Islam Is a Religion of Peace: part II

This round will be for refuting your opponent's Round 2 arguments. I. God's Purpose There is not really a point in debating this since I believe in the worship of God. He is just establishing the concept that the purpose of God is to bring worship. II. The Real Debating Material Now we are getting into some conflict here. In the actual translations and meanings of my opponent's verses, we will see that they indeed are taken out of context. When defenders of Islam refer to a Qur'an-ic verse that is taken out of context, they are not pointing to a different translation, but actually to a broader look at the verse and an actual meaning of the verse. I will look at each of my opponent's verses. II. i. Verse one: Qur'an 2:191 This is taken out of context in the cut-and-paste sense. Let us look at the broader area of the Qur'an: "Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loves not transgressors. And kill them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for persecution and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, kill them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith. But if they cease, God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression. The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear (the punishment of) God, and know that God is with those who restrain themselves. "(Qur'an 2:190-194)[1][2] "These verse[s] were revealed at a time when Muslims of Madinah were under constant attack from the Makkans. ""So what does this verse say in this context? 'Fight in the cause of God those who fight you', 'unless they (first) fight you there' - the context of this verse applies to those who initiate the attack against Muslims. "[1] So here, in this verse, the Muslims are being attacked. To defend yourself against attack is still peaceful. And, if they stop attacking, the Muslims must stop fighting. "Let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression. " That is even in your broken-up verses. II. ii. Verse two: Qur'an 2:216 This verse is commonly mistaken due to a misused word. The word used is not Jihad, but is rather Qital. "The first mistake in this translation is that this Quranic verse actually does not use the word 'Jihad'. This verse actually uses the word 'Qital', which refers to physical combat in war. Combat is ordained for Muslims in order to defend themselves and their rights, as well as the rights of others. The obligation to physically defend one's rights. .. "[1] Let us now back up this claim: "And what is wrong with you that you do not engage in combat for the sake of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help. "(Qur'an 4:75)[1][2] "It is most certainly a duty of all human beings to help each other from oppression and injustice. "[1] This in itself is peaceful, since trying to create a peace is of course peaceful. So here, in this verse, Muslims do not have to fight, they only have to fight to protect their own and their community's rights from oppressors. Trying to protect rights and keep peace in reign is most certainly peaceful. III. Conclusion As we can clearly see, it is peaceful to defend your home from attackers. One can defend yourself. One can also stand up for people who are having their rights taken. To combat an enemy who intends on war to prevent rights is peaceful in the end when the rights are preserved. Also, if someone is preventing you from practicing your religion, they are obviously doing something aggressive. Islam is a religion of peace since they are never the oppressors or attackers without probable cause. They defend themselves and others from the oppression of attackers. To do that is not unpeaceful, and as mentioned earlier, helps spread the peace. Now on to your last verses. III. i. Verse three: Qur'an 8:65 "It is for this reason that the Qur'an declares that a believer with understanding is ten times stronger than an unbeliever. For the believer understands the truth and a non-believer does not. It may be remembered, however, that the verse also mentions another important factor in addition to 'understanding' which makes a believer much stronger than an unbeliever, and that is 'patience'. "[3] They only think the believer stronger because the non-believer does not understand the truth. Qur'an Verse 8:65 also mentions "steadfast"[2], which means the non-believers attacked first. The call to battle is the call to defend Islam. "In the verse quoted above [8:65] in which Muslims are urged to make ready their "strength to the utmost" of their power, one needs to take into account (a) the context of the entire Chapter, where it deals with treachery, hypocrisy and unilateral abrogation of a treaty that was imposed upon Muslims by their adversaries, and (b) the verse that comes after it. "[4] So obviously, this is a war of self-defense. III. ii. Verse four: Qur'an 47:35 "Surah 8:61 is saying that you should incline to peace IF THE ENEMY is inclining to peace. But Surah 47:35 says that if you have the upper hand, YOU SHOULDN'T INCLINE TO PEACE in being the first one to do so. However, Surah 47:35 does not say that you shouldn't incline to peace IF THE ENEMY INCLINED TO PEACE first. So there is no contradiction. Surah 8:61 states that you should incline to peace if your enemy did so, but 47:35 basically states that you shouldn't initiate it if you have the upper hand. "[5] Here, the verse is basically saying that you should not incline to peace if your opponents were the aggressors, and you have the upper hand, but if the enemy inclines toward peace, then Muslims must accept. You can not initiate, but you can accept. "And if they incline to peace, then incline to it [also] and rely upon Allah . Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Knowing. "[2] III. iii. Verse five: Qur'an 8:12 (I think. Your quoted verse is most certainly not 8:1) True context: "8:12-13 Recall that your Lord inspired the angels: "I am with you; so support those who believed. I will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved. You may strike them above the necks, and you may strike even every finger. " This is what they have justly incurred by FIGHTING God and His messenger. For those who fight against God and His messenger, God's retribution is severe. "[1] "The historical context is that this verse was revealed at the Battle of Badr, a battle in which the pagans of Makkah traveled over 200 miles to destroy the Muslims of Madinah. "[1] III. iv. Verse six: Qur'an 2:193 You forgot the rest of the verse: "Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah . But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors. " Obviously, if they [infidels] have to cease, they were the aggressors. III. v. Verse seven: Qur'an 9:123 "If we read this verse along with the succeeding passage, it becomes clear that here disbelievers who are near you refers to those hypocrites who were doing great harm to the Islamic society by mixing up with the sincere Muslims. "[5] IV. Infidels It is misinterpreted: "What does the term infidel mean? It is not a Qur'anic term. It is a term that Christians have historically applied to non-Christians, particularly Muslims. Christian doctrine simply did not recognize the legitimacy of Islam. Hence, Muslims were "infidels," and usually placed in the same category as "pagans" and "savages. " The Qur'an speaks of "kuffar," or those who disbelieve, or cover up the truth, or deny the truth of God and His messengers. However, it is incorrect to translate "kafir" as infidel. The Qur'an also does not label all non-Muslims as kuffar, or unbelievers. "[6] Also, Muslims response to these supposed "Infidels" is peaceful, unless the "Infidels" attack them. "The Qur'an does not teach that "infidels" should be killed, taxed, or converted as a matter of principle. "[6] In fact, conquered territories were usually allowed to keep their original religion, "However, Muslim rulers usually insured that local populations could practice their own religions and have their own institutions, provided they accepted Muslim rule and paid their taxes. " This tax is not exclusive to non-Muslims because Muslims had a tax themselves. Review: *The purpose of Islam is the recognition of the glory of Allah through worship, like the other Abrahamic faiths. *Neither in the other Abrahamic faiths is God's purpose to bring peace. All three state a purpose of worship; Islam is not exclusive. *If a Muslim is attacked, or anyone for that matter, he has the right to defend himself. Obviously, if someone is preventing you from worship, he is being unpeaceful. *If a Muslim encounters an Infidel, he is to not kill him. *Allah only ordains wars he wants, which are exclusively wars of self defense. *Islam is a religion of peace because oppression is disallowed. Thank you Con. Over to you. Sources: [1]: . http://islamnewsroom.com... [2]: . http://quran.com... [3]: . http://www.islamicstudies.info... [4]: . http://www.islamicity.com... [5]: . http://www.islamicstudies.info... [6]: . http://qa.sunnipath.com...