The Qur'an openly preaches violence and hatred against non-believers.

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. I thank my opponent for starting this debate. I hope that my responses will be clear, and that they will remove a very common misconception about the Qur'an today. [Qur'an 109, Al-Kafiroon, The Disbelievers] "Say: O disbelievers! (2)I worship not that which ye worship; (3)Nor worship ye that which I worship. (4)And I shall not worship that which ye worship. (5)Nor will ye worship that which I worship. (6)Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion." -- Rebuttals -- " In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves)." This is from the Qur'an, chapter 2, verse 10, not verses 17-18, as my opponent stated for some reason. If you look at the context, you will see that this verse speaks about hypocrites. [Qur'an 2:8] "Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe." The disease in their hearts is hypocrisy, and unless they wish to cure it, God will let it rise for them so they can be punished for their sins because they never wished to cure such a great disease. [Qur'an 2:65] "And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: 'Be ye apes, despised and rejected.'" This speaks about Israelites who transgressed on Sabbath/Saturday. Instead of resting and worshiping during that day, and leaving cooking etc., many openly started trading and doing other such things on a day that is prescribed as a day of rest, and due to that God punished them by turning them into apes. This was a warning for other people. [Qur'an 2:89] "And when there comes to them a Book from Allah, confirming what is with them,- although from of old they had prayed for victory against those without Faith,- when there comes to them that which they (should) have recognised, they refuse to believe in it but the curse of Allah is on those without Faith." This verse speaks of a historical context of people who believed in earlier scriptures. Those were Jews. They awaited a Prophet that was predicted by their own Prophets, but when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came with a clear message from God, many of them refused to recognize him as a Prophet, and God cursed such people. The next verses (my opponent quoted verses 2:191 and 2:193) speak about war. I will analyse them. [Qur'an 2:190] "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors." Already in this verse, God mentions fighting in His name, but He mentions it in such a peaceful way that is not to be misunderstood at all: Fight in Allah's cause those who fight you, and do not transgress limits. Which person will tell me that this verse is to be misunderstood, and that the misunderstanding can be related to the verse itself? Is the verse not as clear as the sun on the rule of fighting? Fight the attackers. Also, what is meant by "do not transgress limits?" [Book 019, Hadith Number 4319, Chapter: Prohibition of killing women and children in war.] "It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah that a woman was found killed in one of the battles fought by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He disapproved of the killing of women and children." There are many similar statements found in authentic hadith. The beloved Prophet forbade killing such innocent people even during wartime. When a terrorist blows himself up, which is a major sin, destroys other people's property, kills numerous innocent people, including disabled, children, etc., then which verse of the Qur'an or saying of the Prophet can he ever use to justify his horrible action? Is this really correlated with the words of the Prophet saying that innocent people are to be protected? [Qur'an 2:191] "And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have Turned you out; for tumult 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, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith." Fight in self-defence, as already explained. Unfortunately, I do not see verse 190 from my opponent, explaining what fighting is for, nor verse 192. [Qur'an 2:192] "But if they cease, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." If they wish peace, God is forgiving, and Muslims must, of course, accept peace. [Qur'an 2:193] "And fight them on until there is no more Tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah; but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression." In the next verse, God says to fight them until there is no more oppression. It is clear that the enemies were the oppressors, so why would a Muslim read this and think of oppressing, instead of fighting oppression? Also, the verse was not quoted fully, but I have done it. As can be read, when the enemy offers peace, there must be no fighting excepts against oppressors. And these are historical verses, and still today, they explain fighting in self-defence, not oppression. [Qur'an 3:151] "Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers!" My opponent said, "Allah calls for using fear tactics against the non-believers, this could be interpreted as terrorism like we see so much of in the world today." Firstly, the word "terror" means terrible agony, or something similar. The word "terrorism" did not exist before the French Revolution, centuries after the Qur'an was revealed. So, how can the word "terrorism" be read in Arabic when reading the Qur'an? Secondly, Allah simply says that God will cast "fear" or "terrible agony" in the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they commit crimes in the sight of God. At the Day of Judgement, Muslims will be happy, being led to Paradise, and the disbelievers will be sad, going to punishment due to their evil actions. So, an Arab Muslim can impossibly think of terrorism when reading this in Arabic, and that is certainly what a "fundamentalist" Muslim would do. For [Qur'an 4:101], due to lack of time and character space, please see source #1. I have explained it there. [Qur'an 4:144] "O ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers: Do ye wish to offer Allah an open proof against yourselves?" First off, I will say that the beloved Prophet had non-Muslim friends. Secondly, I will explain what the real meaning is. The same is mention in other verses. [Qur'an 60:13] "O ye who believe! Turn not (for friendship) To people on whom Is the Wrath of Allah. Of the Hereafter they are Already in despair, just as The Unbelievers are In despair about those (Buried) in graves." The word used there derives from "awliya," which can mean friend. "Tatawallu" is the word used in the verse above. What this word means is "guardian," or more correctly, ally. The Qur'an does not speak about friendship with non-Muslims, but alliances. It prohibits such things, because the non-Muslim "allies" can turn into Muslims' enemies, and attack them in a more vulnerable way. Other verses mention a word meaning something very tight, so Muslims should not take non-Muslims as extremely close friends, telling them every single thing. I will explain other verses in the next round, due to lack of character. My opponent can refute my claims if she wills, or let me continue with the rest. I thank her very much. -- References -- [1]http://www.debate.org...