Bad Moon Rising

King Abdullah has called for an interfaith dialogue to combat what he feels are rising religious tensions. In the wake of what some call a controversial conversion, the Wahabist monarch wants Christians (in particular, the Pope) to realise the ripples in the sectarian pool. There is tension, the king claims. The press and certain Muslim pundits are (over) reacting to the conversion of Mr. Allam on Easter Sunday. What would be a private matter between an adult, who has thought over the matter of his religion for a long time, and God has become for others a matter of debate. The matter of interfaith dialogue has become for me a matter of speculation. Anyone who leaves Islam is an apostate and forced conversions in the Islamic world are well-known. For King Abdullah, the one of the wealthiest people on earth and a firm believer in the strictest sect of Islam, the thought that a well-known Muslim can leave Islam for Catholicism and be baptised by the leader of the Catholic Church on Easter must be horrifying. This interfaith dialogue, I think, will come to nothing but flowery words and empty promises.