I would think that the Pope, as the supreme leader of one of the world's great religions who espouses world peace and reconciliation among nations and sects, would take care not to deliberately insult the Muslim world. So how does one account for this?

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI led prayers for peace on the holiest day of the Christian year at a rainy outdoor Mass here on Easter Sunday, exulting conversions to the faith hours after the Vatican highlighted the baptism of Italy’s most prominent Muslim. . . .

Days after Osama bin Laden issued a threat against Europe that included an accusation that the pope was involved in a “new Crusade” against Islam, Magdi Allam, an Egyptian-born writer protected by Italian bodyguards because of his criticism of radical Islam, was baptized by the pope Saturday night and received his first holy communion. The news about Mr. Allam, a secular Muslim who is married to a Catholic, was confirmed by a Vatican news release an hour before the baptism.

Why would the Pope make such a public display of baptizing a converted Muslim? Because this wasn't just any Muslim. It appears the Pope's decision was calculated to send a message to all Muslims, not just OBL:

The conversion of Allam to Christianity -- he took the name "Christian" for his baptism -- was kept secret until the Vatican disclosed it in a statement less than an hour before it began.

Writing in Sunday's edition of the leading Corriere della Sera, the newspaper of which he is a deputy director, Allam said: "... the root of evil is innate in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual."

Allam, who is a strong supporter of Israel and who an Israeli newspaper once called a "Muslim Zionist," has lived under police protection following threats against him, particularly after he criticized Iran's position on Israel.

Should we next expect John McCain, who seeks out religious leaders opposed to all Muslims, to seek the Pope's endorsement?