Through Force or Faith? — Page x
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI x Muslims not to use unseemly words even for the deities of the idolaters because they may react strongly. On 12 September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI gave a Papal lec- ture entitled, ‘Faith, Reason, and the University: Memories and Reflections’ at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he had himself taught as a professor of theology prior to his papacy. The real topic of his papal lecture was not dialogue, but the com- patibility of reason and faith. It is a welcome step that people of faith should reject unreasonable attitudes. Unreasonable views, whether they are ascribed to a religion or to any other sphere of life, need to be rejected. Rationality is one faculty that brings about balance and mod- eration in our daily activities and pursuits; that is to say, we are enabled to act ‘righteously’. This is the criterion by which we can evaluate the beauty of our actions. This beauty of our actions should not merely be an ideal. It should have a profound link and relationship to reality. Islam defined the attainment of this objective as the ideal for its followers. It is only with a true under- standing of God Almighty that man can act ‘righteously’ in every state, favourable or adverse, in prosperity or in destitution. God Almighty has created man so that he may worship Him, develop an understanding of Him, and emulate His attributes. One of the attributes of God is H akīm [the Wise]. Therefore, it is essential for every human being to use wisdom in his word and action. The order and the organization of the universe God Almighty has created reflects His attribute of H akīm. Every expres- sion of disorder and discord originates in being removed from the order created by God and its wisdom. In its very name, the religion of Islam carries the message of peace, because the connotation of