the passing of the pope

Bukhari

Volume 2, Book 23, Number 399:
Narrated 'Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila:
Sahl bin Hunaif and Qais bin Sad were sitting in the city of Al-Qadisiya. A funeral procession passed in front of them and they stood up. They were told that funeral procession was of one of the inhabitants of the land i.e. of a non-believer, under the protection of Muslims. They said, "A funeral procession passed in front of the Prophet and he stood up. When he was told that it was the coffin of a Jew, he said, "Is it not a living being (soul)?"

As most of the world knows, Pope John Paul II passed away yesterday. I'm not sure exactly how to think about it. I'm not Catholic so I don't have the sense of losing a religious leader. But as a Muslim I would have to say that it seems Pope John Paul II was a pretty good pope, as far as popes go. I mean, we have to understand that the job comes with certain parameters, so as long as he's the Pope we can't really expect him to reject fundamental Catholic doctrines like the Incarnation or the Trinity anytime soon(although we can always pray) But apart from those kinds of "constraints", John Paul II has actually had a rather positive attitude towards Islam.

For example, the above picture of the Pope kissing the Quran was taken when he visited and worshiped in the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria where tradition says that the head of Yahya (John the Baptist) is buried. And the picture is actually really widespread on many of the ultra-traditional Catholic websites as proof that the pope was way out of bounds on a variety of issues. And I would argue that the fact that he made such a gesture of respect to Islam, especially when it alienated him from segments of his own flock speaks volumes.

And then of course under his tenure we have the Catholic Church's (admittedly slow in coming) apologies for the Crusades, the Inquisition (and other examples of violent oppression) along with the (much more timely) opposition to the Iraq War and supporting a more balanced perspective in the conflict over Palestine.


It all makes me want to say that John Paul II was the first "Muslim" Pope in the same spirit that some people say that Bill Clinton was the first Black President.

....

which is a perfect segue into the question of who is going to be John Paul's successor....

The next Pope will be chosen by near-ancient and traditional election process. And for a while there has been some discussion that the Nigerian Cardinal Frances Arinze would be a logical choice. Catholicism is dying in Europe and the church's center of mass has definitely been moving south towards Africa and Latin America. Choosing Arinze, an African from the developing world, as the first Black pope of modern times would be a powerful statement of the Church's shifting position in the world. In addition, the Church's relation to Muslim is more important in today's world and coming from Nigeria, a country with a large Muslim population, Arinze has had a non trivial record of inter-religious activity.

In any case, whether Arinze becomes the next pope or someone else, they will definitely have some big shoes to fill.