Does The Qur'an Preach Violence?


Ingrid Mattson, the president of the Islamic Society of North America, once asked this question about Islamic terrorism: "How could those who follow uhammad reject his explicit teachings on this topic?"
What does she mean by that? Isn't the Qur'an all about violence, all about converting the infidels by the sword, all about stoning women and killing in the name of Allah?
That's certainly an opinion one hears a lot of these days. But let's look at what the Qur'an actually says.
To begin with, what about Islam's lack of religious tolerance? What about forced conversions? In fact, all Islamic jurists, without exception, have held throughout history that any attempt at coercing a non-believer to accept the faith of Islam is a grievous sin. This quote from Chapter 2 could not be any clearer: There is no compulsion in matters of Religion.
The Quran clearly allows Muslims to fight against people who have attacked them or oppressed them - and by the way, the battles that are described in the Qur'an are not being fought against Christians, or Jews: they're defensive wars against other Arabs who resented Mohammad because they didn't want to give up their various Idols, and they didn't like the way his preaching was annoying the pilgrims who came to Mecca and made them rich. So Muslims were allowed to fight back when attacked, but in Chapter 60 it says, God does not forbid you to be kind and equitable to those who have neither fought against your faith nor driven you out of your homes. In fact, God loves the equitable.
And as far as Jews and Christians and other peoples are concerned, in Chapter 49 God says, We have... made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know each other and to honor each other, not so that you should despise each other.
But wait, you say, what about Chapter 2, Verse 190. Doesn't it say Kill them wherever you encounter them?
Yes, it does.
But contrary to the wild imaginings of frightened westerners, and the lunatic fringe of Islamic terrorists, this verse is not condoning slaughter.
Consider this analogy. Suppose a police captain in a hostage situation tells his officers, "If these gunmen start shooting hostages, and the only way to stop them is to kill them all, then that's what we'll have to do. But don't start shooting unless you are commanded to do so. Let the negotiators try to settle this peacefully."
But what do the newspapers report? Enraged Police Captain says 'Kill Them All!'
Yes, a verse in the Qur'an says Kill them wherever you encounter them. But this was said in the context of one particular battle. And the immediately preceding verse says, And fight in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression - for verily, God does not love aggressors. And the immediately following verse says, If they desist, God is much forgiving: If they desist, then all hostilities shall cease.
In fact, every Qur'anic reference to fighting in a war is qualified by some moral condition of restraint: Muslims are commanded not to commit injustice, they are not to use violence disproportionate to that which threatens them, and they are not to use violence at all when credible avenues to peace are available.
I don't think it could be any clearer that terrorists and fear-mongers have twisted this for their own agendas. Ms. Mattson is right: Muhammad and the Qur'an explicitly reject terrorist violence.
Andrew Cort is the author of "THE AMERICAN PSYCHE IN SEARCH OF ITS SOUL: Freedom, Equality, and the Restoration of Meaning" ( http://www.MeaningInAmerica.com ). He is a strong advocate for the return of Civility, Cooperation, and Maturity to our politics and national life, and so, although he considers himself a Liberal, the Foreword to his book was written by the well-known Conservative author and commentator, George Gilder. Find out more and pick up your Paperback or Kindle today at the above link.