Mohammed at Iraq the Model has a thoughtful commentary on violent reactions to the Pope's words titled "When Will We Be Able To Accept Criticism?" Here is an excerpt.  Read the rest here. Now after reading texts that are mentioned in our respected books I wonder why we always put the sword as a symbol under 'There's no God but Allah'? Isn't the call for Islam convincing enough by itself that some countries or Jihadi groups add a sword to it?! The truth is that the religious institutions here are corrupt and despotic. And while they reject criticism today, they are looking with fear at the criticism coming out from the inside of the very same institutions which in some cases I find harsher and more explicit that the quotes the pope used in his speech. First of all, we need to review these texts and history books that Muslim scholars insist on relying on, and before they judge others' knowledge they must present what proves the opposite of the stories or facts they...(Read Full Post)