Terry Jones, the Christian preacher in Gainesville, Florida who has decided to burn copies of the Koran with the protection of a Christian militia group says his church, Dove Outreach Center, decided on the Koran burning to wake people up to the fact, though in reality it's only a belief, that Islam and the Koran are of the Devil. He is going through with the burning of the Korans in spite of opposition from General Petraus, Hillary Clinton and the White House, not to mention death threats from Muslims.
Jones has listed on his site 10 reasons to burn the Koran. And if these are not enough, he added five more. Virtually all of the reasons put forward to burn Korans are based on the authenticity of Christianity. For example, reason number one is because the Koran does not recognize Jesus as the son of God. (It's interesting to note that even the Bible itself is not clear on whether Jesus is God or the son of God.) However, most of what is used to condemn Islam can also be used to condemn Christianity. For example, number four which reads, "The earliest writings that are known to exist about the Prophet Mohammad were recorded 120 years after his death. All of the Islamic writings (the Koran and the Hadith, the biographies, the traditions and histories) are confused, contradictory and inconsistent. Maybe Mohammad never existed. We have no conclusive account about what he said or did. Yet Muslims follow the destructive teachings of Islam without question." There are many intelligent people who make this same argument against Christianity. The canon of the Bible wasn't decided upon until about 300 years after the death of Jesus. And the final canon/Bible was not officially decided upon and closed by the Catholic Church until the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Even the existence of Jesus is not certain.
It is true that the Koran is loaded with calls to violence against nonbelievers. For example Surah 9:5 instructs Muslims, "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 poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
It seems all of the Abrahamic "revealed" religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, promote violence. For example, Numbers 31:15-18 has Moses instructing the Israeli army, "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." The total number of virgins the Israeli army used and sexually abused is given in verse 35 at 32,000! This repulsive instruction to murder all the little boys as well as all the women who were not virgins and to keep all the virgins for themselves is even worse than what is being reported out of the Congo, of using rape as a weapon. And to make it even more despicable, in verse 31 the priest Eleazar claims this order Moses gave originated with God. As the Deist Thomas Paine wrote in The Age of Reason, "Is it because ye are sunk in the cruelty of superstition, or feel no interest in the honor of your Creator, that ye listen to the horrid tales of the Bible, or hear them with callous indifference?"
Christianity and individual Christian sects have shown through the Inquisition, the 30 Years War, ad nauseam, that violence against those who disagree with them is their chosen path whenever possible. Due to their lack of real power in secular governments, the last person they were able to murder via the Inquisition was the Deist, Cayetano Ripoll. They murdered Ripoll for his Deism. Actions like these can be seen to have approval by Jesus since it is said in the Bible at Matthew 10:34 that Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Since the Bible is overflowing with self-contradictions, it is not clear whether Jesus was promoting peace or violence.
If Terry Jones sincerely believes the Bible is the word of God and the Koran is of the Devil as he claims, he would challenge Islamic leaders to a public debate. However, deep down he must know that the Bible is not the word of God just as intelligent Muslims must know deep down that the Koran is not the word of God. The same holds true for intelligent Jews and the Torah. When the leaders of religious organizations know that their religious beliefs are in direct opposition to God-given reason, it makes it much more likely that violence will be used to continue those false beliefs/"revealed" religions since they cannot appeal to reason.
Comments
Bob, if I may, I'd like to explain to you the context of Surah 9:5 because you have only referenced that one verse without providing the context, which explains that true intention of this verse. It is not advocating violence or death to innocent people.
First it must be understood that Surah 8 and Surah 9 go hand-in-hand, and Surah 9 is really a continuation of Surah 8. So to understand the verse you are talking about (verse 5 of Surah 9 where it says to kill idolators), you have to understand the context in which that verse has been revealed. So let's go back several verses to the end of Surah 8.
The end of Surah 8 speaks specifically about the time of war when hostilities were high between the Meccans (idol worshippers) and Muslims (who had been violently chased out of Mecca several years earlier). From about verse 51 until 61, the Quran talks about the sanctity of treaties and promises because it was a time when the Muslims and the Meccans had agreed to sign a peace treaty where neither side would attack the other side for 10 years. As the chapter goes on, not only do Muslims understand that they MUST live up to the requirements of every treaty but they are also warned that even if they feel the idol worshippers (with whom they entered the treaty) would break the treaty, Muslims cannot pre-emptively attack the Meccans for fear of this breach of trust. If the treaty will be broken, it cannot be by the Muslims is what Surah 8 instructs the Muslims. Then, still in Surah 8, it says that when the treaty is broken (meaning during an agreement of peace, Muslims are attacked and killed by the Meccans who they made the treaty with) and Muslims find themselves in the midst of hostilities (at times of wars and battles), if the idol worshippers then offer peace, that offer cannot be rejected. Muslims must incline towards peace.
Surah 8 then goes on at the very end to tell Muslims that at this time of war, if anyone from the opposing army is taken as a prisoner of war, Muslims must treat that person kindly and tell them not to worry because God will provide for them if they have a good heart. Surah 8 then finishes with more guidance on behaving affectionately toward one another during time of war.
So you see that the subject being discussed is war....not just regular days....it is speaking to Muslims specifically about times of war when a group you had a peace treaty with betrayed you and killed you when you were living up to the obligations of the peace treaty. So now let's turn to Surah 9. It begins by talking about 4 sacred months in which Muslims are not to fight, even at this time when they are in a state of war against those who broke the truce. It tells Muslims to stop fighting and even let the opposing army travel the land. Then it says that once the sacred months are over, they should continue to battle them. That's where you find this verse that says to kill them and lie in wait for them. These are the same instructions any army general would give to his soldiers (i.e. when you are on the battlefield itself and confronted by your enemy who has betrayed you and seeks to kill you, be not hesitant to kill them). But the Quran does something that no other army general would do in the very next verse.
The very next verse says "And if anyone of the idolaters ask protection of thee, grant him protection so that he may hear the word of Allah; then convey him to his place of security. That is because they are a people who have no knowledge." So it becomes clear that Muslims are not instructed to kill all those who worship multiple gods like you said. If that were the case, then why would Muslims be expected to protect those idol worshippers who ask for protection? And that, too, during battle? I hope this makes it clear for you that the verse you are referring to is guidance for soldiers in battle...nothing more. Once you look at the context in which that verse is mentioned, you can see this point. Muslims are NOT instructed (or even allowed) to randomly kill anyone....be they an idol worshipper or not.
But see the mercy that the Quran affords even at a time of war. It says that even when you are fighting for your life, if the enemy suddenly asks you to protect them, you must not continue to fight them. Rather, you must protect them and take them to a place of security. And why? So that hopefully they may hear and understand the word of the one God. This is what Islam expects of its followers....to bring about a change in someone through their hearts and minds...not through force.
Does that make sense?
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