Allah, The Pope And Karl Marx

The New Statesman commenting on recent persecutions and murders by various Islamist groups takes the Pope to task for his recent whitewashing of the Quran as far as violence is concerned. 'Even today's Pope - as the Christian faithful were being harried, persecuted or put to the sword in Nigeria, Syria, Iraq and beyond - told the world in November 2013 that "authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Quran are opposed to every form of violence". But read the text yourself, and you will see that jihadists can find plenty justification for the acts they commit, even if most Muslims are pacific.' (New Statesman, 8 May) If such a conservative journal attacking the ideas of the Pope seems unusual, even more startling is their further comment. 'Karl Marx was wiser than the Pope. In March 1854, he wrote that for "Islamism" - the word was already in use - "the Infidel is the enemy" and that the Quran "treats all foreigners as foes". RD