Morpheus
New member
You probably should have included this one as well.
I probably could have included Quran (2:191-193) if it was actually relevant. But since you brought it up you, as most Christians do, have taken it out of context. Prior to this time they had been opressed for quite some time. Their property had been seized as well. But they had not been strong enough to defend themselves adequately, so they had bided their time until they gained enough strength. So in context they were then instructed to fight in self-defense against their oppressors, but if they cease then stop fighting for Allah is forgiving. Also, beside pulling text out of context, mistranslation can be an issue. On top of all this Muslims are not monolithic; there are several denominations, each with their own selection of Hadith, and within each denomination there is wide disagreement among their scholars as to how to interpret. Some believe in abrogation while others believe that since the prophet never said that any part of the Quran abrogated any previous passage, then all the Quran must be read as a unit, determining how any apparent conflicts can be brought into harmony with the whole. Instead of quoting a Meccan reference you would have been able to make a better argument with later Medina passages, but only using abrogation to negate the earlier passages about peace and tolerance.
Another error made by those trying to fault Islam is not acknowledging the closer similarity between Islam and Judaism and the difference of Christianity to both. Both Judaism and Islam are direction and laws for a worldly nation, while Christ was a spiritual leader whose kingdom is not of this world. Worldly nations need laws governing warfare along with all the other laws guiding governance. That is not necessary in Christianity since we will always be living in someone else's country as long as we are here. Remember even Christ said to Pilate that if his kingdom were of this world then his followers would be fighting. But like I have said elsewhere, I'm not an apologist for Islam, but I have been directed to admonish other Christians who are sinning and correct those who would bring disrepute to the faith.
These are not specifically my arguments in defense of Islam; they are arguments put forth by some Islamic scholars.
John 18:35,36
35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom [k]is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not [l]of this realm.”
http://www.aboutjihad.com/terrorism/quran_misquote_part_2.php