A fatwa in his future

A columnist at the India Times weighs in on the Pope's speech:
"The idea that everyone has to respect all religions is false, shallow, and pernicious. Belief is not a matter of will. It is possible, after the good faith exercise of reason, to dislike the historical record of this or that religion. Why impose a contorted hypocrisy by obliging everyone to say that all religions are nice? All organised historical religions have crosses to bear. The test of tolerance is when we can put up with things people say about us, even when we don’t agree with them or like them. A society where people, within limits, are free to express their views of other religions, is far safer and more conducive to liberty than a society that calls for suspending historical judgment or theological disputation under the pretext of expressing respect. The new clash of civilisations is being driven, partly, by a fragile state of mind among all religions in which everything is a pretext for religious groups to take offence."

I don't suspect he'll be echoed by any Islamic writers anytime soon...