dartagnan wrote:I know there are plenty other examples, but here are a few I had saved on my notebook. Keep in mind the typical exhortation to allow Muslims to tell us what Islam really is. DCP isn't a Muslim, last I checked.
Dan Peterson: "Islam did not spread by the sword..."
Muslim Imam: "The evidence clearly indicates that the sword is one of the most important means that led to the spread of Islam." (
http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=en ... 3087&dgn=3)
Daniel Peterson: "…it was amazingly bloodless in many cases, when they invaded Egypt, for example, the Egyptians were so mad at the Byzantines that an Egyptian went down and opened the gates at Cairo…and let the Muslims come in, and let the Arab armies come in because they wanted to get out from under the Byzantines."
Historical Coptic account: "They killed and imprisoned many Christians. They captured Egypt and went to the City of Alexandria (now Cairo), around which there were six hundred inhabited monasteries. They killed all the inhabitants, plundered their possessions, and destroyed the monasteries. When the people of Alexandria heard what they had done, because of their fear, they opened the gates of the city for them...the Persian King went with his army to Upper Egypt. He passed by the city of Nikios. He heard that there were some seven hundred monks living in cells and caves around it. He sent men to kill them. He continued to kill and destroy until Emperor Heraclius conquered him and drove him out of Egypt." (Coptic Diary, Tubah 8:2)
Amazingly bloodless, eh?
Daniel Peterson: "The Muslims did not force conversions."
Muslim Imam: "The Qur'an tells us that Muhammad (sws) was not only a Prophet (nabi) but also a messenger (Rasu'l) of Allah. The Qur'an tells us that when Allah sends His messenger in a people, these people are not allowed to live on Allah's earth if they reject the messenger." (
http://www.understanding-islam.com/rela ... id=1768%20)
"Authorities are of the opinion that Muslims must fight the polytheist nations as well as the Jews and Christians of today until they subdue them. It is further held that while the polytheist nations must be put to death if they do not accept faith, the Jews and Christians can be allowed to live on their religions if they submit to Muslim authority by paying Jizyah." (
http://www.renaissance.com.pk/mar_d2y2.html)
Daniel Peterson: "[if you were under Islamic rule] you can maintain your religion and maintain a
slightly higher tax rate."
Coptic Bishop John: "And the Moslem took possession of all the land of Egypt, southern and northern, and
tripled their taxes."
One hadith speaks of the dhimmi tax burden being
twice that which was imposed on Muslims.(Malik ibn Anas, Muwatta’ Imam Malik, translated by Muhammad Rahimuddin, 2000 ch. 177, no. 661) An increase of 100%-200% is what Peterson calls "slightly higher"?
Daniel Peterson: "Islam has been more tolerant on minority religions than Christianity has been."
Jewish Historian, Cecil Roth: "Only in Rome has the colony of Jews continued its existence since before the beginning of the Christian era, because of all the dynasties of Europe, the Papacy not only refused to persecute the Jews of Rome and Italy, but throughout the ages popes were protectors of the Jews…The truth is that the popes and the Catholic Church from the earliest days of the Church were never responsible for physical persecution of Jews and only Rome, among the capitals of the world, is free from having been a place of Jewish tragedy. For this we Jews must have gratitude." (Lecture Feb. 25th, 1927).
Daniel Peterson: "Armed struggle in the Quran and in the traditional teachings of Muhammad is not to be lightly entered into-certainly not in an offensive posture and only in self-defense when in imminent physical danger... [the abode of war] is the war against such things as materialism, immorality, exploitation of women, and anything that can tempt a Muslim to forget his God."
Bernard Lewis: "The overwhelming majority of early authorities, citing the relevant passages in the Quran, the commentaries, and the traditions of the Prophet, discuss jihad in
military terms. According to Islamic law, it is lawful to wage war against four types of enemies: infidels, apostates, rebels, and bandits. Although all four types of wars are legitimate, only the first two count as jihad. Jihad is thus a religious obligation...In Muslim tradition, the world is divided into two houses: the House of Islam, in which Muslim governments rule and Muslim law prevails, and the House of War, the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels.
The presumption is that the duty of jihad will continue, interrupted only by truces, until all the world either adopts the Muslims faith or submits to Muslim rule. Those who fight in the jihad qualify for rewards in both worlds - booty in this one, paradise in the next." (p.32)
For most of the recorded history of Islam, from the lifetimes of the Prophet Muhammad onward, the word jihad was used in a
primarily military sense. (p.33)
Jihad is sometimes presented as the Muslim equivalent of the Crusade, and the two are seen as more or less equivalent...But there is a difference. The Crusade is a late development in Christian history and, in a sense, marks a radical departure from basic Christian values as expressed in the Gospels. Christendom had been under attack since the seventh century, and had lost vast territories to Muslim rule; the concept of a holy war, more commonly, a just war, was familiar since antiquity. Yet in the long struggle between Islam and Christendom, the Crusade was late, limited, and of relatively brief duration.
Jihad is present from the beginning of Islamic history - in scripture, in the life of the Prophet, and in the actions of his companions and immediate successors. It has continued throughout Islamic history and
retains its appeal to the present day.(p.37)