We May Not Be Fighting Islam, But ...

"We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya. We shall break the cross and spill the wine."

That statement, quoted from Reuters, came from the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaeda. While America takes pains to say we are fighting Islamofascism, not Islam, the intent of our enemy is clear: This is a war on Christiandom, and we are fighting not just to defend civilization, but to defend it from a force that wants to destroy our religion.

How Reuters handled the story is indicative of how clueless the media are about the true nature of this war. Here are the first few paragraphs:

Al Qaeda militants in Iraq vowed war on "worshippers of the cross" and protesters burned a papal effigy on Monday over Pope Benedict's comments on Islam, while Western churchmen and statesmen tried to calm passions.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei joined a chorus of Muslim criticism of the head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, calling the Pope's remarks "the latest chain of the crusade against Islam started by America's (George W.) Bush".

The Pontiff said on Sunday he was deeply sorry Muslims had been offended by his use of a medieval quotation on Islam and holy war. But he stopped short of retracting a speech seen as portraying Islam as a religion tainted by violence.

While some Muslims were mollified by his explanation for the speech made in Germany last Tuesday, others remained furious.

"We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said a Web statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaeda.

"We shall break the cross and spill the wine," said the statement, posted on Sunday on an Internet site often used by al Qaeda and other militant groups.

What do you suppose the headline over this story was? Islamic radicals threaten Pope? Muslim rioters burn Pope in effigy? No, not a chance. The headline is:

Vatican tries to calm Pope row

The focus of this story moved off the Pope days ago, as it moved off the Danish cartoons within a couple days of their publication. Now the story is all about intolerance, violence, moral blindness and hatred -- none of which are coming from the Vatican.

Related Tags: Pope, Islam