Arrest the Pope: Turkey

Just when you thought the foolishness surrounding the Pope's comment couldn't reach a new level the Turks decided to put out an All Points Bulleting for Pope Benedict.

According to CNN, Employees of Ankara's Directorate General for Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, presented a petition to the Justice Ministry asking it to launch a probe into the Pope's remarks and to detain him when he arrives, the Anatolian news agency said. They said the pontiff had violated Turkish laws upholding freedom of belief and thought by "insulting" Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

If the Vatican has a irony meter it must have gone off the chart when that last sentence was read to the Pope.

Didn't the Turks bother to proof read their statement before sending it out? Most editors would have noticed the hypocrisy of arresting someone for violating the country's religious freedom laws by speaking his mind on a religious topic.

I guess what it boils down to is you can say whatever you like about Islam as long as every Muslim agrees with your thought. If you go one inch out of line its off to jail.

If this Turkish organization represents the deep thinkers of Islam, then the world is in for decades of military conflict. Afterall, Turkey is the lone secular democracy in the Arab world and if its leaders are so far gone then we can't expect much out of Iran, Pakistan and the rest of the mad Mullahs.