On his visit today to the King Hussein bin Talal Mosque in Jordan, Benedict XVI returned to the subject of his controversial Regensburg address: the importance of reason for Christian-Islamic dialogue.It's quintessential Benedict: to choose what most will see as an esoteric topic--reason--rather than something in the realm of ethics or social justice, as the place where he wants to generate dialogue.I happen to think he's right: reason's relationship to faith is the root issue. Given the rich tradition of Islamic scholarship, it ought to be something that both sides can build upon.One can plausibly maintain that to speak of reason is to implicitly speak about peace.But I have to confess that when I encounter the Pope addressing the world in this way I have a twinge of almost embarrassed tenderness for his seemingly Quixotic approach to things.We talk about dialogue a great deal. Well, here's an offer.Will anyone--Islamic or otherwise--take up Benedict's offer to reason together?It won't work if we leave the Pope out there out on a limb.