The Sword
of Islam
By Dr. Ibrahim B.
Syed
President, Islamic Research Foundation
International, Inc.
Louisville, KY
Pope
Benedict XVI created an uproar by quoting the
words of a 14th-century Byzantine emperor: “Show
me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and
there you will find things only evil and inhuman,
such as his command to spread by the sword the
faith he preached.”
Apparently trying to prove the pope wrong, ignorant
Muslims responded by attacking churches, murdering
a nun and condemning Benedict to death.
The Pope's imputing to the Prophet (sallallahu
alayhi wasallam) the teaching of spreading his
faith by the sword is absurd and refuted even
by scholars of his own faith, for example, it
is written by A.S Tritton in his book Islam, "The
picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a
sword in one hand and the Koran in the other is
quite false." And De Lacy O’ Leary
in his book "Islam at the crossroads”
states, "History makes it clear, however,
that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping
through the world and forcing Islam at the point
of the sword upon conquered races is one the most
fantastically absurd myths that historians have
ever repeated."
To judge Islam, one has to judge it by its doctrine
and history.
The fact is Prophet Muhammad never called for
spreading Islam with the sword. The Qur’an
states in Surah (chapter) al-Nahl, v. 134, "Invite
to the path of thy Lord with wisdom and good advice,
and argue with them kindly, for Thy Lord is well
aware of those who go astray and He is aware of
those who follow true guidance."
Indeed, the very next verse states that "if
thou should punish (aggressors) punish only in
proportion to the aggression inflicted upon you,
but if ye be patient, it will be better for the
patient."
The expansion of the Muslim Empire within 100
years after the Prophet's death has two reasons:
the political ambitions of the Muslim rulers and
an invitation from the Christians who wanted to
be liberated from the Byzantine rule by assisting
the Muslims. They gradually embraced Islam to
the extent that they even changed their mother
tongue to Arabic.
Which sword of Islam made Indonesia to become
the largest Muslim country in terms of population?
Islam was spread to many countries by Sufis, Indian
and Arab merchants and sailors who had exemplified
to the natives the Islamic ideals of honesty,
purity and faithfulness.
Muslims ruled Spain for 700 years. One may ask
as to why did they fail to convert the Christians
into Islam by using the sword? The Muslims ruled
India for about 1000 years. Today India's population
is 1.1 billion, at least 80 per cent of whom are
Hindus. Why did the Muslims fail to convert the
Hindus into Muslims by using the sword?
On the other hand, people believe that Christianity
spread from Rome to European countries, North
and South America by love. Really? One could know
the truth by reading the history books written
by Christian Scholars.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks an estimated
20,000 Americans have embraced Islam which is
the fastest growing religion globally and by 2025
will be the largest religion in the world, as
one out of three people will be a Muslim.
It was the Church that invented the Indulgences
and Simony systems, it was the Catholic world
that invented the Inquisitions, the pogroms, and
all other abominations associated with its practices
against critics and opponents, including Christians
who didn't extend fealty to Rome.
And the Crusades? And the Holocaust? Must we re-open
these dark chapters again? Do we have to remind
his holiness that in the past century alone, over
a hundred million Christians were killed by other
Christians in numerous wars, including the two
World Wars?
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