Islamic Violence?

Assailants on Wednesday slit the throats of three employees of a publishing house that distributes Bibles, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Turkey’s small Christian minority.

Thus began a story released today by the Associated Press. The next paragraph, though, is even more telling:

The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether the predominantly Muslim country – which is bidding for EU membership – can protect its religious minorities. It also underlined concerns about rising Turkish nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims.

Stories such as this are quite frequent, despite the fact that Muslims claim their religion is one of peace.

Brother Todd Clippard recently emailed five articles he had recently written about the Islamic faith. While all five are good and helpful, I have chosen to post just two of them here, because they teach more about the “violent” side of Islam.

Article #1 is entitled “Islam Does Not Mean Peace, Neither is it a Peaceful Religion.” (Brother Clippard’s words follow, and all emphases are original with him.)

One of the most commonly told lies regarding the Islamic religion is that the very name Islam means “Peace.” This is patently false. Islam means “submission.” Islam is by its very nature a religion of violence and oppression. These truths are indisputable, and anyone attempting to defend Islam as anything other than violent and oppressive is only denying the obvious.

Islam was born in violence. Islam was formed in the early 7th century by Mohammed, a self-proclaimed prophet and illiterate. Though founded in Mecca, Mohammed did not have much success until he moved to Medina in 622. There he began to convert the local Arabs, most of whom were polytheistic idolaters. When Mohammed finally mustered an army of several hundred men, he began his military campaigns to spread his religion by the power of the sword. This was the birth jihad, or holy war.

Islam was spread in violence. By the time Mohammed died in the year 632, hundreds of thousands of Arabs had converted to Islam, some willingly, others not so. Within twenty-five years of Mohammed’s death, his successors and their armies had conquered Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jerusalem, and North Africa. Since that time, Islam has made steady increases throughout the world.

Islam is maintained by violence because their holy book, the Quran, advocates violence. Another lie told by Muslims and the mainstream media is that terrorism is not a natural part of Islam, and that such atrocities are only committed by a small minority of Muslims. However, almost daily we see or hear of Islamic terrorists taking the lives of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of innocent people. Many of these victims are themselves Muslim. These innocents die because their own holy book, the Quran, advocates, condones, and even commands violence.
The divisions of the Quran are called Suras. In Sura 9:5 and Sura 5:33, the Quran calls for the execution of all infidels, that is non-Muslims who will not convert to Islam or pay tribute, called Zakat, to Islam. This is why you never hear Muslims publicly condemn suicide bombings, car, bus and roadside bombings, etc. Violence is a natural outgrowth of their own teaching.

Finally, it is likely that you (like me) went to college with or know someone in your community who is a Muslim. You say, “I just can’t see this person as a terrorist.” Probably not. But one must remember that any group or religious body must be judged on how it functions when it is in the majority, not the minority as Muslims are in the U.S. What do we find in countries dominated by Islam? Outright oppression and violence towards other religious groups, especially Christianity. Oppression of women. No tolerance of political dissent and absolutely no tolerance of criticism directed at Islam. Case in point, last September the Catholic Pope made what were interpreted as denigrating comments against Islam. The Islamic response? Rioting throughout Europe and calls for the Pope’s assassination. A year ago, the Muslim reaction to a Danish cartoonist’s rendering of Mohammed was to kill Christians around the world. Yep. That is one peaceful religion.

The second article was an outgrowth of the first. After reading the first article, a Muslim from Hamilton, Alabama visited Todd. Following is an article about their conversation. It is entitled “My Conversation with a Muslim (a.k.a. “The Muslim Who Proved Me Right”)”

Our most recent issues of House to House were mailed Tuesday, April 10. My back page article was titled, “Islam Does Not Mean Peace, Neither Is it a Peaceful Religion.” That day I received a request to meet and discuss my article. The following day we met to discuss the article. After explaining my reasons for publishing the article, I was accused of trying to incite hatred toward Islam and Muslims in general. I explained that telling the truth about Islam is not the same as promoting hate.

Then came a tirade against the United States and democracy in general. Specifically, it was said, “Democracy is a joke.” I quickly squelched the speech, noting my article had nothing to do with our government’s policies, neither was I obliged to defend the government’s actions. But it immediately occurred to me that if this person were to criticize most Islamic-led governments in the same way he was criticizing the United States, he would be imprisoned and/or executed. Then came railings and accusations against Israel and the Jews. Again, another quick squelch. The subject of Israel and her right to exist was not pertinent to the discussion.

This is when things got interesting. This person actually praised the leadership of Saddam Hussein and condemned President Bush. I asked him if he thought the Iraqi Kurds would agree to his statement about Hussein’s sterling leadership. (For those who may be unaware, Hussein gassed his own people, killing an estimated 50,000-100,000 Kurds in the late 1980s. Hussein’s own underlings have estimated that more than 250,000 Iraqis were murdered by the government.) What was the response to my mention of the Kurds? Quote: “Every Kurd should be killed; all of them. They try to devour everything around them like animals.” This statement, from the mouth of one sitting in my study at the church building because I said Islam is not a peaceful religion! Furthermore, he (incorrectly) accused me of taking the Koran out of context when I said his holy book advocated and commanded unbelievers to be put to death, saying only the Romans were to be killed. But consider how he again proved me right!

One can read in the Bible of terrible persecution against Christians, and post-biblical history records reveal how the Romans brutally executed Christians by the tens of thousands. What were Jesus’ instructions to his followers when they faced persecution? “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matt 5:10). And again, “”Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt 5:39). Finally, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (Matt 5:44-45).

Contrast that with Mohammed’s answer to persecution: “Fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)…” (Sura 9:5). Yes sir. That is one peaceful religion. Anyone who claims the religion of Mohammed and the religion of Christ are in any way related is either ignorant or dishonest. Not only are they unrelated, but they can never co-exist. In Genesi
s 16:12, God said the descendants of Ishmael (modern-day Muslims) would never peacefully co-exist with anyone. Look it up.