Islam, the most irony-challenged religion in the world, and Grace

First, Pope Benedict quotes a medieval Byzantine text that condemns Islam for using violence as a means to convert or cow nonbelievers. So Muslims across the world, stoked by fiery sermons at the mosque on Friday, riot to protest the Pope's statement. And then this happens: Palestinians open fire inside Nablus church. In case you haven't the urge to click the link and read the story yourself, here's the loveliest quote:

"We carried out this shooting because of the pope's statement, and he must apologise," the caller, who refused to give his name, told AFP Saturday.

The attack came a day after a grenade exploded outside the same church and four days after the pope criticised connections between Islam and violence, particularly with regard to jihad, or "holy war".

So... they shot up a church because the Pope called them violent.

Sorry, I can't even think of something witty to say, the mind boggles so.

We always hear those Muslim guys they put on TV -- the CAIR guys and all the rest -- talking about "Islamophobia" and the ignorance of Americans about the great Muslim religion, but, good grief! What else are we supposed to think when they keep doing stuff like this over and over? We didn't see Jews rioting and bombing and shooting people over the Passion of the Christ. We didn't see Buddhists busting out some kung fu fury over that sappy, degrading Chow Yun Fat vehicle, Bullet-Proof Monk. Heck, the Chinese took the Tibetans' entire freakin' country, and all they did in response was sell bumper stickers to hippies. And Jesuit commandos didn't massacre the entire cast and crew of the Da Vinci Code film and carry off Dan Brown and Tom Hanks to be tortured in an Inquisition dungeon. Yeah, every religion has its nutcases, blah blah. But not like this, not like Muslims, especially third world Muslims.

Here's my theory: Islam never had a Saint Augustine of Hippo, and they never had a City of God. They never learned that the people of God are aliens and strangers in the City of the World, and that, while we may be on decent terms with the powers that be (if rarely), it's not our job to take over the world and make sure things run God's way. "My kingdom is not of this world, or else my followers would fight," said Jesus. Mohammed never said anything like that; instead, he was all, "Out with the scimitars, lads, and give the idolaters what for!" (Not an exact quote!) As a result, many Muslims don't know how to live in a world where they aren't in charge, because, according to their beliefs, they ought to be in charge!

It's kind of sad, really: Third world Muslims live in the world's armpit -- the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Their governments are, by and large, crappy, as are their economies. But in their past, they ruled half the world. And then the Europeans came. (Actually, that's not precisely true -- the history is a bit more complex than that. But people don't respond to the past that happened, they respond to the past they think happened.) But because the Golden Age of Islam, the age that produced the theology and philosophy they still live by, was an age of conquest and prosperity, the Islamic tradition didn't prepare its followers for a role of weakness. "What went wrong?" they wonder. And the answer they get is not, "Fortune changes, empires rise and fall, but the righteous trust in a faithful God Who guides them whatever their circumstances." The answer they get -- the answer people like Osama give -- is that they've been bad Muslims, they've strayed from the right path. Ditch the Western stuff, grow a beard, take up the sword, and smite, smite, smite! And all the glory of the past will be restored.

Only it won't, because that's not how the world works. The result: a worldview that is constantly at odds with real life, producing discontent, frustration, angst, hopelessness, alienation and rage. And riots, too. I pity them because I empathize with them: I've never rioted or bombed anything, but I do know what it's like to have a religion of Law. Legalism can be satisfying when you're using the sword of the Law to whack at other people, but that sword always turns around and stabs you through the heart. Try to live by the Law and you will break, because the Law is stone and you are only flesh. The third world Muslims don't need papal apologies (which they demand), or respect and understanding (which the Left demands), or democracy (which the Right demands): they need grace.