Quran
Quran (2:191-193) - "And kill them wherever
you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And
Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing...
but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and
merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and
worshipping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone. But if
they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zalimun(the
polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.)" (Translation is from the Noble Quran)
The verse prior to this (190) refers to "fighting for the cause of Allah
those who fight you" leading some to believe that the entire passage refers
to a defensive war in which Muslims are defending their homes and families. The
historical context of this passage is not defensive warfare, however, since
Muhammad and his Muslims had just relocated to Medina and were not under attack
by their Meccan adversaries. In fact, the verses urge offensive warfare, in
that Muslims are to drive Meccans out of their own city (which they later did).
Verse 190 thus means to fight those who offer resistance to Allah's rule (ie.
Muslim conquest). The use of the word "persecution" by some Muslim
translators is disingenuous (the actual Arabic words for persecution -
"idtihad" - and oppression - a variation of "z-l-m" - do
not appear in the verse). The word used instead, "fitna", can mean
disbelief, or the disorder that results from unbelief or temptation. This is
certainly what is meant in this context since the violence is explicitly
commissioned "until religion is for Allah" - ie. unbelievers desist
in their unbelief.
Quran (2:244) - "Then fight in the cause of
Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things."
Quran (2:216) - "Fighting is prescribed for
you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is
good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth,
and ye know not." Not only does this verse establish that violence can be
virtuous, but it also contradicts the myth that fighting is intended only in
self-defense, since the audience was obviously not under attack at the time.
From the Hadith, we know that this verse was narrated at a time that Muhammad
was actually trying to motivate his people into raiding merchant caravans for
loot.
Quran (3:56) - "As to those who reject faith,
I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor
will they have anyone to help."
Quran (3:151) - "Soon shall We cast terror
into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah,
for which He had sent no authority". This speaks directly of polytheists,
yet it also includes Christians, since they believe in the Trinity (ie. what
Muhammad incorrectly believed to be 'joining companions to Allah').
Quran (4:74) - "Let those fight in the way of
Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way
of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast
reward." The martyrs of Islam are unlike the early Christians, who were
led meekly to the slaughter. These Muslims are killed in battle as they attempt
to inflict death and destruction for the cause of Allah. This is the
theological basis for today's suicide bombers.
Quran (4:76) - "Those who believe fight in the
cause of Allah…"
Quran (4:89) - "They but wish that ye should
reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take
not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is
forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye
find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks."
Quran (4:95) - "Not equal are those of the
believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled (by injury or are
blind or lame, etc.), and those who strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah
with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred in grades those who
strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives above those who sit (at
home).Unto each, Allah has promised good (Paradise), but Allah has preferred
those who strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home) by a huge reward
" This passage criticizes "peaceful" Muslims who do not join in
the violence, letting them know that they are less worthy in Allah's eyes. It
also demolishes the modern myth that "Jihad" doesn't mean holy war in
the Quran, but rather a spiritual struggle. Not only is this Arabic word
(mujahiduna) used in this passage, but it is clearly not referring to anything
spiritual, since the physically disabled are given exemption. (The Hadith
reveals the context of the passage to be in response to a blind man's protest
that he is unable to engage in Jihad, which would not make sense if it meant an
internal struggle).
Quran (4:104) - "And be not weak hearted in
pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as
you suffer pain..." Is pursuing an injured and retreating enemy really an
act of self-defense?
Quran (5:33) - "The punishment of those who
wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the
land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and
their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned;
this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they
shall have a grievous chastisement"
Quran (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the
hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off
every fingertip of them" No reasonable person would interpret this to mean
a spiritual struggle.
Quran (8:15) - "O ye who believe! When ye meet
those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. (16)Whoso on that
day turneth his back to them, unless maneuvering for battle or intent to join a
company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be
hell, a hapless journey's end."
Quran (8:39) - "And fight with them until
there is no more fitna (disorder, unbelief) and religion is all for Allah"
Some translations interpret "fitna" as "persecution", but
the traditional understanding of this word is not supported by the historical
context (See notes for 2:193). The Meccans were simply refusing Muhammad access
to their city during Haj. Other Muslims were allowed to travel there - just not
as an armed group, since Muhammad had declared war on Mecca prior to his
eviction. The Meccans were also acting in defense of their religion, since it
was Muhammad's intention to destroy their idols and establish Islam by force
(which he later did). Hence the critical part of this verse is to fight until
"religion is only for Allah", meaning that the true justification of
violence was the unbelief of the opposition. According to the Sira (Ibn
Ishaq/Hisham 324) Muhammad further explains that "Allah must have no rivals."
Quran (8:57) - "If thou comest on them in the
war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that
haply they may remember."
Quran (8:67) - "It is not for a Prophet that
he should have prisoners of war until he had made a great slaughter in the
land..."
Quran (8:59-60) - "And let not those who
disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah's Purpose). Lo! they cannot
escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses
tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy."
Quran (8:65) - "O Prophet, exhort the
believers to fight..."
Quran (9:5) - "So when the sacred months have
passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them
captive and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they
repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to
them." According to this verse, the best way of staying safe from Muslim
violence is to convert to Islam (prayer (salat) and the poor tax (zakat) are among
the religion's Five Pillars). This popular claim that the Quran only inspires
violence within the context of self-defense is seriously challenged by this
passage as well, since the Muslims to whom it was written were obviously not
under attack. Had they been, then there would have been no waiting period
(earlier verses make it a duty for Muslims to fight in self-defense, even
during the sacred months). The historical context is Mecca after the idolaters
were subjugated by Muhammad and posed no threat. Once the Muslims had power,
they violently evicted those unbelievers who would not convert.
Quran (9:14) - "Fight against them so that
Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory
over them and heal the breasts of a believing people." Humiliating and
hurting non-believers not only has the blessing of Allah, but it is ordered as
a means of carrying out his punishment and even "healing" the hearts
of Muslims.
Quran (9:20) - "Those who believe, and have
left their homes and striven with their wealth and their lives in Allah's way
are of much greater worth in Allah's sight. These are they who are
triumphant." The Arabic word interpreted as "striving" in this
verse is the same root as "Jihad". The context is obviously holy war.
Quran (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in
Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by
Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they
are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing
submission, and feel themselves subdued." "People of the Book"
refers to Christians and Jews. According to this verse, they are to be
violently subjugated, with the sole justification being their religious status.
Verse 9:33 tells Muslims that Allah has charted them to make Islam
"superior over all religions." This chapter was one of the final
"revelations" from Allah and it set in motion the tenacious military
expansion, in which Muhammad's companions managed to conquer two-thirds of the
Christian world in the next 100 years. Islam is intended to dominate all other
people and faiths.
Quran (9:30) - "And the Jews say: Ezra is the
son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these
are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved
before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!"
Quran (9:38-39) - "O ye who believe! what is
the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah,
ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the
Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the
Hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and
put others in your place." This is a warning to those who refuse to fight,
that they will be punished with Hell.
Quran (9:41) - "Go forth, light-armed and
heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah!
That is best for you if ye but knew." See also the verse that follows
(9:42) - "If there had been immediate gain (in sight), and the journey
easy, they would (all) without doubt have followed thee, but the distance was
long, (and weighed) on them" This contradicts the myth that Muslims are to
fight only in self-defense, since the wording implies that battle will be waged
a long distance from home (in another country and on Christian soil, in this
case, according to the historians).
Quran (9:73) - "O Prophet! strive hard against
the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode
is hell, and evil is the destination." Dehumanizing those who reject Islam,
by reminding Muslims that unbelievers are merely firewood for Hell, makes it
easier to justify slaughter. It also explains why today's devout Muslims have
little regard for those outside the faith.
Quran (9:88) - "But the Messenger, and those
who believe with him, strive and fight with their wealth and their persons: for
them are (all) good things: and it is they who will prosper."
Quran (9:111) - "Allah hath purchased of the
believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden
(of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise
binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Quran: and who is
more faithful to his covenant than Allah? then rejoice in the bargain which ye
have concluded: that is the achievement supreme." How does the Quran
define a true believer?
Quran (9:123) - "O you who believe! fight
those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you
hardness."
Quran (17:16) - "And when We wish to destroy a
town, We send Our commandment to the people of it who lead easy lives, but they
transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with
utter destruction." Note that the crime is moral transgression, and the
punishment is "utter destruction." (Before ordering the 9/11 attacks,
Osama bin Laden first issued Americans an invitation to Islam).
Quran (18:65-81) - This parable lays the
theological groundwork for honor killings, in which a family member is murdered
because they brought shame to the family, either through apostasy or perceived
moral indiscretion. The story (which is not found in any Jewish or Christian
source) tells of Moses encountering a man with "special knowledge"
who does things which don't seem to make sense on the surface, but are then
justified according to later explanation. One such action is to murder a youth
for no apparent reason (74). However, the wise man later explains that it was
feared that the boy would "grieve" his parents by "disobedience
and ingratitude." He was killed so that Allah could provide them a
'better' son. (Note: This is one reason why honor killing is sanctioned by
Sharia. Reliance of the Traveler (Umdat al-Saliq) says that punishment for
murder is not applicable when a parent or grandparent kills their offspring
(o.1.1-2).)
Quran (21:44) - "We gave the good things of
this life to these men and their fathers until the period grew long for them;
See they not that We gradually reduce the land (in their control) from its
outlying borders? Is it then they who will win?"
Quran (25:52) - "Therefore listen not to the
Unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness..."
"Strive against" is Jihad - obviously not in the personal context.
It's also significant to point out that this is a Meccan verse.
Quran (33:60-62) - "If the hypocrites, and
those in whose hearts is a disease, and the alarmists in the city do not cease,
We verily shall urge thee on against them, then they will be your neighbors in
it but a little while. Accursed, they will be seized wherever found and slain
with a (fierce) slaughter." This passage sanctions the slaughter (rendered
"merciless" and "horrible murder" in other translations)
against three groups: Hypocrites (Muslims who refuse to "fight in the way
of Allah" (3:167) and hence don't act as Muslims should), those with
"diseased hearts" (which include Jews and Christians 5:51-52), and
"alarmists" or "agitators who include those who merely speak out
against Islam, according to Muhammad's biographers. It is worth noting that the
victims are to be sought out by Muslims, which is what today's terrorists do.
If this passage is meant merely to apply to the city of Medina, then it is
unclear why it is included in Allah's eternal word to Muslim generations.
Quran (47:3-4) - "Those who disbelieve follow
falsehood, while those who believe follow the truth from their Lord... So, when
you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah's Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their
necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond
firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives)... If it had been Allah's Will, He
Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you
fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the
Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost." Those who reject
Allah are to be killed in Jihad. The wounded are to be held captive for ransom.
The only reason Allah doesn't do the dirty work himself is to to test the
faithfulness of Muslims. Those who kill pass the test.
Quran (47:35) - "Be not weary and
faint-hearted, crying for peace, when ye should be uppermost (Shakir:
"have the upper hand") for Allah is with you,"
Quran (48:17) - "There is no blame for the
blind, nor is there blame for the lame, nor is there blame for the sick (that
they go not forth to war). And whoso obeyeth Allah and His messenger, He will
make him enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow; and whoso turneth back,
him will He punish with a painful doom." Contemporary apologists sometimes
claim that Jihad means 'spiritual struggle.' Is so, then why are the blind,
lame and sick exempted? This verse also says that those who do not fight will suffer
torment in hell.
Quran (48:29) - "Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah. And those with him are hard (ruthless) against the disbelievers and
merciful among themselves" Islam is not about treating everyone equally.
This verse tells Muslims that there are two very distinct standards that are
applied based on religious status. Also the word used for 'hard' or 'ruthless'
in this verse shares the same root as the word translated as 'painful' or
severe' to describe Hell in over 25 other verses including 65:10, 40:46 and
50:26..
Quran (61:4) - "Surely Allah loves those who
fight in His way" Religion of Peace, indeed! The verse explicitly refers to "battle
array" meaning that it is speaking of physical conflict. This is followed
by (61:9): "He it is who has sent His Messenger (Mohammed) with guidance
and the religion of truth (Islam) to make it victorious over all religions even
though the infidels may resist." (See next verse, below). Infidels who
resist Islamic rule are to be fought.
Quran (61:10-12) - "O You who believe! Shall I
guide you to a commerce that will save you from a painful torment. That you
believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), and that you strive hard and
fight in the Cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives, that will be
better for you, if you but know! (If you do so) He will forgive you your sins,
and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwelling in
Gardens of'Adn- Eternity ['Adn(Edn) Paradise], that is indeed the great
success." This verse refers to physical battle in order to make Islam
victorious over other religions (see above). It uses the Arabic word, Jihad.
Quran (66:9) - "O Prophet! Strive against the
disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their
home, a hapless journey's end." The root word of "Jihad" is used
again here. The context is clearly holy war, and the scope of violence is
broadened to include "hypocrites" - those who call themselves Muslims
but do not act as such. Other verses calling Muslims to Jihad can be found here
at AnsweringIslam.org
Hadith and Sira
Bukhari (52:177) - Allah's Apostle said, "The
Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone
behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew
hiding behind me, so kill him."
Bukhari (52:256) - The Prophet... was asked whether
it was permissible to attack the pagan warriors at night with the probability
of exposing their women and children to danger. The Prophet replied, "They
(i.e. women and children) are from them (i.e. pagans)." In this command,
Muhammad establishes that it is permissible to kill non-combatants in the
process of killing a perceived enemy. This provides justification for the many
Islamic terror bombings.
Bukhari (52:65) - The Prophet said, 'He who fights
that Allah's Word, Islam, should be superior, fights in Allah's Cause.
Muhammad's words are the basis for offensive Jihad - spreading Islam by force.
This is how it was understood by his companions, and by the terrorists of
today.
Bukhari (52:220) - Allah's Apostle said... 'I have
been made victorious with terror'
Abu Dawud (14:2526) - The Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) said: Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from
(killing) a person who utters, "There is no god but Allah" and not to
declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to excommunicate him
from Islam for his any action; and jihad will be performed continuously since
the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my
community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist)
Abu Dawud (14:2527) - The Prophet said: Striving in
the path of Allah (jihad) is incumbent on you along with every ruler, whether
he is pious or impious
Muslim (1:33) - the Messenger of Allah said: I have
been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god
but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
Bukhari (8:387) - Allah's Apostle said, "I
have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be
worshipped but Allah'. And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our
Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be
sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally."
Muslim (1:30) - "The Messenger of Allah said:
I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare
that there is no god but Allah."
Bukhari (52:73) - "Allah's Apostle said, 'Know
that Paradise is under the shades of swords'."
Bukhari (11:626) - [Muhammad said:] "I decided
to order a man to lead the prayer and then take a flame to burn all those, who
had not left their houses for the prayer, burning them alive inside their
homes."
Muslim (1:149) - "Abu Dharr reported: I said:
Messenger of Allah, which of the deeds is the best? He (the Holy Prophet)
replied: Belief in Allah and Jihad in His cause..."
Muslim (20:4645) - "...He (the Messenger of
Allah) did that and said: There is another act which elevates the position of a
man in Paradise to a grade one hundred (higher), and the elevation between one
grade and the other is equal to the height of the heaven from the earth. He
(Abu Sa'id) said: What is that act? He replied: Jihad in the way of Allah!
Jihad in the way of Allah!"
Muslim (20:4696) - "the Messenger of Allah
(may peace be upon him) said: 'One who died but did not fight in the way of
Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihad died the death
of a hypocrite.'"
Muslim (19:4321-4323) - Three separate hadith in
which Muhammad shrugs over the news that innocent children were killed in a
raid by his men against unbelievers. His response: "They are of them
(meaning the enemy)."
Muslim (19:4294) - "When the Messenger of
Allah (may peace be upon him) appointed anyone as leader of an army or
detachment he would especially exhort him... He would say: Fight in the name of
Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah.
Make a holy war... When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them
to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also
accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to
(accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from
fighting against them... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the
Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If
they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them."
Muslim (31:5917) - "Ali went a bit and then
halted and did not look about and then said in a loud voice: 'Allah's
Messenger, on what issue should I fight with the people?' Thereupon he (the
Prophet) said: 'Fight with them until they bear testimony to the fact that
there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger'." The pretext for
attacking the peaceful farming community of Khaibar was not obvious to the
Muslims. Muhammad's son-in-law Ali asked the prophet of Islam to clarify the
reason for their mission to kill, loot and enslave. Muhammad's reply was straightforward.
The people should be fought because they are not Muslim.
Muslim (31:5918) - "I will fight them until
they are like us." Ali's reply to Muhammad, after receiving clarification
that the pretext for attack Khaibar was to convert the people (see above
verse).
Bukhari 1:35 "The person who participates in
(Holy Battles) in Allah’s cause and nothing compels him do so except belief in
Allah and His Apostle, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or
booty ( if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise ( if he is
killed)."
Tabari 7:97 The morning after the murder of Ashraf,
the Prophet declared, "Kill any Jew who falls under your power."
Ashraf was a poet, killed by Muhammad's men because he insulted Islam. Here,
Muhammad widens the scope of his orders to kill. An innocent Jewish businessman
was then slain by his Muslim partner, merely for being non-Muslim.
Tabari 9:69 "Killing Unbelievers is a small
matter to us" The words of Muhammad, prophet of Islam.
Tabari 17:187 "'By God, our religion (din)
from which we have departed is better and more correct than that which these
people follow. Their religion does not stop them from shedding blood,
terrifying the roads, and seizing properties.' And they returned to their
former religion." The words of a group of Christians who had converted to
Islam, but realized their error after being shocked by the violence and looting
committed in the name of Allah. The price of their decision to return to a
religion of peace was that the men were beheaded and the woman and children
enslaved by the caliph Ali.
Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 484: - “Allah said, ‘A prophet
must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from
the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the
ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the
religion.’”
Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 990:- Lest anyone think that
cutting off someone's head while screaming 'Allah Akbar!' is a modern creation,
here is an account of that very practice under Muhammad, who seems to approve.
Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 992: - "Fight everyone in the
way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in Allah." Muhammad's
instructions to his men prior to a military raid.
Saifur Rahman, The Sealed Nectar p.227-228 -
"Embrace Islam... If you two accept Islam, you will remain in command of
your country; but if your refuse my Call, you’ve got to remember that all of
your possessions are perishable. My horsemen will appropriate your land, and my
Prophethood will assume preponderance over your kingship." One of several
letters from Muhammad to rulers of other countries. The significance is that
the recipients were not making war or threatening Muslims. Their subsequent
defeat and subjugation by Muhammad's armies was justified merely on the basis
of their unbelief.
Notes
Other than the fact that Muslims haven't killed
every non-Muslim under their domain, there is very little else that they can
point to as proof that theirs is a peaceful, tolerant religion. Where Islam is
dominant (as in the Middle East and Pakistan) religious minorities suffer
brutal persecution with little resistance. Where Islam is in the minority (as
in Thailand, the Philippines and Europe) there is the threat of violence if
Muslim demands are not met. Either situation seems to provide a justification
for religious terrorism, which is persistent and endemic to Islamic
fundamentalism.
The reasons are obvious and begin with the Quran.
Few verses of Islam's most sacred text can be construed to fit the contemporary
virtues of religious tolerance and universal brotherhood. Those that do are
earlier "Meccan" verses which are obviously abrogated by later ones.
The example of Muhammad is that Islam is a religion of peace when Muslims do
not have the power and numbers on their side. Once they do, things change.
Many Muslims are peaceful and do not want to
believe what the Quran really says. They prefer a more narrow interpretation
that is closer to the Judeo-Christian ethic. Some just ignore harsher passages.
Others reach for "textual context" across different suras to subjectively
mitigate these verses with others so that the message fits their personal moral
preference. Although the Quran itself claims to be clear and complete, these
apologists speak of the "risks" of trying to interpret verses without
their "assistance."
The violent verses of the Quran have played a key
role in very real massacre and genocide. This includes the brutal slaughter of
tens of millions of Hindus for five centuries beginning around 1000 AD with
Mahmud of Ghazni's bloody conquest. Both he and the later Tamerlane (Islam's
Genghis Khan) slaughtered an untold number merely for defending their temples
from destruction. Buddhism was very nearly wiped off the Indian subcontinent.
Judaism and Christianity met the same fate (albeit more slowly) in areas conquered
by Muslim armies, including the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe,
including today's Turkey. Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of a proud
Persian people is despised by Muslims and barely survives in modern Iran.
Violence is so ingrained in Islam that it has never
really stopped being at war, either with other religions or with itself.
Muhammad was a military leader, laying siege to
towns, massacring the men, raping their women, enslaving their children, and
taking the property of others as his own. On several occasions he rejected
offers of surrender from the besieged inhabitants and even butchered captives.
He inspired his followers to battle when they did not feel it was right to
fight, promising them slaves and booty if they did and threatening them with
Hell if they did not. Muhammad allowed his men to rape traumatized women
captured in battle, usually on the very day their husbands and family members
were slaughtered.
It is important to emphasize that, for the most
part, Muslim armies waged aggressive campaigns, and the religion's most
dramatic military conquests were made by the actual companions of Muhammad in
the decades following his death.
The early Islamic principle of warfare was that the
civilian population of a town was to be destroyed (ie. men executed, women and
children taken as slaves) if they defended themselves and resisted Islamic
hegemony. Although modern apologists often claim that Muslims are only supposed
to "attack in self-defense", this oxymoron is flatly contradicted by
the accounts of Islamic historians and others that go back to the time of
Muhammad.
Some modern-day scholars are more candid than
others. One of the most respected Sunni theologians is al-Qaradawi, who
justifies terror attacks against Western targets by noting that there is no
such thing as a civilian population in a time of war:
"It has been determined by Islamic law that
the blood and property of people of Dar Al—Harb [ie. non-Muslim people who
resist Islamic conquest] is not protected... In modern war, all of society,
with all its classes and ethnic groups, is mobilized to participate in the war,
to aid its continuation, and to provide it with the material and human fuel
required for it to assure the victory of the state fighting its enemies. Every
citizen in society must take upon himself a role in the effort to provide for
the battle. The entire domestic front, including professionals, laborers, and
industrialists, stands behind the fighting army, even if it does not bear
arms."
Consider the example of the Qurayza Jews, who were
completely obliterated only five years after Muhammad arrived in Medina. Their
leader opted to stay neutral when their town was besieged by a Meccan army that
was sent to take revenge for Muhammad's deadly caravan raids. The tribe killed
no one from either side and even surrendered peacefully to Muhammad after the
Meccans had been turned back. Yet the prophet of Islam had every male member of
the Qurayza beheaded, and every woman and child enslaved, even raping one of
the captives himself (what Muslim apologists might refer to as "same day
marriage").
One of Islam's most revered modern scholars, Sheikh
Yusuf al-Qaradawi, openly sanctions offensive Jihad: "In the Jihad which
you are seeking, you look for the enemy and invade him. This type of Jihad
takes place only when the Islamic state is invading other [countries] in order
to spread the word of Islam and to remove obstacles standing in its way."
Elsewhere, he notes: "Islam has the right to take the initiative…this is
God’s religion and it is for the whole world. It has the right to destroy all
obstacles in the form of institutions and traditions … it attacks institutions
and traditions to release human beings from their poisonous influences, which
distort human nature and curtail human freedom. Those who say that Islamic
Jihad was merely for the defense of the 'homeland of Islam' diminish the
greatness of the Islamic way of life."
The widely respected Dictionary of Islam defines
Jihad as "A religious war with those who are unbelievers in the mission of
Muhammad. It is an incumbent religious duty, established in the Quran and in
the Traditions as a divine institution, and enjoined specially for the purpose
of advancing Islam and of repelling evil from Muslims…[Quoting from the Hanafi
school, Hedaya, 2:140, 141.], "The destruction of the sword is incurred by
infidels, although they be not the first aggressors, as appears from various
passages in the traditions which are generally received to this effect."
Dr. Salah al-Sawy, the chief member of the Assembly
of Muslim Jurists in America, stated in 2009 that "the Islamic community
does not possess the strength to engage in offensive jihad at this time,"
tacitly affirming the legitimacy of violence for the cause of Islamic rule -
bound only by the capacity for success. (source)
Muhammad's failure to leave a clear line of
succession resulted in perpetual internal war following his death. Those who
knew him best first fought afterwards to keep remote tribes from leaving Islam
and reverting to their preferred religion (the Ridda or 'Apostasy wars'). Then
the violence turned within. Early Meccan converts battled later ones as
hostility developed between those immigrants who had traveled with Muhammad to
Mecca and the Ansar at Medina who had helped them settle in. Finally there was
a violent struggle within Muhammad's own family between his favorite wife and
favorite daughter - a jagged schism that has left Shias and Sunnis at each
others' throats to this day.
The strangest and most untrue thing that can be
said about Islam is that it is a Religion of Peace. If every standard by which
the West is judged and condemned (slavery, imperialism, intolerance, misogyny,
sexual repression, warfare...) were applied equally to Islam, the verdict would
be devastating. Islam never gives up what it conquers, be it religion, culture,
language or life. Neither does it make apologies or any real effort at moral
progress. It is the least open to dialogue and the most self-absorbed. It is
convinced of its own perfection, yet brutally shuns self-examination and
represses criticism.
This is what makes the Quran's verses of violence
so dangerous. They are given the weight of divine command. While Muslim
terrorists take them as literally as anything else in their holy book, and
understand that Islam is incomplete without Jihad, moderates offer little to
contradict them - outside of personal opinion. Indeed, what do they have?
Speaking of peace and love may win over the ignorant, but when every twelfth
verse of Islam's holiest book either speaks to Allah's hatred for non-Muslims
or calls for their death, forced conversion, or subjugation, it's little wonder
that sympathy for terrorism runs as deeply as it does in the broader community
- even if most Muslims personally prefer not to interpret their religion in
this way.
Although scholars like Ibn Khaldun, one of Islam's
most respected philosophers, understood that "the holy war is a religious
duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and (the obligation to)
convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force", many other
Muslims are either unaware or willfully ignorant of the Quran's near absence of
verses that preach universal non-violence. Their understanding of Islam comes
from what they are taught by others. In the West, it is typical for believers
to think that their religion must be like Christianity - preaching the New
Testament virtues of peace, love, and tolerance - because Muslims are taught
that Islam is supposed to be superior in every way. They are somewhat surprised
and embarrassed to find that this is contradicted by the Quran and the bloody
history of Islam's genesis.
Others simply accept the violence. In 1991, a
Palestinian couple in America was convicted of stabbing their daughter to death
for being too Westernized. A family friend came to their defense, excoriating
the jury for not understanding the "culture", claiming that the
father was merely following "the religion" and saying that the couple
had to "discipline their daughter or lose respect." (source). In
2011, unrepentant Palestinian terrorists, responsible for the brutal murders of
civilians, women and children explicitly in the name of Allah were treated to a
luxurious "holy pilgrimage" to Mecca by the Saudi king - without a
single Muslim voice raised in protest.
The most prestigious Islamic university in the
world today is Cairo's al-Azhar. While
the university is very quick to condemn secular Muslims who critique the
religion, it has never condemned ISIS as a group of infidels despite horrific
carnage in the name of Allah. When asked
why, the university's Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb explained: " Al Azhar
cannot accuse any [Muslim] of being a kafir [infidel], as long as he believes
in Allah and the Last Day—even if he commits every atrocity."
For their part, Western liberals would do well not
to sacrifice critical thinking to the god of political correctness, or look for
reasons to bring other religion down to the level of Islam merely to avoid the
existential truth that this it is both different and dangerous.
There are just too many Muslims who take the Quran
literally... and too many others who couldn't care less about the violence done
in the name of Islam.
