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What Does Islam Teach? Is President Obama Correct that Islam is not the Problem?

September 11, 2010 at 4:00 PM 3 comments

What does the Qur'an teach?

There are likely those who will read these blogs and believe as one Muslim indicated to me that I hate Muslims, that my blogs are filled with hatred toward them.  Once someone believes something like that, it is very difficult if not impossible to help them see the truth.  The truth of the matter is that I do NOT hate Muslims.  In fact, I cannot think of any individual person, or group I hate.  I might become angered at someone’s actions from time to time, but that still does not equate to hating them.

When you hate someone, you want the worst possible punishment for them.  I want nothing of the sort.  I would like everyone – Muslims, atheists, agnostics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and the rest – all come to know the biblical Jesus Christ as Savior.  Unfortunately, based on Jesus’ own words, many will choose the wide path that leads to destruction (cf. Matthew 7:14).  Probably some listening to His announcement hated Him for it, however, He was either stating the truth, or a lie.  If He was stating the truth, that does not mean that He wanted anyone to choose the wide path.  He simply knew that – sadly – many would do so.

I do not hate Muslims.  What I hate is what Islam perpetuates.  If this was seen in only a few individuals here and there, it could easily be chalked up to a few individuals with screws loose.  Every religion has them, but because they are only few and far between, most intelligent people do not make the mistake of believing that these aberrant individuals are the norm, or that they represent that particular religion.  We have had individuals who have killed abortion doctors, or blown up their clinics because they believed God told them to do so.  They also state that they are Christians.  It can’t be.  Their actions are completely incompatible with the tenets of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Most are able to acknowledge that.

The problem though is when there are large groups of people within a religion or sect and they do things that they say are based on Islam (in this case), and their actions cause pain, destruction, and even the death of innocent individuals.  Within Islam, there are a number of branches and the one we hear about most of the time are the radical Muslims, who vent their frustrations and hostitilies by killing in the name of Islam, and for Allah.  Yet, we also hear that Islam is a religion of peace and there are obviously plenty of Muslims who attempt to live peacefully.  They are not the problem.  The problem are those radical, extremist, jihadist Muslims who based their actions on the Qur’an.  They are the problem because of what they cause.

In order to identify whether they are correct or not, or whether they can even come away from the Qur’an with the teachings that give them permission to kill other people, we obviously must go to the source, which in this case, is the Qur’an.  The Hadith are also a good resource because of their commentary on the Qur’an.  As I mentioned a few blogs ago, I wanted to take some time to determine exactly what the Qur’an teaches and if it is possible for Muslims to come away from it with a sense that everyone who is not Muslim is their enemy and if they do not convert, they must die.

What Does the Qur’an Teach?
For those unaware, the Qur’an is made up of 114 Surah (sections).  At least in some respects, the Qur’an (or parts of it) reads like the book of Proverbs, because of the way many comments are presented as saying.  There are also narratives within the Qur’an as well.  The Qur’an I have in my library and have read is translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Third Edition, 1998).

Because there is so much strife where radical Muslims are concerned and the rest of the world, the subject I want to cover today is what the Qur’an states about how Muslims should interact with non-Muslims.  First, it should be noted that the Qur’an explicitly states that Jews and Christians are an unjust people.

On Unbelievers:
Surah 5:51:  “O you who believe!  take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other.  And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them.  Verily Allah guides not a people unjust.”  In fact, Surah 5 contains a good amount of statements made directly to the “people of the book” (Jews and Christians) for their alleged blasphemy and rebellion.

A  good deal of this thinking comes from what the Qur’an states about Christians and Jews.  The Qur’an seems to hold nothing back because Christians state that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  “The Jews call ‘Uzair a son of Allah, and thet Christians call Christ the Son of Allah.  That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the Unbelievers of old used to say.  Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!” (Surah 9:30).  The entire Surah 9 is replete with denouncements  of Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son.  The mispresentation of the Trinity is also prevalent in just this section of the Qur’an alone.

The Qur’an teaches Muslims to “not to make friendship with Jews and Christians” (Surah 5:51), that Muslims should fight them “until they pay the Jizya (a penalty tax for the non-Muslims living under Islamic rules) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (Surah 9:29). Furthermore, Muslims are taught in the Qur’an to “kill the disbelievers wherever we find them” (Surah 2:191), and “murder them and treat them harshly” (Surah 9:123).  Ultimately, the Qur’an teaches Muslims to “fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem” (Surah 9:5).

Like the Bible, the Qur’an teaches that all unbelievers (in Islam) will end up in hell (Surah 5:10).  The Qur’an does not stop there though.  It teaches that all who are not of Islam are najis (filthy, untouchable, impure; Surah 9:28), and the Qur’an gives direct orders to war against the unbelievers until no other religion except Islam is left (Surah 2:193).

The Qur’an prohibits a Muslim to even make friends with a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (Surah 3:28; 9:23).  

The Qur’an also teaches that not only will non-believers be sent to hell, but they “will drink boiling water” (Surah 14:17). Muslims are expected to “slay or crucify or cut the hands and feet of the unbelievers, that they be expelled from the land with disgrace and that they shall have great punishment in the world hereafter” (Surah 5:34). The Qur’an teaches that “those who invoke a god other than Allah not only should meet punishment in this world but the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to them, and they will dwell therein in ignominy” (Surah 25:68). For those who “believe not in Allah and His Messenger, He has prepared, for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!” (Surah 48:13).

The Qur’an instructs Muslims how to deal with infidels as the norm.  “As for him who does not believe in Islam the Prophet says that after he dies it will be announced with a “stern command”: “Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits! This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High. And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! So no friend hath he here this Day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds, Which none do eat but those in sin.” (Surah 69:30-37)

On Jihad:
Jihad is a big one and it is the main area in which Muslims disagree.  While there are many Muslims who see Jihad as an “inner struggle,” many other Muslims see Jihad as a physical war between Islam and the rest of the world.  Reading the Qur’an seems to bear this latter view out.  There seems to be little question that Jihad is mandatory.  Allah warns Muslims that “Unless [they] go forth, (for Jihad) He will punish [them] with a grievous penalty, and put others in our place” (Surah 9:39). In speaking to Muhammad, Allah says “O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be stern against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge indeed” (Surah 9:73).

Allah promises the reward of the garden of Paradise is for all those who fight for His cause, and it does not matter if the Muslim is himself killed or whether he kills others (Surah 9:111). Life after this life for Muslims who have taken their calling to enter into Jihad against non-believers seriously, they will “wed [them] with Houris (celestial virgins) pure beautiful ones” (Surah 56:54), and even describes for us that these virgins are “large-eyed beautiful ones while we recline on our thrones set in lines” (Surah 56:20). Muslims are promised “to eat and drink pleasantly for what [they] did” while here on this planet (Surah 56:19). Part of the “rewards” of the afterlife will include sex with “boys like hidden pearls” (Surah 56:24) and “youth never altering in age like scattered pearls” (Surah 76:19).

While someone may become upset with the way I have listed verses from the Qur’an, the reality is that often, many verses (like Provers) have little context.  The entire context might loosely be about the subject of jihad, or repentance and in that way, verses are grouped together under the same heading.  The reality is that unlike the historical narrative of the Bible, in which we can read about King Saul’s or King David’s war campaigns, and understand comments and directives within that setting, this does not exist throughout the Qur’an.  In many cases, these sayings speak for themselves.

Islam has never officially changed its understanding or view on jihad for instance.  Who then is correct, the moderate or radical Muslim?  The reality is that the radical Muslim is basing their actions directly on the Qur’an and living their lives within the framework of that context.  While it can be argued that these radicals have misunderstood Jihad, the fact remains that the statements made in the Qur’an often speak for themselves.  In fact, it can be argued that the Muslims who are more moderate and who choose to understand jihad as an inner struggle, these Muslims could easily be taking things allegorically, as opposed to literally.

The truth remains that radical Muslims seem to have a case for doing what they are doing because they understand the Qur’an to be saying that:

• they should not be friends with unbelievers
• all unbelievers should be killed
• all unbelievers will go to hell and drink boiling water
• all Muslims who do not participate in jihad will be punished

So, if the radical Muslim is left with that, then they have something to stand on, whereas the moderate Muslims seems not to have something to stand on, unless they allegorize the text of the Qur’an.  It seems that simple, but we are not going to stop here.  In the next few days, we will take a look at how the Qur’an views women, whether the Qur’an teaches that anything goes (lying, stealing, cheating) with respect to jihad and whether the world is truly being Islamophobic, or whether that is simply another weapon radical Muslims use against non-believers (infidels).  Join me!

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