PM disappointed in Muslim response to Pope; not violent enough
Posted by the satirist on September 20, 2006
The Prime Minister John Howard has expressed his disappointment in the Muslim community for their reaction to Pope Benedict’s recent controversial speech in which he made reference to a Christian emperor who had described Islam’s teachings as “evil and inhuman”. Howard made the comments on ABC’s Lateline program last night.
“To be honest, I don’t understand the reaction. It’s not nearly violent enough. With the Danish cartoons they went the whole nine yards, but what we have are leaders actually issuing statements and not doing anything too stupid. I mean, sure there are some radicals making an effort, but it’s frankly not enough.”
Howard went on to say that the reaction was disproportionate and strange, and that at the very least it called for a boycott of Italian products. “Such a boycott should extend to Italian food, such as pasta and neapolitana sauce, even if it’s made in Australia. When the Muslims can arrange that, I will consider a different viewpoint.”
The Pope was not safe from Howard’s censure either, with the PM criticising him for apologising.
“He backed off a little too quickly, I feel. He really should have let it simmer a bit more to really get the rage going. You can’t just make references to emperors who hate Islam and then dilute it with a message of interfaith love and peace,” Howard added.
Muslim representatives have agreed to meet with the PM’s representatives in order to discuss the situation over bruschetta and canoli.
