John Paul II and Islam

[stoutfellow]

Here's an interesting article by Abu Aardvark on the reaction to the passing of the Pope in the Islamic world. Some radical Islamists are upset with al-Jazeera for its extensive and sympathetic coverage, but moderate Islamists, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi, have spoken of him with admiration. Apparently his efforts at rapprochement with Islam made him quite popular in the Arab world. This makes even more intriguing the possible election of Nigeria's Francis Arinze, who has long dealt fairly amicably with the Muslim population of that country. (I'm not sure how I feel about Arinze's candidacy; like many African Christian leaders, he is very conservative on social issues. But there would be several upsides to his selection.)