The head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal O'Brien, wants Muslims to apologize for September 11 and the July 7, 2005 bombings in London. He was claiming that such an apology would somehow be a reciprocal action after the Pope's recent 'apology'.
Pardon me, Your Eminence, but you're way, way off on this one. First of all, if someone insults me and apologizes, fine. However, if they kill thousands of my fellow citizens and desire to kill thousands more then an apology is slightly insufficient.
Second, is Cardinal O'Brien saying that Muslims generally are responsible for September 11, etc.? If not, then why should Muslims apologize? And, if he is then how is an apology sufficient? Shouldn't all Muslims then be treated as enemies of the state seeing as the acts he wants Muslims to apologize for were acts of mass murder, crimes against the state?
The key question is not whether Muslims should or should not apologize for what's happened so far. The key question is whether there is something about Islam that renders its adherents incapable of being law-abiding, loyal citizens in a democratic state. I believe the answer to that question is yes, but it's pretty clear there are many who don't believe that. And, I don't think I can make a strong enough argument to try and change anyone's mind on that score.
