Please people, READ what I write next, and pay CLOSE attention. Short lecture on history of Islam -
What a lot of westerners do not understand is that the Qur'an, does not have an equal in the western civilisation. The way Qur'an is seen by Muslims, nothing in the west has its parallel. Bible is WAY off.
Qur'an is believed by Muslims and Islamic theologies, to have been dictated WORD for WORD by Alah himself, through Angel Gabriel to Muhammad.
The problem is that now, every word of the Qur'an, every single one, unless it is canceled by another section (which would mean, there are no contradictions in the Qur'an) is valid for all time and it cannot be questioned, reformed or changed.
This means that moderate muslims, if they are sincere, they have to reject entirely Qur'anic literalism, BUT to do this, it puts them outside of the sphere of orthodox, or TRUE Islam throughout history.
Because to do so, it is to reject the very basic core of Islam, that this is a book dictated by God, the perfect copy of a perfect book, the Umm al-kitab (The mother of the book) that has existed forever with Allah in Heaven. Forever.
Every word of this book is the word of the God.
Thus, going back to my many Qur'anic quotes about violence and killing of the Infidels, would mean that those are the exact, untranslatable, words of god, which are to be carried out.
NOW PAY ATTENTION -
Therefore, people who are killing in the name of Allah, infidels and Jews, are practicing the true Islam. The Islam which Prophet Muhammad practiced himself.
Muhammad beheaded between 600 and 800 men, himself, personally. That is not counting tribes he sacked and expelled and the killings he ordered to be done.
Now, Muhammad is considered the al-insan al-kamil, which means ''The Perfect Man''.
He is the model, to be imitated.
He is the person, the more Muslim is like him, the better off he is.
He is revealed as the example to be followed by all Muslims.
Therefore, taking all this BACK to the Pope comment - what the Emperor in Pope's quote said was TRUE.
Anything which is peaceful in the Quran is not NEW. Muhammad lived with Jewish and Christian tribes, and thus while he has, the verses in the Quran are identical to those in the Bible.
What Muhammad brought that was new are the sword spread religion, and religious dominance through government.
Technically thus, the Byzantine emperor was absolutely correct.
Furthermore, if you would like to check what I have said, please read the Qur'an, the Haidths (because you cannot understand Qur'an without reading the Hadiths), Islamic tradition, Islamic theology and Islamic history.
I promise you, you will be all that wiser.