Title: Analyzing Islam Question: Brother Moiz, This attachment was forwarded to me by a sister newly converted to Islam, who received it from a non-Muslim friend concerned about her involvement in Islam. This is an anti-Islamic e-mail that has been circulating among non-Muslims since the Sept. 11th attack on America. I myself being a new convert did not have the full knowledge to reply. I am curious to know the answer to these charges against the Qur'an. I know this is a lot of questions but I am hoping you can give a detailed answer to most of these verses. I want to distribute this information to new Muslims and non-Muslim friends so they will have correct knowledge to refute false understanding. May Allah reward and bless you. ===================== Muslims claim the Koran is a document for peace!!!! Actually the world has to know that it is not so. The terrorists are encouraged by Koran which advocates all they do and that is why mullahs support terrorism. Only politicians say that Islam does not support this. Demand explanation for verses in Koran from mullahs!!!! That is the best way!!! Check with authentic translations and don't be deceived my mullahs!! They tell lies, a lot of them. So we have to know Koran to challenge them. Also get the terrorists and people who support them to explain the verses!!! See below: Qur'an tells Muslims to kill the disbelievers wherever they find them (Q. 2:191), to murder them and treat them harshly (Q. 9:123), slay them (Q. 9: 5), fight with them, (Q. 8: 65 ) even if they are Christians and Jews, humiliate them and impose on them a penalty tax (Q. 9: 29). Qur'an takes away the freedom of belief from all humanity and tell clearly that no other religion except Islam is accepted (Q. 3: 85). It relegates those who disbelieve in Qur'an to hell (Q. 5: 11), calls them najis (filthy, untouchable, impure) (Q. 9: 28). It orders its followers to fight the unbelievers until no other religion except Islam is left (Q. 2: 193). It says that the non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water (Q. 14: 17). It asks the Muslims 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 a great punishment in world hereafter; (Q.5: 34). As for the disbelievers, it says that for them garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowls and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods (Q. 22: 9). Qur'an prohibits a Muslim to befriend a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (Q. 9: 23), (Q. 3: 28). Qur'an asks the Muslims to strive against the unbelievers with great endeavor (Q. 25: 52), be stern with them because they belong to hell (Q. 66: 9). The holy Prophet demanded his follower to strike off the heads of the disbelievers; then after making a wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives (Q. 47: 4). As for women the book of Allah says that they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient (Q. 4:34). It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands (Q. 66:10). It maintains that men have an advantage over the women (Q. 2:228). It not only denies the women's equal right to their inheritance (Q. 4:11-12), it also regards them as imbeciles and decrees that their witness is not admissible in the court (Q. 2:282). This means that a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness. Muhammad allowed the Muslims to marry up to four wives and gave them license to sleep with their slave maids and as many captive women as they may have (Q. 4:3). He himself did just that. This is why anytime a Muslim army subdues another nation, they call them kafir and allow themselves to rape their women. Pakistani soldiers raped up to 250,000 Bangali women in 1971 after they massacred 3,000,000 unarmed civilians when their religious leader decreed that Bangladeshis are unislamic. This is why the prison guards in Islamic regime of Iran rape the women and then kill them after calling them apostates and the enemies of Allah. See: http://free.freespeech.org/rationalthinking/index.htm Intolerance is Fundamental to Islam Terrorism is a logical outcome of putting the Qur'an into practice. The Qur'an promotes permanent struggle against non-Muslims - or at least until non-Muslims are converted to Islam, subjected to Islamic authority, or killed. Below is a listing of relevant verses* in the Qur'an. Islam promises hell to non-Muslims 3:85, 4:56, 5:37, 5:72, 8:55, 9:28, 15:2, 21:98-100, 22:19-22, 22:56-57, 25:17-19, 25:55, 29:53-55, 31:13, 66:9, 68:10-13, 72:14- 15, Islam warms against mixing with non-Muslims 2:21, 3:28, 3:118, 5:51, 5:144, 9:7, 9:28, 58:23, 60:4. Islam calls on Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims 2:191, 2:193, 4:66, 4:84, 5:33, 8:12, 8:15-18, 8:39, 8:59-60,8:65, 9:2-3, 9:5, 9:14, 9:29, 9:39, 9:73, 9:111, 9:123, 25:52, 37:22-23, 47:4-5, 48:29, 69:30-37. Islam encourages the war against the non-Muslims by glorifying it 2:216, 9:41, 49:15, or by promising lust in paradise to the Shaheeds who die in such a war 3:142, 3:157-158, 9:20--21. Ask them for explanation of all these verses. Koran is not from God at all!!! Wasalaam , Sister Ruqaiyyah Al-Muhtadi Answer: Although I have already explained most, if not all, of the cited criticisms, yet for your benefit, I shall try to briefly answer each of the stated points. In case any of my answers require any further elaboration, I would be glad to give provide any clarification, which you ask for. Each of these points of criticism is based on an adversarial study of the Qur'an. The author clearly has not tried to understand any of the referred directives of the Qur'an with any degree of empathy. He has only gathered verses, which if secluded from their context can give the impression, which the author wants his readers to get make about Islam. I don't consider this to be an honest approach toward any message. Any message, any words and any directives can be given a perverted look, if they are taken out of their context and secluded from their real spirit. I would request the non-Muslims, who undertake to read the Qur'an that they should do so with an open mind, as they would read their own religious literature. At least they should try not to rule out the possibility that the Qur'an may actually entail the path of eternal salvation and success. Let us take a look at these points individually. Regarding Killing the 'Disbelievers' The author writes: Qur'an tells Muslims to kill the disbelievers wherever they find them (Q. 2:191), to murder them and treat them harshly (Q. 9:123), slay them (Q. 9: 5), fight with them, (Q. 8: 65) even if they are Christians and Jews, humiliate them and impose on them a penalty tax (Q. 9: 29). I have clarified in a number of my earlier responses that most of the instances at which the Qur'an has prescribed fighting to the Muslims, the directive is not given as a part of the Shari`ah (Islamic Law), but as a part of God's punishment of the rejecters of the Truth, even after the Truth has become absolutely manifest from falsehood [1] . Keeping this basic clarification in perspective, if we look at each of the cited verses, we shall see that none of these verses is general in its nature, they address - not the Muslims for all times to come - but only the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). The rejecters against whom action is prescribed in these verses are only those, who were either the direct addressees of the Prophet (pbuh) or the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). These directives do not entail a directive against any non-Muslims of the present day. For my explanation of Al-Baqarah 2: 191, please refer to my analysis of the Alleged Fatwa of Usama bin Laden . For my explanation of Al-Taubah 9: 123, please refer to one of my responses titled " Are Muslims directed to Fight and Kill non-Believers? - Al-Nisaa 4: 89 & Al-Taubah 9: 123 ". For my explanation of Al-Taubah 9: 5 and Al-Taubah 9: 29, please refer to ' Determining the Addressees of the Qur'anic Verses ' and a subsequent discussion on this question and Regarding Jizyah on non-Muslim Citizens of an Islamic State . As far as Al-Taubah 8: 65 is concerned, it is only a continuation of the directive explained in one of the cited responses to a follow up discussion to ' Determining the Addressees of the Qur'an '. The writer says: Qur'an takes away the freedom of belief from all humanity and tell clearly that no other religion except Islam is accepted (Q. 3: 85). For my explanation of Aal Imraan 3: 85, please refer to my response titled: " Is only Islam Acceptable in the Eyes of God? ". The author writes: It orders its followers to fight the unbelievers until no other religion except Islam is left (Q. 2: 193). My explanation of this verse is included in my analysis of the Alleged Fatwa of Usama bin Laden . The author writes: Qur'an asks the Muslims to strive against the unbelievers with great endeavor (Q. 25: 52), be stern with them because they belong to hell (Q. 66: 9). Both the cited verses refer to the same Divine law relating to the punishment of those who persist in rejecting the Truth, even after its ultimate manifestation. This Divine law has already been explained above. The author writes: The holy Prophet demanded his follower to strike off the heads of the disbelievers; then after making a wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives (Q. 47: 4). In the referred verse, the Qur'an has directed the Muslims that WHEN they confront those, who persist to reject even after the Truth has become apparent to them, in the battlefield, they should smite their necks and shed their blood and not have any sympathy for them, because it is in this that the true believers shall be tested as to whether they are driven by their faithfulness to God, or do they still have the love of those, who have declared their enmity with God and His messenger. These directives clearly relate to WHEN the Muslims confront the rejecters in the battlefield. What else should have been the directive at this stage? The Rejecters shall Meet a Severe Punishment in the Hereafter The author writes: It relegates those who disbelieve in Qur'an to hell (Q. 5: 11), calls them najis (filthy, untouchable, impure) (Q. 9: 28). It seems that the reference to Al-Maaidah 5: 11 should actually be Al-Maaidah 5: 10. Al-Maaidah 5: 10 says that those who reject God's verses, they shall be thrown in the Hell fire. The information entailed in the verse is a common feature of all the Abrahamic religions. It is a common Muslim belief that those, who reject God's verses, after having fully recognized them, they shall be put to a severe punishment in the hereafter. How else should the Honorable God reward such arrogant rejecters? As for Al-Taubah 9: 28, the verse does not relate to those guilty of rejection only but actually relates to those rejecters, who, even after the Truth had become manifest upon them, stubbornly adhered to ascribing false partners to the One God. The Qur'an, like the previous Divine revelations entailed in the Old and the New Testaments considers idolatry and ascribing false partners to God as a 'defilement': I said to them, 'Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. (Ezekiel 20: 7) The Qur'an unequivocally considers those who ascribe false partners to God as impure and filthy. In the referred verse, such people are rendered unfit to come into the mosques made for the worship of the One God only. The author writes: It says that the non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water (Q. 14: 17). The explanation of this verse is the same as given above for Al-Maaidah 5: 10. Another verse referred to by the author in this connection is Al-Hajj 22: 9. Although the reference is once again inaccurate, yet the explanation given by the author seems that he is referring to one of the other verses of the Qur'an, which is related to the punishment of the rejecters of the Truth, in the hereafter. The author writes: It asks the Muslims 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 a great punishment in world hereafter; (Q.5: 34) Al-Maaidah 5: 34 is not related to the punishment of disbelievers. On the contrary, the referred verse relates to the punishment of those who are guilty of extreme crimes against the society in general. For details, please refer to one of my earlier responses titled: " Punishment for Rape " and one of my responses to a criticism on the Qur'an titled " Punishment for Adultery ". Can Muslim have Relationships with non-Muslims? The author writes: Qur'an prohibits a Muslim to befriend a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (Q. 9: 23), (Q. 3: 28). For my explanation of the referred verses, please refer to a couple of my earlier responses titled: " The Relationship of Muslims with their Rejecting Parents & siblings - Al-Taubah 9: 23 " and " Making Friends with the Rejecters against the Believers - Aal Imraan 3: 28 & Al-Nisaa 4: 144 ". Regarding the Status of Women, Polygamy & Slavery The author writes: As for women the book of Allah says that they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient (Q. 4:34). It is not correct that Islam considers women to be inferior to men. The referred verse does not say that women are inferior to men, but actually states that husbands are made responsible for their wives. This, in effect, implies that husbands, according to the Qur'an, are appointed as the head of the families. In this respect, wives are directed to cooperate with their husbands and remain obedient to them [2] , so that an environment of confrontation is avoided in the family. It would not be very accurate that Islam gives husbands the right to scourge their wives. Domestic violence, as we know is a phenomenon, which results from extreme emotional outbursts of either of the parties. Such incidents of violence may be discouraged, but are hardly eradicated even in the 'civilized' world, through legislations alone. This, coupled with the fact that the Qur'an was revealed in the background of a tribal psyche, in which women were not recognized as anything more than a man's property and personal wealth, greatly aggravated the situation, which needed correction. The Qur'an corrected this situation through recognition and promotion of the fact that men and women, as human beings, enjoy an equal status and no one among them should be considered as inferior to the other. As far as the referred verse is concerned, in my opinion, it has, in fact, discouraged domestic violence, which is the result of emotional outbursts. First of all, a close look at the verse shows that it relates to a situation, in which the wife refuses to accept the position of her husband or where she refuses to recognize him as her husband. Even under these circumstances, the Qur'an restricts the husband from using force to correct the situation, as this could easily have amounted to an unbalanced and a severe action. The Qur'an, in effect, prohibits the husband from resorting to force unless he has first spent a significant time trying to talk his wife out of her behavior by admonishing her and if this proves ineffective, by terminating or extremely limiting copulative relations with his wife. Explaining this point, I have written in an earlier writing: ... the basic stress in these verses of the Qur'an is to hinder a person from using force in correcting a domestic problem situation. The Qur'an, it should be observed, has not merely stated that in case a wife is persistent in disrupting the peace and tranquility of a household, her husband should beat her to bring her in line; on the contrary, the Qur'an has actually hindered the man from using force for correcting such a situation by directing him to resort to admonition. Then again, if continual and sincere admonitions of the man seem to be falling on deaf ears, even then the man cannot use force for correcting the situation. The Qur'an has once again hindered the person from using force, by directing him to show his disapproval of the wife's behavior by resorting to restraint in his conjugal relations with his wife. This restraint, once again, is in the hope to make the wife realize her mistakes. If we keep the occurrences of domestic abuse and violence - even in the modern "civilized world" - in perspective, we shall observe that it is not whether a person enjoys a legal right to beat his wife or not, which plays any role in such domestic violence. On the contrary, such physical violence is a result, generally, of an emotional outbreak and extreme anger. Man, due to the greater physical strength that he, generally, has as compared to a woman, has a higher tendency of resorting to physical violence in a state of extreme anger and an emotional outbreak. It is, in fact, in such a state of mind that man is most likely to physically harm a woman or to seriously injure her by resorting to force. The Qur'an, it should be observed, has disallowed the man from taking to force in such a state of mind. It has directed the man that even under enraging circumstances the man should admonish the wife and advise her to correct her behavior. Thus, if seen in the correct perspective, the Qur'an has, in fact, hindered the man from resorting to physical force at the time when he is most likely to do so. In other words, the stated directive of the Qur'an is actually a directive for self-control and self-restraint for the man. Moreover, the act of admonition, which is recommended by the Qur'an at this stage, provides an opportunity for the exchange of views between the two individuals. This opportunity enhances any chance of correction of the situation through dialogue. However, if this dialogue does not improve the situation, even then the man is disallowed from resorting to any physical force. Even now, the Qur'an wants the man to practice self-restraint and to avoid all physical violence. On the contrary, it has directed the man to sever his conjugal relations with the woman, to show his disapproval of the situation. The author writes: It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands (Q. 66:10). The referred verse does not relate to wives being disobedient to their husbands. On the contrary, the referred verse relates to the wives of two of the prophets of God, who were disobedient towards these prophets and because of their disobedience, they are sentenced to the fires of Hell. The author writes: It maintains that men have an advantage over the women (Q. 2:228). The referred verse does not relate to men and women, in general. It relates specifically to men and women, as husband and wives. The 'advantage' referred to in this verse, is actually a degree of authority, which husbands are granted over their wives to maintain the organization of the 'home' in times of differences between the spouses. The author writes: It not only denies the women's equal right to their inheritance (Q. 4:11-12), it also regards them as imbeciles and decrees that their witness is not admissible in the court (Q. 2:282). This means that a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness. Even though the Qur'an recognizes men and women to be 'equals', as human beings, yet it considers them to be different from each other in their natural physical, emotional and psychological qualities. In view of these differences, their social roles are also, generally, different from the other. It is because of this reason that Islam does not give them their respective rights and responsibilities on the principle of 'equality', but on the principle of 'Justice'. The principle of 'equality' may have required that men and women be given an equal share of inheritance. However, in view of the differences between the roles and responsibilities of the two, the Qur'an has prescribed different shares of inheritance for them, based upon the principle of 'justice'. As for the admissibility or otherwise women's witness in courts of law, please refer to my earlier responses on the subject [3] . The idea that 'a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness' is absolutely absurd and without any bases. The author writes: Muhammad allowed the Muslims to marry up to four wives and gave them license to sleep with their slave maids and as many captive women as they may have (Q. 4:3). He himself did just that. It would not be accurate to say that Islam allows Muslims to marry four wives. It is a well known fact that the Arab society in which the Qur'an was revealed fourteen hundred years ago, like most of the other societies of the world, was a polygamous society, without any restriction on the number of wives that a man can keep. Thus, it would be more accurate to say that the Qur'an has not prohibited taking more wives than one [4] . The Qur'an has, however, imposed certain restrictions on these marriages. As for Islam's standpoint on the institution of slavery, please refer to my earlier responses on the topic [5] . The remaining citations of the author can easily be analyzed in the light of the foregoing explanations. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad October 11, 2001 [1] For details, see: The Political Revolution Brought-about by the Prophet (pbuh) ; Difference between Nabi (Prophets) & Rasu'l (Messengers) ; Jihad of the Messenger & his Companions ; ' Determining the Addressees of the Qur'anic Verses ' and a subsequent discussion on this question; Punishment for Apostasy ; Comparing Surah Al-Taubah 9: 5 and "There is no Compulsion in Religion" ; Some Clarifications Regarding the Position & Mission of a Rasu'l ; and Regarding Jizyah on non-Muslim Citizens of an Islamic State . [2] For further clarification, please refer to one of my earlier responses titled: " Some Questions on the Rights and Duties of Husband and Wife ". [3] You may access the referred response at: http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/questions.jsp?point=3&id=681 [4] Neither does the Old or the New Testament prohibit polygamy. [5] You may access the referred responses at: http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/showsubsubcategory.jsp?display=on&subcat=140&cat=7