments:

Is slaughtering a priest at his altar linked to “interests, money, resources”? Were the killers driven by a longing for social justice, for more money, for access to greater resources? Did they think the violent death of a harmless priest would bring them any of that? They had not gone to steal any of the valuable altar-table objects—the censers, the candlesticks, the crucifix, the monstrance. The killers had been shouting “Allahu akbar,” literally “God is greater” (than everything, and especially, to Muslims, the supposedly non-monotheistic Christian Trinity and the Church).

As we know only too well, “Allahu akbar” is a religious phrase that Muslims use often. It is the beginning of the call to prayer, the adhan, repeated six times, five times a day, preceded and followed by the shahada [declaration of faith]. It has been ringing in Western ears every time Muslims in Europe and North America carry out attacks. . . . [They do so] precisely because [they] believe that their God is superior to all other gods, because to them Islam is the greatest of all religions, and lastly, because [they believe] Islam is destined to conquer the world either by conversion or through violence.

What did Pope Francis mean when he said “Religions don’t want war. The others want war”? This is a man with access to endless colleges of scholars, to academics worldwide, to specialists in Islam and the Middle East. It is simply not true. To begin with, who are these “others”? Non-religious people? Atheists? Agnostics? Protestants?

Read more at Gatestone

More about: France, ISIS, Pope Francis, Radical Islam, Religion & Holidays, Terrorism

Expand Gaza into Sinai

Feb. 11 2025

Calling the proposal to depopulate Gaza completely (if temporarily) “unworkable,” Peter Berkowitz makes the case for a similar, but more feasible, plan:

The United States along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE should persuade Egypt by means of generous financial inducements to open the sparsely populated ten-to-fifteen miles of Sinai adjacent to Gaza to Palestinians seeking a fresh start and better life. Egypt would not absorb Gazans and make them citizens but rather move Gaza’s border . . . westward into Sinai. Fences would be erected along the new border. The Israel Defense Force would maintain border security on the Gaza-extension side, Egyptian forces on the other. Egypt might lease the land to the Palestinians for 75 years.

The Sinai option does not involve forced transfer of civilian populations, which the international laws of war bar. As the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other partners build temporary dwellings and then apartment buildings and towns, they would provide bus service to the Gaza-extension. Palestinian families that choose to make the short trip would receive a key to a new residence and, say, $10,000.

The Sinai option is flawed. . . . Then again, all conventional options for rehabilitating and governing Gaza are terrible.

Read more at RealClear Politics

More about: Donald Trump, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula