Iraq the Model makes the point

... and makes it eloquently:

Are those who demand an apology from the pope ready to apologize for some of their own mistakes? Or have they never made any mistakes?

Regardless of what the pope said, the Arab and Muslim world, through the tense and offensive reactions, showed once again how incapable its leaders are to respond to criticism in a civilized way.

Here we always insist that the greatest miracle of the prophet is the words he was sent with, the same words that tell Muslims to use logic and kindness in their attempts to invite others to the Islamic faith, the same words that discourage them from using a rude or repulsive tone in their conversations.

The sad thing is that in spite of all these advices, most of the common people and the elites choose offensive, rude if not violent reactions as a first measure to counter criticism.

One friend reminded me of the assassination attempt that targeted the former pope two decades ago wondering what the reaction of the pope was…as we all know he eventually visited the assailant and pardoned him.

No mosques were blown up and no speech of a clash of civilizations was made.

So why don't we admit that the "other" is better than us at responding rationally when criticized? Why don't we learn from others?

When we closed our ears to anything that doesn't match our beliefs and refused all criticism wasn't that enough reason for the deterioration of our civilization?

Make sure you go read the whole thing!