Posted on 06/26/2006 11:04:05 AM PDT by jrossol
Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the jizya (poor-due), then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. - Qu’ran, 9:5
If the above might look familiar, it’s known as Ayat al-Sayf, or the Verse of the Sword. And unfortunately, it’s quite a significant passage in governing the relationship between Muslims and the rest of the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at familysecuritymatters.org ...
Theirs is not unlike that of the armies of Christianity, 500 or so years ago.
Sorta suggests what sort of time-warp the muslims are stuck in.
I don't want to understand muzlims.
I don't care what the koran says.
I don't even want to be friends with them.
They have said that I must convert or die.
I believe them. And I will NOT convert.
Therefore, the only thing I need to know is that they are the enemy and need to be destroyed.
On this subject, all other talk is nothing but fart gas that helps my enemy kill me.
How simple is that?
This statement belies the level of scholarship behind it as much as one of the other popular fallacies: "You find the same sort of thing in the Bible".
Also suggests why they (The terrorists) are losing. begs the question, just what do these verses have to do with the way your average Muslim goes about his/her daily life?
Good article - the Verse of the Sword goes a long way to illustrate the ethos of Islam as a political system as distinct from a religion. If we fail to learn the lesson of the Verse of the Sword, we do so at our own peril; for the pattern of Islamic expansion and dhimmitude is as inexorable as night following day.
Ever hear of a little thing called the 30 years war? Or what the Crusaders of the 1st Crusader did at Worms & Mainz? Need I mention Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre?....etc...etc...etc
Yes, I've heard how brutally Christians RESPONDED to Islam in the Crusades.
As any self-respecting (devout) Muslim would proudly tell you, though, the worst of it is child's play in comparison.
"Yes, I've heard how brutally Christians RESPONDED to Islam in the Crusades."
Well said Sir!
1/4 of the population of Germany died in the 30 years war, childs play? My point is people in glass houses....
Some/Most people in the west have learned and changed, and Muslims (for the most part) are learning changing also. You can see it every day in this war.
As part of self-preservation we MUST understand not only what the Koran teaches, but the difference between a "good" Muslim and a nominal/cultural one.
The Qur'an says that Muslims who take part in jihad for killing of non-Muslims are set apart in the eyes of Allah compared with those who do not join in the jihad. They are considered superior to all others, and as such can influence the nominal Muslim to "raise their game".
In all dealings with Muslims it just makes sense to get an idea of where they stand in this regard, and not be naive.
The invasion of non-Muslims as taught by Muhammad is the focal point of the faith of every true Muslim, and has always been the major tool for the spread of Islam. "War is prescribed to you;..."(Q.2:216)
There are absolutely NO practices, weapons or tactics that are out of bounds in achieving the spread of Islam.
We must "...be as shrewd as serpents, and as innocent as doves" (Matt. 10:16) in dealing with Muslims on all levels.
Even the nice, nominal Muslim, unless he/she has completely renounced the religion (an act itself punishable by death is some Muslim communities) it is not only smart, but unfortunately necessary, for those who wish to protect themselves, their loved ones and their culture to practice some level of caution and suspicion.
Of course the "tolerant" thing to do is be stupid and "devil-may-care". But guess what? The devil is, in fact, exactly who DOES care. Skoff at your own peril.
It may help to bear in mind that even the nice, "modern" Muslims nest door are are contributing to bring about the eventual overthrow of your society, possibly even without their realizing it, by the money they almost surely are giving to the local Islamic community, (there is pressure to do so even on the most casual practitioners), and this money is routed to raise up "true" Muslims who are devoted to the ongoing jihad for the eventual triumph of Islam over the entire world.
Some/Most people in the west have learned and changed, and Muslims (for the most part) are learning changing also. You can see it every day in this war."
We can debate whether Stalin's genocide was worst than Hitler's too, I suppose.
Some of the most brutal torture in recorded history was performed in the Tower of London in the not-so-distant past-- in that county that likes to think of itself as so cultured. Proving only that man is capable of awful deeds, and the worst examples may be debatable according to individual "taste".
But NO people/army in history has consistently embraced, not only as acceptable but LAUDIBLE behavior, the fiendishly brutal treatment of it's enemies the way Islam teaches and has since the second half of Muhammad's ministry in the seventh century.
As far as the transformations you see among Muslims, although I like your optimist ism, I'm afraid it sounds too much like nothing more than wishful thinking to me. IMO it is naive to think there can be real and lasting change of individual hearts and minds as long as they adhere to the teachings of Muhammad. Period.
It is unrealistic to think that getting people to agree to behave as nominal Muslims is any sort of long term solution or peace if they still consider as "the most perfect book" that clearly teaches them there are serious negative repercussions for such behavior.
To believe otherwise is, IMO, to delude oneself or to be poorly informed regarding the teachings and culture of Islam.
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