Tea Partyers are playing rope-a-quote with the Quran . Not that they’ve read it; they’ve just picked out ‘the good bits.’ So in honor of Ramadan, here’s the first in a series on what the Quran really says. Try this for a start:
When God delivers the city into your hands, you shall smite every male with the edge of your sword… You shall save alive nothing that breathes, but shall utterly destroy them all.”
Oops, sorry, wrong book. That’s Deuteronomy 20, from the peace-loving passage in verses 12 through 18. Here’s the right one:
Slay the unbelievers wherever you come upon them.
Ah, that’s more like it: Quran 2, part of verse 187. Phew. They really do want to kill us.
Or do they? Here’s the quote in context:
Fight in the way of God with those who fight with you, but aggress not: God loves not the aggressors. And slay them wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you; persecution is more grievous than slaying. But fight them not by the Holy House unless they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, slay them.
It helps to know that these verses are very specific: they refer to the conquest of Mecca, from which Muhammad and his supporters had been expelled eight years earlier. And they are bound about with conditions: only if the unbelievers persist in aggression, for example, and only after a truce time expires, and only if they break pre-existing agreements. Which might be why only eight people were killed.
Meanwhile, over in Deuteronomy 20, it continues this way:
Of the cities of these people which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them. Namely, the Hittities and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.
That’s a lot of people. And this is far from the only kill-em-all order in the bible. There’s plenty more in Judges and Samuel, just for starters. Look up the word “destroy” in a biblical concordance, and you’ll find one of the longest lists it offers. The entry for peace is barely a quarter as long.
In short, there’s nothing on warfare in the Quran that hasn’t been said at far greater length, far more times, in far more detail and far worse terms, in the Holy Bible that the Tea Partyers hold so dear.
So one more Quranic quote (9:7) seems apt:
So long as they go straight with you, do you go straight with them.
Let’s try that: going straight with each other.
Filed under: Christianity, fundamentalism, Islam, Judaism, war Tagged: | Bible, opposition to mosques, peace, Quran, Ramadan, Tea Party
Thank you for this, Lesley.
As usual you have poured the ambrosia of wholesome clarity over poisonous muddled thought. I prefer that to the nasty tea being served at the party. Warmly, T’m
What a simple and effective way to put this petty “my religion is better than yours” behind us — simple mathematics. The way I see it, the trash talk in the Bible and the trash talk in the Quran cancel each other out. Maybe that’s what they mean by going straight with each other? Start fresh.
Lesley, your work is immensely appreciated; please give us more. I’ve tried and tried to read the Bible but it’s dangerously heavy when it falls on my face after my eyes drop shut. Sadly, though, the people who should be reading your message will refuse to — they do not want to be confused with facts.
Love how you so skillfully simplify the commonality of religions. Taking out context, much of what appears in these books can be truly scary. I see it in my Holy book, the Koran when believers take certain ‘ayat’, verses, to justify killing non believers. I am equally distressed when I see how non-Muslims use the same verses to condemn Islam. While the message of Islam is for all the ages, it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in pieces and as events unfolded. Muhammad’s most vehement enemies were his own Arab tribe. I try to live my life guided by Islam’s mandate: Kill an innocent person and God shall punish you as if you have killed all of humanity. Save a life and your reward as that who has saved all of humanity. For me Islam is the best there is to be a good citizen and a servant of God. I serve others, I do not lie, I do not kill, I take care of my parents, my family and my neighbors and I pay my taxes. A good Muslim is a great citizen.