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The Spread of Islam
By Nashid Abdul-Khaaliq
Answer:
First of all I will gladly offer all the riches I possess to
anyone who can show where the verse "convert or die" is located in the Qur’an.
There is no such verse in the Qur’an! This is a terrible distortion that has no
basis in truth. Instead of "convert or die" you would find verses such as the
following:
Let there be no compulsion
in religion; Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and
believes in G-d hath grasped the most trustworthy hand hold, that never breaks.
And G-d heareth and knoweth all things." (Verse 2:216)
"Say, 'The truth is from your Lord': Let him who
will believe, and let him who will, reject (it):…( Verse 18:29)
"If it had been thy Lord's will, they would all have believed,-
all who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their
will, to believe!" (Verse 10:99)
The above verses and many more in the Qur’an, shows that
Al-Islam is against forcing people to become Muslims. Al-Islam believes in
freedom of expression where we all can choose of our own free will to follow the
religion of our choice. Only Allah can touch the hearts of human beings and as
Muslims we cannot force anyone to accept Al-Islam. Those who force others to
accept Al-Islam are not following what Al-Islam teaches and are not true
Muslims.
The history of Al-Islam has not been one where people were
forced at the point of a sword to convert. In Indonesia where the largest number
of Muslims in the world live, there were never forced conversions. This is true
of Malaysia, India, Africa, Europe, America and wherever Muslims are found.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. After 911, Muslims
experienced one of the highest rates of conversion here in the US despite the
enormous negative portrayal of Muslims as terrorists. What sword did American
Muslims use to make that happen?
When Muslims ruled Spain it became the marvel of the Middle Ages, and when
all of Europe was plunged in barbaric ignorance and strife, it alone held the
torch of learning and civilization bright and shining before the Western world.
The reasons for the rapid advance and conquest of Spain are numerous but one
stands out more than others: The generous terms the Moors offered which
contrasted markedly with the harsh rule of the Visigoth rulers before them.
Approaching Toledo in 711 C.E, the Muslim ruler, Tariq ibn Ziyad
offered that anyone who wished to leave could do so while those who stayed
could retain property, practice their religion freely and be governed by their
own rules and laws. This was all in line with what the Qur’an taught and the
example demonstrated in the life of Prophet Muhammad.
It is interesting to note that in 1602, after the Christians
recaptured Spain, one of the great charges they brought against the Muslims was
that Muslims were too tolerant in religion. The Archbishop of Valencia, in
recommending the expulsion of Muslims from Spain stated, "that they (the
Muslims) highly praised nothing as much as liberty of conscience in all matters
of religion, which the Turks, and all other Mohammedans, allow their subjects to
enjoy". Although brought up as a negative charge against Muslims, this was
indeed a great compliment paid unwittingly showing the tolerance practiced by
Spanish Muslims.
The idea that Al-Islam was spread by the sword and forced people
to become Muslims is not sanctioned by the Qur’an or from real evidences in
Islamic history. There are many historians and distinguished people from all
over the world who are non-Muslims who also say the same thing. Here is a
listing of just a few:
1. From a Christian, De Lacy O'Leary, Historian from his
book "the sword of Al-Islam".
Quote:
"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical
Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Al-Islam at the point of the
sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that
historians have ever repeated" (Al-Islam at the Crossroads, London, 1923 p. 8).
2. From an Israeli Jew, Uri Avnery, Journalist, humanitarian
and former Knesset member:
Quote:
"Muslim Spain was a paradise for the Jews, and there has never
been a Jewish Holocaust in the Muslim world. Even pogroms were extremely rare.
Muhammad decreed that the "Peoples of the Book" (Jews and Christians) be treated
tolerantly, subject to conditions that were incomparably more liberal than those
in contemporary Europe.
"The Muslims never imposed their religion by force on Jews and Christians, as
shown by the fact that almost all the Jews expelled from Catholic Spain settled
in the Muslim countries and flourished there.
"After centuries of Muslim rule, Greeks and Serbs remained thoroughly Christian.
When peace is established between Israel and the Arab world, the poisonous
fruits of anti-Semitism will most probably disappear from the Arab world (as
will the poisonous fruits of Arab-hating in our society.)"
3. From a Hindu, Mahatma Ghandi liberator of India from British
colonial rule:
Quote:
'I become more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place
for Al-Islam in those days in the scheme for life. It was the rigid simplicity,
the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges,
his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his
fearlessness, his absolute trust in G-d and his own mission. These and not the
sword, carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble.'
(M.K. Gandhi, Young India, 1924).
4. From an Atheist, Mathematician and Philosopher Bertrand Russell:
Quote:
I have always been told throughout my youth of the fanaticism of the
Mohammedans, and especially that story of the destruction of the library at
Alexandria. Well, I believed all these stories, but when I came to look into the
history of the times concerned, I had a great many shocks. In the first place, I
discovered that the library of Alexandria was destroyed a great many times, and
the first time was by Julius Caesar. But the last time was supposed to have been
by the Mohammedans, and for this I found no justification whatsoever. Nor did I
find that the Mohammedans were fanatical. The contests between Catholics,
Nestorians, and Monophysites were bitter and persecuting to the last degree. But
the Mohammedans, when they conquered Christian countries, allowed the Christians
to be perfectly free, provided they pay a tribute. The only penalty for being a
Christian was that you had to pay a tribute that Mohammedans did not have to
pay. This proved completely successful, and the immense majority of the
population became Mohammedans, but not through any fanaticism on the part of the
Mohammedans. On the contrary they, in the earlier centuries of their power,
represented free thought and tolerance to a degree that the Christians did not
emulate until quite recent times.
Bertrand Russell (Eng. philosopher, mathematician, 1872-1970): "Reading History
As It Is Never Written" [1959]
5. From a Christian, Sir George Bernard Shaw, Writer:
Quote:
'I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its
wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that
assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself
appeal to every age. I have studied him - that wonderful man - and in my opinion
far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the saviour of humanity. I
believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern
world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the
much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad
that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be
acceptable to the Europe of today.
(G.B. Shaw, The Genuine Islam)
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