by Ahtesham Chaudhry

Following the horrendous and inexcusable atrocities that occurred in Belgium Thursday morning many correspondents publicized their opinions on the issues. One opinion that I found particularly interesting was the piece by Nabeel Qureshi in which he attacks the religion of Islam at it’s core, claiming that Islam’s Holy Scripture, the Quran, and the collection of the sayings of its prophet Muhammad, the hadith, are to blame for these attacks. For the person reading Dr.Qureshi’s article without much background knowledge of Islam he seems to have a point. He cites Quranic examples that seem to be violent and extreme. However, when I began to dissect the arguments and examples Dr.Qureshi cited, an issue in particular stood out to me. Dr. Qureshi fails to apply any sort of historical or scriptural context to the verses that he quotes.

 The first quote that Dr.Qureshi uses to radicalize Islam in the eyes of his readers is chapter 9 verse 29 of the Quran which says, “Fight those from among the People of the Book who believe not in Allah, nor in the last day, nor hold as unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have declared to be unlawful, nor follow the true religion, until they pay the tax with their own hands and acknowledge their subjection.” Dr.Qureshi says these verses command the Muslims to subjugate Jews and Christians. The verse, if taken out of context and without any historic background certainly gives this impression but if these are applied, an altogether different picture emerges. This verse was revealed during a time when tribes that were either Jewish or Christian or had alliances with Jews or Christians were actively engaged in hostilities against the newly established and growing Islamic state. Clearly some laws must be established to keep the peace. Historically many societies have existed in which both Muslims and non-Muslims coexisted peacefully through the use of Jizya, a per capita yearly tax levied by Islamic states on certain non-Muslim subjects permanently residing in lands under Muslim rule. The use of such a tax can be seen in the most successful empires in history including the Mughal Empire of India which established religious freedom and interreligious cooperation that was unheard of at the time. The Ottomans used it, the Sicilians used it, and the Persians used it. The Jizya as prescribed in these Quranic verses maintains interreligious cooperation and peace that have led to immensely successful empires and nations. Quranic verses clearly enjoin Muslim rulers to grant freedom of religion to all in a Muslim society. Can you name one society that existed in the 7^th century that gave a similar degree of religious freedom?

The next verse that Dr.Qureshi uses is verse 111 from chapter 9 in which Allah says “Surely, Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their property in return for the garden they shall have; they fight in the cause of Allah, and they slay and are slain- A promise that he has made incumbent on Himself in the Torah, and the Gospel and the Quran.” Nabeel Qureshi interprets these verses as “Kill or be killed in battle.” He isolates Islam and its followers as a violent group while ignoring the many examples in history of violence from other religious groups. Were Christians who were called upon in the 11^th century to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims not fighting for their religion? Pope Urban the second called all in Europe to wage a war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land. The Pope declares “Deus vult” meaning “God wills it.” What about the forced conversion of thousands of people in Goa, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and of the indigenous peoples in North America and Australia. Is this forced conversion not barbaric? Yet no one claims that the bible is a source or violence even though these verses exist in the Gospel and the Torah as can be seen in Deuteronomy chapter 17 verses 2-5 where it is said, “ If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,  and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky,  and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.” Do these verses of the Bible not give a message that should be deemed violent and aggressive? Why then is the Bible not called violent while the Quran and the image of Islam are slandered and labeled violent and barbaric?

 The Quran in verse 111 of chapter 9 clearly is not saying kill or be killed but is sighting historic examples in which Muslims fought for Islam, all for self-defense. The Quran isn’t referring to blind and horrendous murder but fighting and being slain only in self-defense as is seen in chapter 2 verse 191 of the Holy Quran where it says “And fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not transgress. Surely Allah loves not the transgressors.”

 Nabeel Qureshi does point out a few verses of the Quran that sound violent at first glance but when analyzed without bias clearly do not portray an image of a violent religion. Why not look at the verses of the Quran that grant religious freedom and promote peace unlike any other scripture. In chapter 3 verse 32 of the Quran god says “Whosoever kills an innocent it shall be as if he has killed all of mankind.” The killing of more than 30 innocent lives in Brussels on Thursday clearly violates this Islamic principle. ISIS killed the whole of mankind more than 30 times over according to these verses. These verses also be taken into account prior to saying that Islam is a violent religion and the Quran is a violent scripture.

The Quran also says that there is no compulsion in religion in chapter 2 verse 257 in which Allah says “There is no compulsion in religion. Surely, the right way has become distinct from error; so whosoever refuses to be led by those who transgress and believes in Allah, has surely grasped a strong handle which knows no breaking. And Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.” In the 7^th century what other group gave religious freedom other that which was inspired by the Quran and Hadith?

 Dr.Qureshi uses Quranic verses that are clearly misinterpreted to portray Islam as an inherently violent religion where these verses are taken as part of an offensive war stratagem rather then the true defensive and unifying one. Such thinking doesn’t radicalize Islam. ISIS does that. They “Islamify” radicalism. I encourage all people to check their bias at the door when studying Islam and the approach of innocence until proven guilty is extended to Muslims and Islam as it is to other faiths.