Another Ill-fated Peace Ploy

I cannot imagine how King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia will ever pull off this ambitious attempt to dialogue with Jews and Christians.  Apparently, he is trying to arrange a summit for the world’s monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  But it isn’t clear that Jews would be invited, even though they represent the Torah and are monotheistic.  I would be most impressed if the king would invite Jews and also condemn (and stop funding) mosques and leaders who support terrorism.  One thing to notice in this article is the manner in which the writer tries to point out the “tension” in Islamic relations. Consider this paragraph:

The king’s seemingly ambitious proposal comes at a time of escalating violence and distrust between the Islamic world and the West, with both ensnared in a wide array of grievances ranging from Muhammad cartoons regarded as blasphemous by Muslims, to restrictions on religious freedoms in some Islamic countries, to the lack of progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The reporter, obviously, takes a very “even-handed” approach.  The problem, though, is the issue is not even.  One side draws cartoons, the other kills indiscriminately in large numbers.  The “wide array of grievances” seems to equate the Muhammad cartoons with murder; the persecution of Christians in Muslim lands is equated with poking fun at Islam.  Is an offensive cartoon really equal to killing a human being?  You can read the entire article at http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=15348.