Define conservatism

[palerider]

Lilly, the qur'an itself describes islam as being spread by the sword.

Care to show me where it says that ?

Qur'an 9:5 When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, beleaguer them [torture them], and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war. But if they relent, performing their devotional obligations and paying the zakat tax, then open the way. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." The Islamic god said, "I created Islam to start fights that will kill, enslave, and torture people by way of deceptive ambush. Surrender, or I will have Muslims terrorize you.

Qur'an 8:7, Wipe the Infidels out to the last

Qur'an 8:39, So fight them till all opposition ends and the only religion is Islam


Qur'an 47:4 When you clash with the unbelieving Infidels in battle, smite their necks until you overpower them, killing and wounding many of them. At length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, making captives. Thereafter either generosity or ransom until the war lays down its burdens. Thus are you commanded by Allah to continue carrying out Jihad against the unbelieving infidels until they submit to Islam.

Bukhari:V5B59N379 "When we wrote the Holy Qur'an, I missed one of the verses I used to hear Allah’s Apostle reciting. Then we searched for it and found it. The verse was: 'Among the Believers are men who have been true to their Covenant with Allah. Of them, some have fulfilled their obligations to Allah (i.e. they have been killed in Allah’s Cause), and some of them are (still) waiting to be killed.' (Surah 33:23) So we wrote this in its place in the Qur'an.

Lilly, according to the qur'an, there are only two sorts of good muslims. Those who have died fighting infidels, and those who are waiting to be killed fighting infidels.

Qur'an 8:39 So fight them until there is no more Fitnah (non-Muslims) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone in the whole world.

Qur'an 4:94 Believers, when you go abroad to fight wars in the Cause of Allah, investigate carefully, and say not to any one who offers you peace: 'You are not a believer.' seeking and coveting the chance profits of this life. With Allah are abundant profits, plentiful spoils and booty. "Muslims, when you leave Arabia to fight and rob those who don't worship me, don't accept a peace offering and leave a potential victim alone. Rather, conquer them, for therein lies the greatest potential for profit. And always remember, you are a mercenary and that I have seduced you.


Qur'an 4:95 Not equal are those believers who sit at home and receive no injurious hurt, and those who strive hard [Jihad], fighting in the Cause of Allah with their wealth and lives. Allah has granted a rank higher to those who strive hard [Jihad], fighting with their wealth and bodies to those who sit (at home). Unto each has Allah promised good, but He prefers those [Jihadists] who strive hard and fight above those [pacifists] who sit home. He has distinguished his fighters with a huge reward.

Qur'an 5:33 The punishment for those who oppose Allah and His Prophet, making mischief in the land, is to kill them or crucify them. Or to have a hand on one side and a foot on the other cut off. Or to banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in this world and in the hereafter, their doom will be dreadful.... The unbeliever.

Qur'an 4:74 Those who barter their life in this world for the next should fight in Allah’s Cause. We shall bestow on him who fights in Allah’s Cause, whether he is killed or victorious, a glorious reward

Qur'an 3:169 Never think that those who are killed in Allah’s Cause are dead. They are alive, getting rewards from their Lord.

Qur'an 3:195 For those who fought and were killed in My Cause, I shall blot out their sins and admit them indeed to Paradise

Muslim:C9B1N33 The Prophet 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, and they establish prostration prayer, and pay Zakat. If they do it, their blood and property are protected.

Bukhari:V9B84N59 "Allah’s Apostle said, 'I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah." Whoever says this will save his property and his life from me.'"

That's a tuffy.
Which one should I believe ...an Englishman with firsthand experience of the Muslims - who despite the well known jingoism of the Bloody Brits in that century still insisted that they never convert others at swordpoint

If you don't know what to believe, believe their own books.

 

[Lilly Marlene]

Lilly, I gave you names, dates and places to make it very easy to verify everything I have said.

Here, let me hold your hand and see if I can help you understand research. Take for example, my entry...

Thank you very much Mr. Rider, but that will not be necessary.
The problem is not that I can't figure out how to "understand research".
The problem is that some of us do not have quite enough free time to look at eighty entries for each of the scores of statements you have copied.

As you know from my private message to you, I found your list (which is neither foot-noted nor peer reviewed by the way).
My provisional plan was to just post the url to it and allow the context to speak for itself.

But from our private message exchange I can see that you are 100% sincere in your religious beliefs and out of genuine respect for that, I have no wish to take it to that level now.

Just please stop being so arrogant, is all I would ask of you.

Then try and jibe the carnage with your fanciful golden age of islamic rule in spain.

So you still won't even acknowledge the flowering of Jewish culture under Islamic rule in Spain ?
Can you tell me please why a course offered by Jewish educators would be lying to Jewish teenagers about that ?

Clearly you don't know much about formal debate. If I say a thing that you disagree with, or believe I have fabricated, (especially a thing in which I have provided names, dates, and places), the onus is upon you to demonstrate that my positon is founded upon mistaken ideas. Like I have been doing with you since this began.

Yes yes I know ...only you would know about "formal debate".
I may not be a world renowned formal debater like you but I have watched some CSPAN and I do have a glimmering of how it is done.
For now though -
As I said in some post yesterday I am going to assume for the sake of argument that everything you claimed is true (except for the three to which I offered contrary evidence).

 

[Lilly Marlene]

palerider,
I see that you in your last two posts are busy questioning the competence of my second two sources (the Catholic Encyclopedia and the British correspondent).

Isn't that exactly the style of argument you described earlier as an "ad hom" ?

Well, never mind.
I will look at your link for honor killings and when I come back next time I will try to steer this thread back to the original intent of its author.

 

[Friendindeed]

Start with Ta’rikh if you are looking for the oldest source straight from the horse's mouth so to speak, but any good history text can verify dates and events. I don't know of any one book that would cover them all. It is sort of a date by date thing.

The Ta'rikh, okay, thanks. But will I find all the incriminating details you included or would you agree that yours is a particular slant and maybe embellished ?

 

[palerider]

Thank you very much Mr. Rider, but that will not be necessary.
The problem is not that I can't figure out how to "understand research".
The problem is that some of us do not have quite enough free time to look at eighty entries for each of the scores of statements you have copied.

That would not be my problem. If you post something that I think is inaccurate, I will take it upon myself to research it.

As you know from my private message to you, I found your list (which is neither foot-noted nor peer reviewed by the way).
My provisional plan was to just post the url to it and allow the context to speak for itself.

Feel free. Before you do, I would suggest that you check very carefully to see if you can actually dispute any of the information he gives. I find no inaccuracies in either his dates, or quotes of the qur'an or accompanying books.

But from our private message exchange I can see that you are 100% sincere in your religious beliefs and out of genuine respect for that, I have no wish to take it to that level now.

What level? Accurate information is accurate information. I didn't withhold the source I was using because I was embarrassed about it, I simply hoped that you would do some research on your own and find that what you were claiming with regard to islam was simply not supportable when taken in the context of hisory rather than the context of romantic 19th century writing.

http://prophetofdoom.net/Islamic_Terrorism_Timeline_1000-Year_Crusade.Islam

There is the link. I defy you or anyone else for that matter to point out any historical inaccuracies.

you still won't even acknowledge the flowering of Jewish culture under Islamic rule in Spain ?
Can you tell me please why a course offered by Jewish educators would be lying to Jewish teenagers about that ?

No. There were quite a few massacres of jews during that time. There were the Toledo massacres of 761, 784-86, 797 and 805. There were numerous insurrections that were violently put down in Saragossa from 781 to 881. A massacre in Cordova in 805. Massacres in Merida from 805-813, in 828 829, and 868.

In all these massacres, the insurgents were crucified in accordance with qur'an 5:33

A revolt in Cordova in 818 resulted in 300 crucifictions and more than 20,000 families being expelled.

Feuding was the regional passtime in the Andalusian cities between the different sectors of the population: Arab and Berber, Iberian Muslim converts (Muwalladun) and Christian dhimmis (Mozarabs). Rare indeed was any prolonged period of peace in the Amirate of Cordova in the years between 756 and 912.

Al-Andalus was jihad heaven. Each year, and sometimes twice a year, raiding expeditions were sent to rape and pillage the the Christian Spanish kingdoms to the north, the Basque regions, or France and the Rhone valley, bringing back treasure and slaves. Andalusian corsairs attacked and sacked along the Sicilian and Italian coasts, even as far as the Aegean Islands, looting, burning, raping, and pillaging as they went. Tens of thousands were captured and brought into slavery in Andalusia, where the caliph kept a militia of tens of thousands. Christian slaves brought from all parts of Christian Europe and a harem filled with captured Christian women would certainly have made life for the muslims seem like a golden age. The society was sharply divided along ethnic and religious lines, with the arab tribes at the top, followed by the Berbers who were never recognized as equals, despite the fact that they eventually submitted to islam. on down the scale came the mullawadun converts and, at the very bottom, the dhimmi Christians and Jews.

In 1100, Ibn Abdun , a muslim judge decreed that no christian or jew could wear the dress of a noble, nor of a judge, or of any wealthy individual. He decreed that they must be detested and avoided. It was forbidden to greet them with the expression, ‘Peace be upon you’. He said thats Satan has gained possession of them, and caused them to forget God’s warning, and that they were confederates of satan’s party and satan’s confederates will surely be the losers!’ (Qur’an 58:19 [modern Dawood translation]). He declardd that a distinctive sign must be imposed upon them in order that they may be recognized and this will be for them a form of disgrace."

Now does that sound like a golden age to you? Ibn Hazm, another notable muslim judge in Cordoba wrote that Allah has established the infidels’ ownership of their property merely to provide booty for Muslims.

There was a massacre in Granada around 1066 in which most scholars say that 5000 jews were killed. Mostly crucified. The, massacre, captivity, and forced conversion- was described by the Jewish chronicler Abraham Ibn Daud.

These events are history Lilly, not to be compared to the romantic musings of 19th century authors. They are easily verified and quite simply, they put the lie to the idyllic golden age of muslim rule in spain.

 

[palerider]

palerider,
I see that you in your last two posts are busy questioning the competence of my second two sources (the Catholic Encyclopedia and the British correspondent).

Isn't that exactly the style of argument you described earlier as an "ad hom" ?

No, because I pointed out their error and referenced it to the very books that they claim made mohammed out to be a dandy guy.

 

[palerider]

The Ta'rikh, okay, thanks. But will I find all the incriminating details you included or would you agree that yours is a particular slant and maybe embellished ?

As I said, the Ta'rikh is an early history of mohammed and his exploits. It will not have anything to say after about 920 or so.

Since I included dates and names, any part of the time line can be easily checked with sources on line. Deeper detail will probably require a visit to the library.

 

[palerider]

But from our private message exchange I can see that you are 100% sincere in your religious beliefs and out of genuine respect for that, I have no wish to take it to that level now.

I forgot to ask, was my answer satisfactory or do you believe that I missed the mark. I don't really know where to begin to research such a thing as I don't have a background in religious mysticism.

 

[Friendindeed]

As I said, the Ta'rikh is an early history of mohammed and his exploits. It will not have anything to say after about 920 or so.

Since I included dates and names, any part of the time line can be easily checked with sources on line. Deeper detail will probably require a visit to the library.

I am sure the battles and conquests can be checked online or in a library but I am talking about all the petty incidents mentioned in your timeline or whoever's.

There are contrasting opinions about Islamic Spain, spreading Islam by the sword, and what kind of a man Mohammad was. So I think there are probably differing opinions about the rest of it as well.

Why didn't you post your source before, all those times you were asked ? You copied it exactly word for word without giving credit. That doesn't seem right.

 

[Lilly Marlene]

palerider, I just read the link you provided about honor killings.

At the top of page 2 note that your article clearly states there is nothing in the Koran which advises or sanctions honor killings.

Also, notice this from that same article:

In India, for example, more than 5,000 brides die annually because their dowries are considered insufficient, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Crimes of passion, which are treated extremely leniently in Latin America, are the same thing with a different name, some rights advocates say.

The practice, she said, "goes across cultures and across religions."

I'm sure you can show me ample incidences of mistreatment towards women on the part of Muslims.
But as your article plainly shows, there are huge populations (such as that of East India) with the same problem - which are NOT Muslim.

 

[Lilly Marlene]

Do you recognize a difference between doing a thing to one's self and doing a thing to others?

As you know very well, I brought up the example of Christ saying to cut out your eye or cut off your hand for an entirely different purpose - so stop distorting please.

I brought it up to highlight the fact that you DON'T obey that, even though that's what the Bible tells you to do.

And my corollary point was that MOST Muslims likewise do not obey most of the injunctions to do violence which are found in their books.

Of course they are. Look at the news. muslims are happy to tell the camera that they have been directed by mohammed to kill the infidel so that is what they are doing.

Right: SOME Muslims. That is what I reiterate to you ceaselessly. But you insist upon painting them all with the same brush, which is the very definition of prejudice.
I have a Muslim friend at MySpace. I will come back and show you that person's most recent blog and you can see for yourself the issues which preoccupy her and many of her fellow Muslims today. Boy will you be surprised.

Now, you told me a day or two ago that you had been pointing out my wrong information "since this thing began".
Probably only one more example of outrageous hyperbole from you, but I'm going to take the bait and ask you to show me ONE item of information you have proved wrong in my posts, other than my having left out three words in the formal name of an era in Spanish history.

After all, remember:

*You have failed to tell me why a Jewish Heritage course for Jewish teenagers - written by Jewish scholars - would be misrepresenting the experience of Jews under Islamic Rule in Spain.

*You have failed to tell me why European 19th century Romantics would have some interest in euphemizing the deeds of Muslims to other Europeans, as per the allged "myth" of Andalusia.

*You have tried to dismiss the Catholic Encyclopedia author, simply because his opinion was that the Hadith is of doubtful historical value and you happen to disagree with that remark.

*You have disparaged the British commentator's credibility but failed to tell me why on earth he would be interested in lying to a world who could largely have not cared less back then about whether Islam were spread at swordpoint or not.

 

[Lilly Marlene]

That would not be my problem. If you post something that I think is inaccurate, I will take it upon myself to research it.

No, indeed it is not your problem that I have limited time on the internet.
But it is not going to be a problem to me either because I can sustain the same argument with which I began in this thread, no matter how many pages of horrific Muslim deeds you may reproduce from Mr. Winn's site.

Why?

Because I did not go into this thread basing my argument on the premise that Muslims are all very nice fellows.

In fact the only reason I even went off on this tangent with you is that I couldn't believe you were actually arguing that ALL Muslims are like that.

But you were. And obviously you will continue to believe it until someone comes here who has enough time to disabuse you of your erroneous notions one by one.

Feel free. Before you do, I would suggest that you check very carefully to see if you can actually dispute any of the information he gives. I find no inaccuracies in either his dates, or quotes of the qur'an or accompanying books.

If I run across a book of things which did NOT happen between 622 and 1000 AD, I'll be sure and do that.

What level? Accurate information is accurate information. I didn't withhold the source I was using because I was embarrassed about it, I simply hoped that you would do some research on your own and find that what you were claiming with regard to islam was simply not supportable when taken in the context of hisory rather than the context of romantic 19th century writing.

Disclosing your source would not have contravened my doing that in any way at all, had I the time and the motivation to do it.
After all, it is not as though the source of your timeline included any footnotes.
In fact, every reference he made was to a different section of his own publication.
In that sense, his work is very much like a window opening out onto an abyss.

...to point out any historical inaccuracies.

I am quite sure there are conflicting accounts of the history. But my objection lo these several days has not been about inaccuracies; my objection has been that you would not reveal your source and I knew from the style that it had been written by someone other than yourself.

I realize I have the choice either to spend the equivalent of whole days in fact-checking his timeline, or else
I can just carry on as though it were all true, with the reservations previously noted concerning the three contrary opinions.
I am choosing that second option.

 

[Lilly Marlene]

Hi, I am back after going to MySpace for that blog.

First I will first address your last post to me which I did not notice before.

I forgot to ask, was my answer satisfactory or do you believe that I missed the mark. I don't really know where to begin to research such a thing as I don't have a background in religious mysticism.

I asked you that question because I figured that regardless of what answer you gave me, I would be able to gauge the sincerity of the religious beliefs at which you've hinted.
As it happened, you missed the mark but only because of a profound misunderstanding of the Hebrew language on the part of your colleague Mr. Winn ...

The nature of the misunderstanding was this: the Hebrew word for spirit happens to be feminine in gender. That has zero consequence with regard to application however. For instance, the noun used for a man's hand is still feminine in gender.

Not understanding this, Mr. Winn has proceeded to personify the Holy Spirit as a female ("spiritual mother") as a consequence of that feminine noun.

Now back to the first derailment of the topic.

The blog I had wanted to show you was gone by this time. But it dealt with concerns such as how western Muslims could arrange to have persons of the same sex as physicians and morticians because their religion prohibits persons of the opposite sex from seeing the body naked.

It also dealt with some other preoccupations, equally civic and mundane in nature.
Even so,
I got you another blog. Here it is:

[I have come back (the next day) to take out a good deal of the commentary which was inept in my opinion because all it does is to repeat the points made, as though it were addressed to a real dum dum]

Islam - The Religion Of Peace


1. Introduction.

Today, many non-Muslims regard Islam as a religion that promotes violence, terrorism and war. Unfortunately, they rely in their view of Islam on the general media, which is not always accurate in reporting the news. Many media outlets, such as TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, are influenced by their investors or owners who have certain agendas and who want to promote certain values and points of view. Other media outlets are simply after the "big story", in order to make more money and more profits. Others are simply "followers", who only gather news from other sources, re-package it and try to sell it again purely as a business.

In all these cases, the news reporting is not accurate, but is driven by ulterior motives or simply by profits. Only very few media organizations are committed to providing accurate and true information, regardless of financial gain. Therefore, people today should be very careful in what they take from the media.

Before blindly accepting what the TV, radio or newspaper is reporting, one should think critically about what is being reported. Is this being reported accurately, or is it being exaggerated or even completely fabricated? Who are these people reporting the news, and do they have vested interests to report the story in a certain way, or are they completely objective and fair? Critical thinking is very important in all aspects of life, especially when it comes to accepting the media reports about important and controversial issues.

Islam is in fact a religion that promotes peace and understanding among people of all faiths, and it strongly prohibits all forms of violence and aggression against all people regardless of their faith or race.


2. Islam Prohibits Violence and Aggression, and stands for Peace and Justice.

Islam clearly prohibits all kinds and forms of aggression and violence against anyone, except in self-defense. Islam is a practical religion, meant to be implemented in every aspect of our life. Therefore, it realizes the fact that a person who commits aggression and violence against others will not cease these actions unless they are deterred by similar actions taken against them.

Islam also places very high importance on justice, and allows for aggressors and unjust people be punished accordingly, unless they repent before they are brought to justice. At the same time, Islam encourages people to forgive those who have wronged them whenever possible.

Evidence of these ideals can be found in the Holy Qur'an, which is the word of God revealed to the messenger of God, Mohammad peace be upon him. It can also be found in the Hadeeth, the sayings of Mohammad peace be upon him, and in his teachings to Muslims. A few examples of this are shown below from the Holy Qur'an:

"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, and do not transgress; for Allah loveth not transgressors." [Quran 2:190].

"But if they cease (fighting you), Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Quran 2:192].

"But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is the One that Heareth and Knoweth (all things)." [Quran 8:61].

"The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves." [Quran 2:194].

" ... and let not the hatred of some people in (once) shutting you out of the Sacred Mosque lead you to transgression (and hostility on your part). Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour: fear Allah: for Allah is strict in punishment." [Quran 5:2].

"Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!" [Quran 41:34].

"O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." [Quran 4:135].

"God advocates justice, charity, and regarding the relatives. And He forbids evil, vice, and transgression. He enlightens you, that you may take heed." [Quran 16:90].

"And if ye do punish them, punish them no worse than they punished you: but if ye show patience, that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient." [Quran 16:126].

The ninth and final verse reminds Muslims that if they are punished, that they may only respond with the same punishment and not to go over this limit. However, they are reminded that forgiveness and patience is the best course of action.

(continued)

 

[Lilly Marlene]

(the rest of the blog)

These are the wonderful ideals of Islam:

To pursue peace with everyone including past enemies, except when they fight the Muslims and refuse peace, then Muslims are allowed to fight in self-defense.

To ensure that we always apply justice and never transgress against others even if they are our enemies.

To repel evil actions with good actions, in order to replace hatred with an intimate friendship.

To respond to punishment with the same punishment, but that forgiveness and patience is even better than retaliation.

3. Islamic Principle: Living Peacefully with All Nations and Peoples.

The verse mentioned below informs us that we were created and made into various nations and tribes so that we may get to know each other, and not so that we may despise and hate each other. Then we are reminded of the the fact that the best of us in God's eyes are those who are most righteous.

"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full Knowledge and is well-acquainted (with all things)." [Quran 49:13].

This wonderful principle of Islam makes it clear that there is no single people, race, or nation that is better than others. God created us all equal. In God's eyes, the best of us are the most righteous and most kind.

God created mankind as different races and nations although He could have created us all with as one nation, with one language and one religion. However, as stated in the verse mentioned above, God created these different nations and tribes so that we get to know other each other, and not to hate each other because we are different. This tells us that we should celebrate our differences and not hate each other based on them. Islam also teaches us to realize that no single race or people have supremacy over others, and that we are judged solely based on our actions.

This verse also teaches us that we should live peacefully with other nations and tribes and we should respect each other and our differences. We should learn to live together and to get to know each other, and to engage in dialogue amongst all nations and treat every human being as being equal.


4. Islamic Principle: There is no Compulsion in Religion

The verse from the Qur'an which states this principle of no compulsion in religion is the following:


"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things." [Quran 2:256].

The holy Qur'an reminds us that there must not be compulsion in religion. It states that the truth stands out clear from error, and that those who reject error and believe in God are the saved ones.

This means that Muslims are not allowed to force people to convert to Islam. Muslims should only seek to make the truth clear to others, and talk to them about Islam, then let them decide for themselves. In fact, most people who study Islam without having made a decision to hate it first come to love its message and convert to Islam after learning about it's values and principles.

Another verse that also states this principle is the following:

"If one amongst the Pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah; and then escort him to where he can be secure. That is because they are men without knowledge." [Quran 9:6].

This wonderful verse instructs Muslims to grant asylum to non-believers, and make them safe, and allow them to hear the word of Allah. Then they are to be escorted to whatever place they will be safe and secure in. This is because these non-believers simply have no knowledge of Islam, and no knowledge of the word of Allah.

[I have removed a piece of the commentary which was right here, which unnecessarily bashes a different religion - although that other religion has certainly bashed Islam quite a bit in some quarters]


5. When are Muslims Permitted to Fight a War?

As stated earlier, Islam is a very practical religion. It is not just about fake ideals that do not work. It is a religion that is meant to be implemented 100% in all actions of the Muslims life, and it is meant to promote peace and justice in the world.

Therefore, Islam does allow Muslims to go to war, as mentioned earlier, in certain circumstances. This includes self-defence, and to remove aggression and injustice that has befallen people and to save them from their oppressors. The verses that tell Muslims to fight those who fight them were mentioned earlier. Below is the verse in the holy Qur'an that allows Muslims to fight against injustice.


"Permission [to fight] is granted to those who are being persecuted, since injustice has befallen them, and God is certainly able to support them [with victory].
They were evicted from their homes unjustly, for no reason other than saying, "Our Lord is God." If it were not for God's supporting of some people against others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques - where the name of God is commemorated frequently - would have been destroyed. Absolutely, God supports those who support Him. God is Powerful, Almighty." [Quran 22:39-40].

This verse gives permission to those Muslims who fall under oppressive, unjust rule, and those Muslims who are being persecuted to fight to remove this oppression.

6. Does Islam Permit Killing Civilians?

Even in times of war, the Muslim must respect his adversaries' humanity. Brutal and barbaric atrocities are prohibited in Islam. Islam condemns barbaric killing of any human being. Therefore, Islam does not permit the mutilation of the bodies of the dead enemy soldiers.

Also, Islam prohibits the targeting and killing of all civilians, especially women, children, the elderly, and religious clergy. Enemies, even at time of war, must be treated justly. Prisoners of war have basic human rights, as stated in the Shariah (Islamic Law), and must be provided and cared for and not humiliated in any way.

The following verses touch on some of these issues:

"O Prophet! say to those who are captives in your hands: If Allah findeth any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Quran 8:70].

And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive, (Saying), We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks." [Quran 76:8-9].

In addition, the following were the instructions of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) to Muslims who are forced to fight a war:

"Do not kill women or children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or religious people,'' and he mentioned priests, nuns and rabbis. And He said, "Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees and do not poison the wells of your enemies."

There are many more sayings and teachings of Prophet Mohammad that instruct Muslims on these issues.

In addition to all this, Islam prohibits oppression, revenge or injustice to the people of the enemy in case of victory against them. Nor must there be control over the sources of the wealth of the nation or people, or even establishment of colonial regimes. Justice and freedom must be established. Tolerance towards cultures and peoples is to be respected at all times.


7. Conclusion:

This is the Islamic point of view on war, peace and justice. We hope that after reading this article, people will have a clear understanding that Islam promotes peace and justice, and stands against aggression and violence.

It is very sad that some people who want to give a wrong impression of Islam, simply select a few words from the Qur'an and distort them and put them in the wrong context, all in order to prove that Islam supports violence. They ignore all the verses we have mentioned in this article.

Therefore, we hope that people will be more careful about what they may hear or read on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or on the internet. Make sure that you do not blindly believe anything that is being said. Try to get both sides of the story, by listening to all points of view on any issue before coming to a conclusion.

And finally, we greet everyone with the greeting of Islam:

Assalamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you!).

 

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At the top of page 2 note that your article clearly states there is nothing in the Koran which advises or sanctions honor killings.

Is there a specific verse that requires honor killing? No. Does the qur'an instruct its adherents to kill those who do not follow the "moral" dictates of the qur'an? Yes. And you might note that those who are not muslims who engage in honor killing have been living in close proximity to muslims for a very long time. Traditions have a way of jumping across cultures, especially when one culture is required by its religion to kill the other culture if it does not follow allah's way.