Brandon Yusuf Toropov
23-08-2004, 07:45 PM
ISLAM: THE FIVE OBSTACLES
Of the three great monotheistic faiths - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- it is fair to say that Islam is, at least in North America and Europe, the least understood. This is ironic, given that there are significant numbers of Muslims in both of these regions of the world.
At last count, there were approximately eight million Muslims in the United States; similarly large Muslim populations also exist in the United Kingdom and France, and have begun to emerge as major cultural and political forces there.
Eventually, a more comprehensive understanding of Islam is bound to come about in the West, if only because conversions and immigration continue to swell the ranks of its adherents. Islamic communities in the West are becoming not only larger, but more vocal than they were, say, five years ago.
A GLOBAL PHENOMENON
Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, traces its roots to the Middle East. It is, however, a global phenomenon, and its practice has no relationship whatsoever to one's nationality. This one simple fact, so frequently ignored or glossed over in news reports and discussions about Islam, may well be the most obvious barrier to a meaningful approach to the faith.
FIVE OBSTACLES
1. Misunderstandings about the global appeal of Islam ...
are the first of the five obstacles to understanding Islam that we'll be examining in this article. The others are:
2. Stereotypes related to role of the so-called "sword of Islam" in propagating the faith
3. Misunderstanding of the term jihad
4. Oversimplifications about gender relations and the role of women; and
5. Misconceptions regarding the Qur'an's teachings on warfare.
There are other barriers to understanding the faith beyond these five, of course. For one thing, there are, seemingly, countless internal divisions of opinion, expressed in the many scholarly interpretations of the faith's core texts. Outsiders can initially feel some confusion when trying to sort out the various scholarly voices. Understanding the many areas of intricate doctrinal controversy is a daunting task. (And this, as it happens, is not a task we're going to take on here.)
But on the major issues - the unity of God, the reality of the afterlife, the certainty of a reckoning for each of us, the special mission of the Prophet - Islam speaks with one voice. It is a voice that more and more people of good will in the West are striving to understand without prejudice.
#1: MUSLIM DOES NOT EQUAL ARAB
If you say the single word "Muslim," you are, as a matter of statistical fact, probably talking about a non-Arab.
This point is, perhaps, worth repeating. When you say that one word, "Muslim," you are probably talking about someone who is not from the Middle East and does not speak Arabic. And, given the percentage of Muslims who are converts from other faiths, there's a very good chance that you are talking about someone who grew up without any cultural connection whatsoever with Arab culture, language, or traditions.
It is certainly true that Arabic-speaking peoples -- those from countries like Iraq, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan -- are overwhelmingly Muslim, even though there are small numbers of non-Muslim Arabs in many Arabic-speaking lands. (The Coptic Christians, for instance, have been practicing their faith in Egypt for centuries.)
But Muslims from Arabic lands are easily outnumbered worldwide by Muslims who do not live in Arabic-speaking regions. So, when you say the single word "Muslim," you could be talking about any one of the following people:
* Hakeem Olajuwan, the NBA superstar. He was born in Africa.
* Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens. He was born in England.
* Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer. He was born in the United States.
Notice that each of these people has an Arabic name, even though each comes from someplace other than the Middle East.
Assuming that all Muslims come from the Middle East, or that the religion is a regional phenomenon, is a major, and quite common, mistake among Westerners. This mistake tends to make Islam seem smaller than it actually is (it has over a billion adherents worldwide) and more narrowly accepted than it actually is.
Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad, unlike all previous prophets, came to deliver his message of salvation to humanity as a whole. In keeping with Muhammad's global mission, Islam offers an international, rather than a localized, set of living standards and religious beliefs. But, as a practical matter, a Muslim in Djakarta, Indonesia is likely to have a very different set of life experiences from a Muslim in New York City, who is in turn likely to have a very different set of life experiences from a Muslim in Lagos, Nigeria. To treat all of these people as though they came from the Middle East would be to ignore the diversity, reach, and historical influence of the Islamic faith.
#2: STEREOTYPES CONCERNING THE "SWORD OF ISLAM"
One of the most persistent obstacles to a balanced understanding of Islam is a common misconception concerning how it spread.
In the period following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, a great Islamic empire arose - an empire that rivaled or exceeded the previous empires of Rome or Persia in its reach. There is a common notion in the West that Islamic armies systematically eradicated the belief systems of all non-Muslims they encountered - the so-called "Sword of Islam." This is, however, a historical fiction.
The prevailing philosophy of the Islamic state was not one of forcible imposition of Islamic beliefs (indeed, the Qur'an prohibits this), but rather the imposition of a special tax upon religious communities choosing to pursue their own faiths. In exchange for payment of this tax, followers of other faiths received military protection and enjoyed other benefits of community life in the Islamic empire.
The religion of Islam spread with great speed because adherents in many lands chose to embrace it, not because military or governmental authorities decreed other faiths forbidden. Indeed, Islam later gathered adherents in areas of the world where no Islamic armies had ever set foot, notably Indonesia and western Africa.
Nevertheless, the preconception remains that Islam's worldwide reach arose because of military adventurism and a history of religious intolerance. This is quite the opposite of what took place. Islam's days as an empire were marked by a remarkable tolerance for religious minorities - a tolerance that can still be found in nations such as Qatar today. (Other Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia, don't have an impressive record of tolerance in the modern period.)
Exasperated by the prevalence of the "Sword of Islam" myth, Muslims sometimes ask non-Muslims whether sheer military dominance COULD bring about worldwide acceptance of any religion … much less acceptance that would endure for centuries after the period of military dominance passed! If military strength alone did carry this force, they argue, we would today all be worshipping at the shrines of Roman gods.
#3: JIHAD
Another significant obstacle to an accurate understanding of Islam has to do with the common - but frequently misused - word jihad.
To judge by the newspaper headlines, televised news bulletins, and magazine articles in the West, jihad means one thing and one thing only: holy war against those who do not accept Islam.
That this is the common understanding of the term is a major failure in interfaith communication.
The primary association of military action with the word jihad arose centuries after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and even that later usage was an expansion of a deeper concept of central importance to the faith - a concept that still drives the meaning of the word today.
Jihad means struggle ... and it means struggle against the self first and foremost. To abandon oneself to lust, greed, anger, cynicism, or to forget one's ultimate accountability to God, is to abandon jihad; to make a conscious effort to develop temperance, generosity, and trust in Providence, and to remember one's eventual reckoning, is to wage jihad.
For a Muslim, jihad is the work of a lifetime, but the first and most important enemies are self-centeredness and the willingness to build one's life around material comforts and pleasures.
The teachings of Islam specifically forbid sneak attacks, assaults upon noncombatants, and the unnecessary destruction of property. Muslims also emphasize that Islam is, first and foremost, a religion of peace, one that explicitly forbids the returning of harm for harm. The September 11, 2001 suicide attacks on the United States have made many non-Muslims skeptical of the claim that Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims, for their part, counter that religious extremists exist in all religions, and that their acts should not be the standard by which any religion's precepts are judged.
*******
"There shall be no harm for harm, no revenge for revenge." - The Prophet Muhammad
*******
A warrior found himself in bloody, hand-to-hand combat with an opponent of the Islamic state. The fight was fierce, but the Islamic warrior was eventually able to disarm his opponent. They grappled with each other on the floor. Eventually, the Muslim gained the upper hand. His opponent, knowing he was about to die, spit in the Muslim's face as a final gesture of contempt.
At this, the Muslim warrior froze. Then he let his opponent go, stood up, took a deep breath, and ordered that the hand-to-hand combat begin again from the beginning.
His stunned adversary backed away, retrieved the weapon he had lost, and then looked long and hard at the Muslim warrior in utter disbelief. "Why," he asked, "have you given me another chance? You had won the fight! I was yours to kill!"
Patiently, the warrior explained his reasoning. "If I had killed you just now, I would have committed a sin, because I am forbidden to kill in anger. When you spit in my face, I felt rage rise within me. So we should begin again, and if you kill me, at least I will be able to pass without obstruction to Paradise."
Hearing this, the warrior's opponent dropped his weapon, fell to his knees, and asked to become a Muslim. The two were allies for the rest of their days.
#4: THE ROLE OF WOMEN
A common belief about Islam is that it degrades and oppresses women.
The vast majority of Muslim women, however, reject this notion. And that is reason enough to set it aside.
The following poem, by an American Muslimah (female Muslim), illustrates the principle.
I am a Muslim Woman
I am a Muslim Woman
Feel free to ask me why
When I walk, I walk with dignity
When I speak, I do not lie
I am a Muslim Woman,
Not all of me you'll see
But what you should appreciate
Is that the choice I make is free
I'm not plagued with depression
I'm neither cheated nor abused
I don't envy other women
And I'm certainly not confused
Note, I speak perfect English
Et un petit peu de francais aussi
I'm majoring in Linguistics
So you need not speak slowly
I own my own small business
Every cent I earn is mine
I drive my Chevy to school and work
And no, that's not a crime
You often stare as I walk by
You don't understand my veil
But peace and power I have found
For I am equal to any male
I am a Muslim Woman
So please don't pity me
For God has guided me to truth
And now I'm finally free!
-- Jenn Zaghloul.
Whether or not non-Muslims are familiar with such sentiments, the fact remains that most Muslimahs hold them.
That fact should, perhaps, be a starting point for any dialogue on gender relations in Islam.
If you think Islam oppresses women ... ask a Muslimah about Islam.
#5: MISINTERPRETATION OF THE QUR'AN
Two myths about Islam deserve discussion here. The first is the product of non-Muslims; the second is the product of Muslims.
For reasons known best to themselves, some non-Muslim commentators have insisted that the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, advocates hunting down civilian unbelievers and killing them wherever they may be found.
This is false.
Simply reading the context of the verses in question will demonstrate that they set out instructions for Muslims who were at war with a particular, clearly identified military opponent.
Here is the short passage so often quoted, with the most critical word rendered (misleadingly) as "unbelievers":
(9:5) Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.
And here is the entire passage, with the same word rendered, more accurately, as "idolaters." Context shows that the passage concerns a specific pagan group who had violated a treaty with the Muslims.
9:1 (This is a declaration of) immunity by Allah and His Apostle towards those of the idolaters with whom you made an agreement.
9:2 So go about in the land for four months (i.e., the four sacred months when battle was prohibited) and know that you cannot weaken Allah and that Allah will bring disgrace to the unbelievers.
9:3 And an announcement from Allah and His Apostle to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage that Allah and His Apostle are free from liability to the idolaters; therefore if you repent, it will be better for you, and if you turn back, then know that you will not weaken Allah; and announce painful punishment to those who disbelieve.
9:4 Except those of the idolaters with whom you made an agreement, (and) then they have not failed you in anything and have not backed up any one against you;, so fulfill their agreement to the end of their term; surely Allah loves those who are careful (of their duty).
9:5 So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives 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; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
9:6 And if one of the idolaters seek protection from you, grant him protection till he hears the word of Allah, then make him attain his place of safety; this is because they are a people who do not know.
It is, perhaps, worth reiterating that the subject of this portion of the Qur'an is, as a matter of historical fact, a specific tribe of pagan warriors who had broken a treaty with the Prophet Muhammad. The verses in question warned the members of this tribe that warfare was imminent. Notice that a four-month warning is given regarding the forthcoming conflict.
Notice, too that the Qur'an requires Muslim warriors to protect any pagan military opponents who renounce the fight and seek help ... and that conversion to Islam is not a precondition of this help!
An equally extravagant, and perhaps equally common, claim is that the Qur'an promises seventy-two virgins to any suicide attacker fighting on behalf of Allah.
Not only does this promise not appear in the Qur'an, it also flatly contradicts the Qur'an. The sacred text of Islam explicitly (and without exception) forbids suicide in all situations. This "urban legend" derives, not from the Qur'an, but from a Muslim saying attributed dubiously to the Prophet Muhammad, a saying that has nothing whatsoever to do with suicide attacks. Its authenticity is highly suspect, and it is not regarded as binding or obligatory by responsible scholars.
NOW YOU KNOW THAT ....
1. Islam is a global faith tradition; it is not a regional or Middle Eastern phenomenon. Most Muslims are not Arabs.
2. The Qur'an forbids compulsion in religion. The “Sword of Islam” stereotype is a historical fallacy.
3. Jihad is, first and foremost, the struggle with one's own faults and worldly desires.
4. Muslimahs (female Muslims) overwhelmingly reject the implication that they are oppressed, abused, or victimized by their faith.
5. Islam does not justify the slaughter of non-Muslim civilians or suicide attacks; to the contrary, it prohibits these activities.
Copyright © 2004 Brandon Yusuf Toropov. Permission to reproduce this article is freely granted, PROVIDED that the article is reproduced in its entirety, and PROVIDED that this credit line, and the web link below, is included. Please e-mail me at yusuf10106@aol.com; I would love to hear from you.
www.JesustheMuslim.com
And below, an important addition from a sister pointing out some elements I missed…
Assalamu alaykum Brother Yusuf,
mashaAllah, a great article, yet i just want to add a simple commentary
in addition to wat you have said...When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to come back from Wars against the dis-believers, he would tell
his companions (may Allah be pleased with them and us inshaAllah), "don't
get excited, we are done from the the minor Jehad, the MAJOR JEHAD IS
THE JEHAD AGAINT the self" (DHAAT in Arabic!) or a jehad against
the bad desires of the self! SO, this is a better understanding
of Jehad!
And when the Prophet would go for a fight, he would warn his companions,
by saying the following, "Don't attack at night, b/c people are asleep
at night, don't attack during praying time, b/c u might see people
worshiping, don't burn a tree, don't destory hourses b/c there might
be women and children there.." These are the advises from our Prohpet,
then how can they equate Islam with terrorism?
Of the three great monotheistic faiths - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- it is fair to say that Islam is, at least in North America and Europe, the least understood. This is ironic, given that there are significant numbers of Muslims in both of these regions of the world.
At last count, there were approximately eight million Muslims in the United States; similarly large Muslim populations also exist in the United Kingdom and France, and have begun to emerge as major cultural and political forces there.
Eventually, a more comprehensive understanding of Islam is bound to come about in the West, if only because conversions and immigration continue to swell the ranks of its adherents. Islamic communities in the West are becoming not only larger, but more vocal than they were, say, five years ago.
A GLOBAL PHENOMENON
Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, traces its roots to the Middle East. It is, however, a global phenomenon, and its practice has no relationship whatsoever to one's nationality. This one simple fact, so frequently ignored or glossed over in news reports and discussions about Islam, may well be the most obvious barrier to a meaningful approach to the faith.
FIVE OBSTACLES
1. Misunderstandings about the global appeal of Islam ...
are the first of the five obstacles to understanding Islam that we'll be examining in this article. The others are:
2. Stereotypes related to role of the so-called "sword of Islam" in propagating the faith
3. Misunderstanding of the term jihad
4. Oversimplifications about gender relations and the role of women; and
5. Misconceptions regarding the Qur'an's teachings on warfare.
There are other barriers to understanding the faith beyond these five, of course. For one thing, there are, seemingly, countless internal divisions of opinion, expressed in the many scholarly interpretations of the faith's core texts. Outsiders can initially feel some confusion when trying to sort out the various scholarly voices. Understanding the many areas of intricate doctrinal controversy is a daunting task. (And this, as it happens, is not a task we're going to take on here.)
But on the major issues - the unity of God, the reality of the afterlife, the certainty of a reckoning for each of us, the special mission of the Prophet - Islam speaks with one voice. It is a voice that more and more people of good will in the West are striving to understand without prejudice.
#1: MUSLIM DOES NOT EQUAL ARAB
If you say the single word "Muslim," you are, as a matter of statistical fact, probably talking about a non-Arab.
This point is, perhaps, worth repeating. When you say that one word, "Muslim," you are probably talking about someone who is not from the Middle East and does not speak Arabic. And, given the percentage of Muslims who are converts from other faiths, there's a very good chance that you are talking about someone who grew up without any cultural connection whatsoever with Arab culture, language, or traditions.
It is certainly true that Arabic-speaking peoples -- those from countries like Iraq, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan -- are overwhelmingly Muslim, even though there are small numbers of non-Muslim Arabs in many Arabic-speaking lands. (The Coptic Christians, for instance, have been practicing their faith in Egypt for centuries.)
But Muslims from Arabic lands are easily outnumbered worldwide by Muslims who do not live in Arabic-speaking regions. So, when you say the single word "Muslim," you could be talking about any one of the following people:
* Hakeem Olajuwan, the NBA superstar. He was born in Africa.
* Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens. He was born in England.
* Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer. He was born in the United States.
Notice that each of these people has an Arabic name, even though each comes from someplace other than the Middle East.
Assuming that all Muslims come from the Middle East, or that the religion is a regional phenomenon, is a major, and quite common, mistake among Westerners. This mistake tends to make Islam seem smaller than it actually is (it has over a billion adherents worldwide) and more narrowly accepted than it actually is.
Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad, unlike all previous prophets, came to deliver his message of salvation to humanity as a whole. In keeping with Muhammad's global mission, Islam offers an international, rather than a localized, set of living standards and religious beliefs. But, as a practical matter, a Muslim in Djakarta, Indonesia is likely to have a very different set of life experiences from a Muslim in New York City, who is in turn likely to have a very different set of life experiences from a Muslim in Lagos, Nigeria. To treat all of these people as though they came from the Middle East would be to ignore the diversity, reach, and historical influence of the Islamic faith.
#2: STEREOTYPES CONCERNING THE "SWORD OF ISLAM"
One of the most persistent obstacles to a balanced understanding of Islam is a common misconception concerning how it spread.
In the period following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, a great Islamic empire arose - an empire that rivaled or exceeded the previous empires of Rome or Persia in its reach. There is a common notion in the West that Islamic armies systematically eradicated the belief systems of all non-Muslims they encountered - the so-called "Sword of Islam." This is, however, a historical fiction.
The prevailing philosophy of the Islamic state was not one of forcible imposition of Islamic beliefs (indeed, the Qur'an prohibits this), but rather the imposition of a special tax upon religious communities choosing to pursue their own faiths. In exchange for payment of this tax, followers of other faiths received military protection and enjoyed other benefits of community life in the Islamic empire.
The religion of Islam spread with great speed because adherents in many lands chose to embrace it, not because military or governmental authorities decreed other faiths forbidden. Indeed, Islam later gathered adherents in areas of the world where no Islamic armies had ever set foot, notably Indonesia and western Africa.
Nevertheless, the preconception remains that Islam's worldwide reach arose because of military adventurism and a history of religious intolerance. This is quite the opposite of what took place. Islam's days as an empire were marked by a remarkable tolerance for religious minorities - a tolerance that can still be found in nations such as Qatar today. (Other Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia, don't have an impressive record of tolerance in the modern period.)
Exasperated by the prevalence of the "Sword of Islam" myth, Muslims sometimes ask non-Muslims whether sheer military dominance COULD bring about worldwide acceptance of any religion … much less acceptance that would endure for centuries after the period of military dominance passed! If military strength alone did carry this force, they argue, we would today all be worshipping at the shrines of Roman gods.
#3: JIHAD
Another significant obstacle to an accurate understanding of Islam has to do with the common - but frequently misused - word jihad.
To judge by the newspaper headlines, televised news bulletins, and magazine articles in the West, jihad means one thing and one thing only: holy war against those who do not accept Islam.
That this is the common understanding of the term is a major failure in interfaith communication.
The primary association of military action with the word jihad arose centuries after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and even that later usage was an expansion of a deeper concept of central importance to the faith - a concept that still drives the meaning of the word today.
Jihad means struggle ... and it means struggle against the self first and foremost. To abandon oneself to lust, greed, anger, cynicism, or to forget one's ultimate accountability to God, is to abandon jihad; to make a conscious effort to develop temperance, generosity, and trust in Providence, and to remember one's eventual reckoning, is to wage jihad.
For a Muslim, jihad is the work of a lifetime, but the first and most important enemies are self-centeredness and the willingness to build one's life around material comforts and pleasures.
The teachings of Islam specifically forbid sneak attacks, assaults upon noncombatants, and the unnecessary destruction of property. Muslims also emphasize that Islam is, first and foremost, a religion of peace, one that explicitly forbids the returning of harm for harm. The September 11, 2001 suicide attacks on the United States have made many non-Muslims skeptical of the claim that Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims, for their part, counter that religious extremists exist in all religions, and that their acts should not be the standard by which any religion's precepts are judged.
*******
"There shall be no harm for harm, no revenge for revenge." - The Prophet Muhammad
*******
A warrior found himself in bloody, hand-to-hand combat with an opponent of the Islamic state. The fight was fierce, but the Islamic warrior was eventually able to disarm his opponent. They grappled with each other on the floor. Eventually, the Muslim gained the upper hand. His opponent, knowing he was about to die, spit in the Muslim's face as a final gesture of contempt.
At this, the Muslim warrior froze. Then he let his opponent go, stood up, took a deep breath, and ordered that the hand-to-hand combat begin again from the beginning.
His stunned adversary backed away, retrieved the weapon he had lost, and then looked long and hard at the Muslim warrior in utter disbelief. "Why," he asked, "have you given me another chance? You had won the fight! I was yours to kill!"
Patiently, the warrior explained his reasoning. "If I had killed you just now, I would have committed a sin, because I am forbidden to kill in anger. When you spit in my face, I felt rage rise within me. So we should begin again, and if you kill me, at least I will be able to pass without obstruction to Paradise."
Hearing this, the warrior's opponent dropped his weapon, fell to his knees, and asked to become a Muslim. The two were allies for the rest of their days.
#4: THE ROLE OF WOMEN
A common belief about Islam is that it degrades and oppresses women.
The vast majority of Muslim women, however, reject this notion. And that is reason enough to set it aside.
The following poem, by an American Muslimah (female Muslim), illustrates the principle.
I am a Muslim Woman
I am a Muslim Woman
Feel free to ask me why
When I walk, I walk with dignity
When I speak, I do not lie
I am a Muslim Woman,
Not all of me you'll see
But what you should appreciate
Is that the choice I make is free
I'm not plagued with depression
I'm neither cheated nor abused
I don't envy other women
And I'm certainly not confused
Note, I speak perfect English
Et un petit peu de francais aussi
I'm majoring in Linguistics
So you need not speak slowly
I own my own small business
Every cent I earn is mine
I drive my Chevy to school and work
And no, that's not a crime
You often stare as I walk by
You don't understand my veil
But peace and power I have found
For I am equal to any male
I am a Muslim Woman
So please don't pity me
For God has guided me to truth
And now I'm finally free!
-- Jenn Zaghloul.
Whether or not non-Muslims are familiar with such sentiments, the fact remains that most Muslimahs hold them.
That fact should, perhaps, be a starting point for any dialogue on gender relations in Islam.
If you think Islam oppresses women ... ask a Muslimah about Islam.
#5: MISINTERPRETATION OF THE QUR'AN
Two myths about Islam deserve discussion here. The first is the product of non-Muslims; the second is the product of Muslims.
For reasons known best to themselves, some non-Muslim commentators have insisted that the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, advocates hunting down civilian unbelievers and killing them wherever they may be found.
This is false.
Simply reading the context of the verses in question will demonstrate that they set out instructions for Muslims who were at war with a particular, clearly identified military opponent.
Here is the short passage so often quoted, with the most critical word rendered (misleadingly) as "unbelievers":
(9:5) Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.
And here is the entire passage, with the same word rendered, more accurately, as "idolaters." Context shows that the passage concerns a specific pagan group who had violated a treaty with the Muslims.
9:1 (This is a declaration of) immunity by Allah and His Apostle towards those of the idolaters with whom you made an agreement.
9:2 So go about in the land for four months (i.e., the four sacred months when battle was prohibited) and know that you cannot weaken Allah and that Allah will bring disgrace to the unbelievers.
9:3 And an announcement from Allah and His Apostle to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage that Allah and His Apostle are free from liability to the idolaters; therefore if you repent, it will be better for you, and if you turn back, then know that you will not weaken Allah; and announce painful punishment to those who disbelieve.
9:4 Except those of the idolaters with whom you made an agreement, (and) then they have not failed you in anything and have not backed up any one against you;, so fulfill their agreement to the end of their term; surely Allah loves those who are careful (of their duty).
9:5 So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives 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; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
9:6 And if one of the idolaters seek protection from you, grant him protection till he hears the word of Allah, then make him attain his place of safety; this is because they are a people who do not know.
It is, perhaps, worth reiterating that the subject of this portion of the Qur'an is, as a matter of historical fact, a specific tribe of pagan warriors who had broken a treaty with the Prophet Muhammad. The verses in question warned the members of this tribe that warfare was imminent. Notice that a four-month warning is given regarding the forthcoming conflict.
Notice, too that the Qur'an requires Muslim warriors to protect any pagan military opponents who renounce the fight and seek help ... and that conversion to Islam is not a precondition of this help!
An equally extravagant, and perhaps equally common, claim is that the Qur'an promises seventy-two virgins to any suicide attacker fighting on behalf of Allah.
Not only does this promise not appear in the Qur'an, it also flatly contradicts the Qur'an. The sacred text of Islam explicitly (and without exception) forbids suicide in all situations. This "urban legend" derives, not from the Qur'an, but from a Muslim saying attributed dubiously to the Prophet Muhammad, a saying that has nothing whatsoever to do with suicide attacks. Its authenticity is highly suspect, and it is not regarded as binding or obligatory by responsible scholars.
NOW YOU KNOW THAT ....
1. Islam is a global faith tradition; it is not a regional or Middle Eastern phenomenon. Most Muslims are not Arabs.
2. The Qur'an forbids compulsion in religion. The “Sword of Islam” stereotype is a historical fallacy.
3. Jihad is, first and foremost, the struggle with one's own faults and worldly desires.
4. Muslimahs (female Muslims) overwhelmingly reject the implication that they are oppressed, abused, or victimized by their faith.
5. Islam does not justify the slaughter of non-Muslim civilians or suicide attacks; to the contrary, it prohibits these activities.
Copyright © 2004 Brandon Yusuf Toropov. Permission to reproduce this article is freely granted, PROVIDED that the article is reproduced in its entirety, and PROVIDED that this credit line, and the web link below, is included. Please e-mail me at yusuf10106@aol.com; I would love to hear from you.
www.JesustheMuslim.com
And below, an important addition from a sister pointing out some elements I missed…
Assalamu alaykum Brother Yusuf,
mashaAllah, a great article, yet i just want to add a simple commentary
in addition to wat you have said...When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to come back from Wars against the dis-believers, he would tell
his companions (may Allah be pleased with them and us inshaAllah), "don't
get excited, we are done from the the minor Jehad, the MAJOR JEHAD IS
THE JEHAD AGAINT the self" (DHAAT in Arabic!) or a jehad against
the bad desires of the self! SO, this is a better understanding
of Jehad!
And when the Prophet would go for a fight, he would warn his companions,
by saying the following, "Don't attack at night, b/c people are asleep
at night, don't attack during praying time, b/c u might see people
worshiping, don't burn a tree, don't destory hourses b/c there might
be women and children there.." These are the advises from our Prohpet,
then how can they equate Islam with terrorism?