This is the sort of tortured thinking that leads some otherwise perfectly sane American analyists to maintain that if we all pretend that Islam is peaceful, it will make it so. After all, Bardakoglu is affirming the other side of this coin: speaking about what within Islam gives rise to violence will only “encourage those who perform wrong-doing on behalf of religion.” Uh huh.
“Insulting Islam breeds violence – Turk religious chief,” from Reuters, with thanks to Twostellas:
Turkey’s top Muslim official repeated in the presence of Pope Benedict that Islam was not a religion of violence and that arguing so can only encourage those who abuse religion to do wrong.
Ali Bardakoglu, who heads Ankara’s Directorate General for Religious Affairs which controls Turkish imams and writes their sermons, said all Muslims were offended by accusations that their religion was violent.
“Such accusations and attempts can only serve to encourage those who perform wrong-doing on behalf of religion by way of exploitation,” he said in a speech.