The Caravaggio Conspiracy by Walter Ellis Read Free Book Online

those – and I’m talking about people at the very summit of Church government – who think that the next pope’s first priority should be the instigation of open conflict with Islam.’
    ‘You’re kidding me. And who do they imagine is going to take that on?’
    ‘I wish I knew. Whoever fills the bill. There’s no shortage of bigots in the Sacred College.’
    ‘I suppose. But what would they be looking for?’
    ‘For starters, a halt to immigration; the ruthless repatriation of “illegals”; a rejection of Muslim schools; the banning of the hijab and headscarves; basically, an end to any notion of equality or parity of esteem. Whatever it takes to underline that Europe is a Christian continent.’
    ‘Right. Well, I’m sorry to hear it, but not surprised.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    Dempsey ran a hand through his hair. ‘Face it, Uncle, after football and the economy, immigration, especially Muslim immigration, is the single-biggest talking point in Europe. There’s whole swathes of our major cities that have been taken over by new arrivals from North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey. We’ve had protests and counter-protests. And the legislation designed to protect us from terrorism has turned Europe into an armed camp. Not that it’s made us any safer. Only the other day there was that bomb at the Lateran Palace. Yesterday there was the business in Bologna. Muslims may feel the suspects were hard done by, but most Italians, I can tell you, are on the side of the judge.’
    O’Malley shrugged. ‘Understandable, I suppose. It’d be hard not to sympathize with a man who’s been shot at just for trying to do his job.’
    ‘Exactly. But there’s a lot of hate out there – on both sides. The average European, having more or less given up on God, now finds himself facing growing demands from Islamists and Imams who seem to want to build a mosque in every high street and generally put the clock back four hundred years. If that’s progress, give me Karl Marx every time. The way I look at it, the history of Europe over that same period has been characterized, as much as anything, by our gradual giving up of religious obligation. No offence, but we’ve grown up. When I went to Sunday school, I couldn’t wait to get out. I’d be bored rigid. But for young Muslims, decades into the twenty-first century, Islam is everything. It’s what they live for. It’s what defines them.’
    Now the priest raised a critical eyebrow. ‘You should be careful what you say, Liam. They’re not all suicide bombers. Most of them are good people, working hard to provide for their families. As to their devotion, maybe it’s the nature of the beast.’
    ‘Meaning what?’
    ‘Well, you only have to contrast the clarity of the Qu’ran – inextricably linked to lifestyle and conquest – with the ad-hoc nature of Christian belief.’
    Dempsey was immediately on his guard. He had no time for either side in this particular debate. The way he saw it, the two faiths were opposite sides of the same counterfeit coin. But there was an argumentative side to his nature and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to make a point. ‘What are you telling me? That the Qu’ran hasn’t changed for fifteen hundred years? You must be kidding.’
    ‘I’m serious,’ O’Malley replied, raising his voice against the noise of a Vespa scooter drifting up from the street below. ‘At least, not since the earliest times. Tradition has it that it was revealed to Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel – Jibra’il in Arabic – who required him, over a period of twenty-two years, to learn it sura by sura , verse by verse, and to teach it to others by the same method.’
    ‘And I thought remembering my Catechism was hard.’
    O’Malley ignored the crack. ‘Matter of fact, the word Qu’ran means “recital”. Only after Mohammad’s death in 632 were scribes recruited to take it down verbatim from the Prophet’s close companion and disciple, Zaid bin