It is perverse that Pope Benedict's lecture on the relationship between reason and religious faith at the University of Regensburg last week should have provoked such critical and worldwide reaction from Muslims. The central argument he made was about the need to base this dialogue on a single rationality, but the effect has been to make that more difficult, at least in the short term.
Most of the lecture, published in full on page 8 today, was devoted to a critique of how theological reason has become separated from scientific rationality in the modern western tradition, rather than to Christian-Islamic dialogue. But his choice of a medieval text to illustrate one facet of his argument ("not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature") was capable of misinterpretation because he did not clearly distinguish his attitude towards Islam from that of the Byzantine emperor he quoted as follows: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". This passage contains an offensive general statement about Muhammad's teaching, and a specific example of it concerning use of force to change beliefs.
Pope Benedict said yesterday that "these were in fact quotations from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought". He apologised for not making it clear that he does not himself believe that Muhammad's innovations were only evil and inhuman. This is an honest statement of regret which should be accepted and acknowledged. That it should have had to be issued is a real and genuine cause for concern among all those who wish to further the cause he identified: "The true meaning of my address in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect."
Three quite different elements became conflated in the reporting of and the reaction to a complex piece of theological and philosophical reasoning: overall Catholic attitudes towards the Islamic faith; the relationship between force and conversion; and the proper role of reason in science and religion. For Pope Benedict to bring them together in this way, without making it more clear what was the distinction between the medieval passage quoted and official church teaching, was a mistake at such a sensitive time in the relationship between western and Islamic civilisations and cultures. The passage should have been more effectively vetted by his diplomatic and political advisers to distinguish these elements.
The result has damaged the cause of inter-religious dialogue between Christians and Muslims based on mutual respect. That requires a more focused and nuanced statement of positions than was represented in this address. Pope Benedict has a distinctive view of these issues and their political implications, such as whether Turkey should join the EU, which he opposes. He needs to spell out his views more elaborately and clearly now that he has expressed his regret over these misinterpretations.