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IN DEFENSE OF ISLAM: facts about Islam religion and the actual quotes from the Qu’ran
I have seen many memes and (alleged) quotations from the Qur’an which cast Islam in a very bad light; however, as a scholar of comparative religion, I happen to know that these so-called quotations and facts about Islam religion are either:
1. Taken out of context,
2. Twisted in such a way as to make them sound as bad as possible, or
3. Total and complete fabrications.
Below I give 12 quotations, taken from Facebook memes on facts about Islam religion, which are supposed to be quotations lifted from the Qur’an; I give them first in the “Facebook meme” version, and then as they actually occur in an English translation of the Qur’an [Penguin Classics, 1919, 1993; translated by N. J. Dawood]. My purpose here is to demonstrate that anti-Muslim propaganda cannot be trusted, and one must question the motives of people who post such vitriolic nonsense.
2:191: FB meme version: “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “Fight for the sake of God those who fight against you, but do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressor. Slay them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places from which they drove you.”
3:28: FB meme version: “Muslims must not take infidels as friends.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “”Let believers not make friends with unbelievers in preference to the faithful…,”
3:85: FB meme version: “Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “We believe in God and what is revealed to us; in what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, to Isaac and Jacob and the [Hebrew] tribes; and in that which the Lord gave Moses and Jesus and the prophets. We discriminate against none of them. To Him we have surrendered ourselves.”
5:33: FB meme version: “Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “Those that make war against God and His apostles, and spread disorder in the land, shall be put to death or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the country. They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly punished in the hereafter; except those that repent before you reduce them. For you must know that God is forgiving and merciful.”
A Micro Essay on Free-will and Moral Responsibility
8:12: FB meme version: “Terrorize and behead those who believe I scriptures other than the Qur’an.” [NOTE that the Qur’an is little more than a commentary on the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and so this “quote” is false on its face.]
Actual quote from the Qur’an [NOTE that the following quote was made during time of war; compare 1 Samuel 15:3 from the Old Testament; also note that God’s comment is addressed to angels, not to man]: “God revealed his will to the angels, saying ‘I shall be with you. Give courage to the believers. I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers’.”
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8:60: FB meme version: “Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “Muster against them all the men and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of God and your enemy…. If they incline to peace, make peace with them and put your trust in God.”
8:65: FB meme version: “The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “Prophet, rouse the faithful to arms. If there are twenty steadfast men among you, they shall vanquish two hundred; and if there are a hundred, they shall rout a thousand unbelievers, for they [unbelievers] are devoid of understanding.”
9:5: FB meme version: “When opportunity arises kill the infidels wherever you catch them.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “[Slay] idolaters wherever you find them… If they repent [of their idolatry] and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. God is forgiving and merciful.”
9:30: FB meme version: “The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them.” [NOTE: In Islam, Jews and Christians are known as ‘people of the book,’ because Jews, Christians, and Muslims all share most of the same scriptures.]
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “The Jews say Ezra is the son of God, while the Christians say the Messiah, Jesus, is the son of God. Such are their assertions…. They are confused.”
9:123: FB meme version: “Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “Believers, make war on the infidels who surround you [in combat].”
22:19: FB meme version: “Punish unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “Garments of fire have been prepared [in hell] for the unbelievers. Scalding water shall be poured upon their heads melting their skin and that which is in their bellies. They shall be lashed with rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish, they try to escape from hell, back they shall be dragged….”
47:4: FB meme version: “Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them.”
Actual quote from the Qur’an: “When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low…, grant them their freedom… [when] War shall lay down her burdens.”
Lies are being spread about the Qur’an; it is wise to ask why they are being spread, and it is wiser not to trust those who spread them.
– James Pearce
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