Organization of the Islamic Conference Quotes

Hazrat Omar ibn al-Khatab

See {586039} for a quotation that goes further and seeks to punish and humiliate the non believers. This sura is often used by those wishing to illustrate the intolerance of Islam—especially of other religions. They fail to put this into the context of the Old Testament which proscribed death for heretics or the history of Christianity regarding the murder of nonbelievers. The difference is however, that a very small proportion of Jews or Christians today believe in following Biblical instructions in this respect while the proportion of Muslims who believe in the literal interpretation of scripture on these points is much larger. However there are Islamic modernists and moderates throughout the world who reject this notion of warring on all other religions and there is a struggle going on within Islam itself.

In the early stages of Islam, Muhammad had hoped to convert the Jews and others on the Arabian Peninsula. When they refused to be converted, he warred against them usually killing the men, and taking the women and children as slaves. The result was that non-believing tribes were “cleansed” from the Arabian Peninsula. The Muslims at the time preferred children as slaves. For then they could convert the children against their will. Adults in Islam must accept Islam in order to convert. Children are regarded as having no such maturity of decision making and therefore opposition to conversion may be ignored and they may be forced. Critics of Islam and those who argue that Islam is at odds with all other religions point to this quotation. They claim that it is the only religion whose founder and fundamental scriptures demand war against others for no other reason than that they believe in a different religion. The Catholic Church during the Crusades and the Inquisition had a similar philosophy as did Christian missionaries colonizing Africa later. One difference is that most Christians today repudiate the doctrine as against the true spirit and teachings of Christ and view it as historical error, while very few modern Muslims repudiate this quotation of the Prophet.

This is a huge epic poem that he wrote over several years. At the time, the Persians considered themselves far more civilized and sophisticated than the Arabs who were but tribesmen. They really resented the fact that it was the Arabs that brought Islam. And before, most of the Persians worshipped Zoroaster. Although Islam spread faster and further than any religion in history, it was not always easily accepted as this stanza of the poem indicates. There is to this day a superiority that the Iranians perceive over the Arabs. And to this day, many Arabs resent the Iranians for this attitude.

He is a Greek Orthodox Christian, and he correctly observes that the Islamic world was considerably more tolerant than the Christian until the 18th century when Islam had become less tolerant in the Middle East while the Christians were modernizing and going through a cultural and intellectual enlightenment and societal modernization while the Muslims, became less tolerant than they were in earlier years leading to the modern situation.

It is this verse that for some Muslims justifies terrorism against non-Muslims. See {584354} for a specific example. There are similar provisions in the Old Testament which a few extremely conservative Jews and Christians have used to advocate for blasphemy being a capital crime. Note that if an unbeliever repents and becomes a Muslim, he should be spared.

These suras are ones that for some fundamentalist extremists justified the killing of Iraqis Muslims who worked with the British, Americans or other Coalition forces in the Iraq war or even politicians who cooperated with the coalition.

Abdul Rahman had converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years before. Conversion from Islam is a capital crime under Sharia Law. Rahman was charged but the judge demonstrating the tolerance of Islamic law said that Rahman would be given an opportunity to change his mind and re-embrace Islam and if he did so, he would be converted and not killed.

Despite the fact that the statues were holy symbols to Buddhists, they were offensive to Muslims who say statues as “graven images” prohibited by the Koran. See Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil {608419} and Jamal’s other quotation {604665}.

It was uttered in the King’s name by soldiers and officials throughout the land. It is not certain that the exact words of choice were created by Louis but they were uttered in his name. Protestants had been given the right to practice their religion in France by the King’s grandfather (the Edict of Nantes {617664}), but Louis XIV rescinded that {617765} and gave Protestants this choice. Some converted. Some were murdered. Some escaped to other countries.

This quotation is important because it emphasizes an aspect of freedom of religion that is not usually discussed—the freedom to LEAVE a religion. As an Islamic reformer born in Iran, this notion is extremely important. Under Sharia—Islamic Law—capital punishment is required for anyone who converts from Islam to any other religion. This has been made a part of the civil law of many Islamic nations from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia as well as Iran where Sharia IS the civil law. There is no other religion in the world which makes conversion away from the religion a capital crime requiring execution. Executing people who leave a religion is a major violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians were allowed to maintain their own religion and live as 2nd class citizens and pay a special tax, but ALL other religions were to be forced to convert.

Toleration is a relative term. The Muslim Moors made Christians (and Jews) pay a special tax. At times they were forced to wear special clothing so that they could be readily identified. And they could not build churches larger or taller than the smallest mosque in the community. At times, their occupations were restricted but at other times Christians and Jews were appointed to the highest positions like Vizier. The Inquisition, in contrast, forced all Muslims (and Jews) to leave the country without any of their property or money or be tortured and killed—usually by burning at the stake unless of course that they converted to Christianity.

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus

Historically, when Christian Europe was torturing and butchering people over differences of religious opinion, Islam was for the time, in most places, a model of tolerance. Suhrawardy died before Islam degenerated into an intolerance that almost rivaled in brutality that of the Christians centuries ago. And while his statement about the invention and initiation of brutal intolerance is correct, he would be shocked at the behavior of 21st century Iran, Pakistan and some other Islamic nations who from a traditional Islamic perspective had degenerated.

In one of the historical ironies of the 12th century, a Christian sect preferred the rule of the Muslims than their Christian brethren—on the grounds of religious tolerance. It illustrates the changes that take place over time. By the 21st century, it was the Christians who were thought of as tolerant and the Muslims as the opposite.

This sura is used by fundamentalist Islamic regimes to justify religious persecution and prohibit any public worship other than Islam. Jews and Christians went through this stage and there are still a few fundamentalist extremists who would deny freedom of religion if they could. While the percentage is small, those in Islamic nations are a much larger proportion of the whole.