Thursday, April 25, 2019

Why Islam Persecutes Christians?


            Christians are the most persecuted people on planet earth. Open Doors lists 33 countries where Christians are widely persecuted by Islam.1 Most of these countries boast a Muslim majority. However, Christians are being persecuted even in a few countries where Islam is not a majority. This is an interesting dynamic.

            In the wake of the recent Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, a proper understanding of the motive behind the Islamic persecution of Christians is necessary.

            The Quran seems to motivate terrorism against Christians. I mentioned a few verses from the Quran in my earlier blog entitled Islamic Terror & A Peaceful Response:2

Quran 2: 191: “And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled you, and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al- Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.”
Quran 3: 85: “And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.”
Quran 5:33: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment…”
Quran 8: 12: “…I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.”
Quran 9:5: “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush…”
Quran 47:4: “So when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens. That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah - never will He waste their deeds.” 
         
            There are more verses from the Quran that seems to motivate the persecution of Christians. Christian apologist David Wood mentions these verses in his YouTube video:3

Quran 9:29: Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.
Quran 9:123: O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous.
Quran 48: 29: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers - so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward.
Quran 8:60: And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.
Quran 9:111: Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah ? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.

            Some of our Muslim friends would refuse to believe that the Quran promotes terrorism. They insist that Islam is a peace-loving religion and that these verses are misinterpreted.

            Christian apologist David Wood has a very interesting thought. He correlates the life of Prophet Muhammad to the notion that Islam is a peace-loving religion, “…more than thirteen centuries ago, the relatively peaceful Muhammad fled Mecca because of intense persecution. As he fled the city, he left the path of peace farther and farther behind him. He eventually returned at the head of an army, and few were brave enough to oppose him. Islamic law was suddenly supreme, with a host of bloody tales to warn its enemies. A similar phenomenon occurs in the world today. When Muslims are in the minority (as they are in America) the message is always "Let us live in peace with one another, for Islam is a religion of tolerance and understanding." Then, once Islam has spread throughout the country, the message suddenly changes to "Anyone who stands against the Prophet is worthy of death!"”4

            In his article Is Islam a Religion of Peace? Christian apologist Sam Shamoun claims that Islam is not a peace loving religion. In fact, Shamoun demonstrates the fact that the Quran teaches Muslims to seek peace if they are outnumbered. On the contrary, and interestingly, if Muslims are in power (and in the majority), the Quran teaches them to not seek peace.5

            Shamoun lists three stages in the Muhammadan model of dealing with enemies:6

            Stage 1 – Preach tolerance when outnumbered by unbelievers/No retaliation stage.

            Stage 2 – Permit Defensive Fighting when there are enough Muslims and weapons to successfully carry it out.

            Stage 3 – After amassing a large number of soldiers and resources permission is given to carry out Offensive Warfare in order to kill the pagans and humble the Christians and Jews.

            To further substantiate the notion that Islam is not a peace loving religion, David Wood’s enlightening response to the question Is Islam a peace loving religion? is a must-read:

            David Wood writes, “If someone were to ask me, "David, do you believe that Islam is a religion of peace?" my answer would not be "Yes" or "No." Rather, my response would be, "First tell me what you mean when you say ‘Islam,’ for it is a term that is used in different ways." If by "Islam" we mean the religion that is practiced by more than a billion people around the world, I could reasonably answer with a qualified "Yes," because it is a religion of peace for many people (though not for all). But if by "Islam" we mean the religion taught by Muhammad, I would have to respond with a resounding "No."”7

            David Wood asserts that the peace-loving group and the terror-loving group can coexist under the unifying worldview of Islam. He writes, “One Muslim beheads an innocent woman to protest the war in Iraq, while another Muslim curses him for slaying the innocent. One group of Muslims flies an aircraft into a building, while another group condemns the attack. One Muslim detonates a bomb on a bus filled with passengers, while another Muslim says on the evening news, "Islam is a religion of peace." Each side quotes the Qur’an to support its actions. However, it may be even more important to note that each of them is following the example set by Muhammad.”8

            How then do we reconcile with our friends who ardently claim that Islam is a peace loving religion?

            David Wood cites the reason behind the claim of our benevolent Muslim friends that Islam is a peace loving religion. He writes, “I’m very happy that most Muslims are willing to live in peace with their neighbors. Yet we have to be honest here. Benevolent Muslims aren’t peaceful because they are following the example set by Muhammad. They are peaceful because they’ve chosen to do what’s right, and because they are willing to live far better lives than Muhammad himself lived. In fact, many Muslims are such kind, peaceful, and gentle people that they seem to be following the example set by another great religious leader—one who died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead to prove his message. This man gave his listeners a sober warning: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:15). And, may I add, we should also watch out for false religions, which come to us crying "Peace! Peace!" when they are built on a foundation of murder and bloodshed.”9

            To conclude, Islam persecutes Christians because the Quran validates the persecution and Prophet Muhammad’s life reflects the Quranic validation of persecuting Christians. Furthermore, there is a reasonably good case to believe that Islam is not a peace loving religion. Having said this, we should mention the presence of many Muslims who believe in living peaceably with their neighbor and let’s pray that these Muslims would, slowly yet surely, instill peace into Islam.

Endnotes:

1https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/

2https://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2017/06/islamic-terror-peaceful-response.html

3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt8Z_XMcluw&t=362s&fbclid=IwAR37vizfZXQwMby6zoVZdBS0WUF2yQ2N1CDH16vsh_fwIZv-011wrjnH7qg

4https://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/two_faces.htm

5https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/na_debate.htm

6Ibid.

7https://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/two_faces.htm

8Ibid.

9Ibid.

Websites last accessed on 25th April 2019.

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