Charter For Dhimmitude?

Ever heard of something called the Charter for Compassion? I hadn't until I read this HuffPo piece by Karen Armstrong, the former nun who became a writer specializing in religion and, somewhere along the line, one of the West's foremost apologists for Islam. In the lead-up to 9/11, Armstrong encourages people to set aside their differences and sign on to this Charter--as she and her "dear friends" Imam and Missus Rauf have done:

The anniversary of 9/11 reminds us why we need the Charter for Compassion. It should be an annual summons to compassionate action. The need is especially apparent this year. In the United States, we have witnessed an upsurge of anti-Muslim feeling that violates the core values of that nation. The controversy surrounding the community centre near Ground Zero, planned by our dear friends Imam Feisal Rauf and Daisy Khan (who were among the earliest supporters and partners of the Charter) has inspired rhetoric that shames us all. And now we have the prospect of the Quran burning proposed by a Christian pastor, who seems to have forgotten that Jesus taught his followers to love those they regard as enemies, to respond to evil with good, and to turn the other cheek when attacked, and who died forgiving his executioners.

If we want to preserve our humanity, we must make the compassionate voice of religion and morality a vibrant and dynamic force in our polarised world. We can no longer afford the barbarism of hatred, contempt and disgust...

Sounds good to me, Karen. But what is this Charter whereof you speak? Well, taking a quick gander at the website, I see it calls upon us all

to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

Interesting. I'm not sure, though, how you go about "restoring" compassion and making it the centerpiece of Islam when jihad, not compassion, has always been at its core: How can you "restore" something that was never there to begin with? No matter. Since the "interfaith" Imam and his Missus, along with Israel-loathing Bishop Desmond Tutu, are on board, I'm sure the Charter is a topping idea, and not yet another anti-blashpemy measure designed to compel us kafirs to shut the heck up re Islam, a move that this time comes coated in the dense, sweet marshmallow fluff of "compassion."