Author: Vinod Kumar
Publication:
Date:
In one discussion on a group, a
participant wrote: ""For instance while there is just one verse in Koran
which says "To you your religion, to me mine", there are scores (hundreds,
actually) which promote hatred towards disbelievers.""
Actually the Muslim apologists quote
two verses -- part of two verses to be more accurate -- to show Islam really
does not preach hatred against others. As written in the above post there
are scores of verses which do.
As a matter of fact these two verses
also don't promote amity among different religions or accept them as good
or equal to Islam.
1. The first verse -- part actually
-- that is often quoted is
"There is no compulsion in religion"
--- This is not the complete verse.
The complete verse is
"There shall be no compulsion in
religion. True guidance is now distinct from error. He that renounces idol
worship and puts faith in God shall grasp a firm handle that will never
break. God hears all and knows all." (2:256)
This verse is from the early Medina
period when the Prophet was trying to make friendship with the Jews and
convert them to Islam. So he preached there shall be no compulsion in religion
but still he maintained Islam is the "true" guidance and only those who
renounce idol worship shall grasp a firm handle. This verse does not accept
other religions as "true faith".
But the apologists of Islam never
quote the entire verse -- just the first part and try to claim that Islam
accepts all faiths and does impose Islam by force.
2. The second from which "to your
religion to me mine" is quoted is as below.
The title of this verse -- actually
the whole ayat -- is "The unbelievers" and it was revealed at Mecca when
the Prophet was trying to convert the Meccans to Islam and they were not
accepting his faith. It is a very short ayat. The complete ayat is:
"Say: 'Unbelievers, I shall never
worship what you worship, you shall never worship what I worship. You have
your own religion and I have mine." (109)
In this also the apologists only
quote a part of the entire ayat -- "you have your own religion and I have
mine." Reading of the complete ayat shows the disgust in which this verse
is written '-- "I shall never worship what you worship" --- there is no
compromise or acceptance of other's religion -- just rejection of each
other. "I shall never worship your religion and you shall never worship
my religion" does not reflect respect for other religion.
Nowhere does the Koran says anything
like "all religions come from God -- they are good and equal -- it does
not matter what one worships because in reality since there is only one
God -- one worships that God only."
Lord Krishna says in Gita -- whoever
one worships he worships me.
This is the true spirit of belief
in ONE GOD. If there is Only ONE GOD -- how can anyone worship any other
God. For the true believer in ONE God, the question of worshipping other
Gods does not even arise. Lord Krishna is secure -- he does not care who
anyone worships. There being only one God -- one can only worship him.
Anyway. coming back to original
topic the peaceful nature of Islam quoted by the apologists of Islam is
not in true spirit. They never quote the entire verse -- if they did so
their own theory will fall flat.
