Still waiting for answers
Reader comment on item: U.S. Improvising on Security Five Years After 9/11
in response to reader comment: Reply to Pat

Submitted by Pat (United States), Sep 11, 2006 at 17:36

I know I need help, but I didn't pick these verses out. Ibn Warraq did. He was born into a Muslim family and he finds it shocking that these verses are in a religious text.

Of course I need help. That's why I'm asking these questions. I only wish I could get straight answers from people who know. I've had no luck so far, but I'll keep trying. Here goes.

There is absolutely nothing in verses 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6 to indicate that they are historical references. Speaking of 9.6:

[9.6] And if one of the idolaters seek protection from you, grant him protection till he hears the word of Allah, then make him attain his place of safety; this is because they are a people who do not know.

Please explain. Historical or not, what does it mean to grant him protection till he hears the word of Allah? What if he prefers idolatry?

47.4 - How do Muslims define the battlefield? When did four airplanes and three buildings an ocean away from Muslim lands become a battlefield? Do Muslims still believe in Dar-al-Harb?

Christianity did teach for a long time that non-believers would go to hell, but that is no longer part of church doctrine, and it never gave lay Christians the right to murder others. This doesn't mean that there weren't pogroms or other atrocities, only that they didn't have church approval. Why are Muslims who leave the faith and convert to Christianity marked for death? Why was a Dutch filmmaker murdered? Why were Danish publishers threatened with bodily harm for publishing cartoons? Why was a Muslim author marked for death? If every questionable verse in the Koran is merely history, then why are Christians and Jews still barred from Mecca? Where do Muslims find the right to kill others for verbal offenses? Why is merely "offending" Muslims a crime worthy of death?

Sorry, Thetruth, you can't have it both ways.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.