So sayeth the religion of peace…

Reading this morning from the holy book of the religion of peace…

• "As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not. Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom.” 2:6-7
• "“And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon [Jews] and they were visited with wrath from Allah. That was because they disbelieved in Allah's revelations and slew the prophets wrongfully.”2:61
• “The curse of Allah is on disbelievers.”2:89
• “Then, lo! Allah (Himself) is an enemy to the disbelievers.” 2:98
• "Fight in the way of Allah." 2:190, 2:244
• "And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]... but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful.   And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah." 2:191-2
• Allah says that you must keep fighting until there is no more persecution and everyone on earth is a Muslim. Then you can stop killing people. 2:193a
• But if there are any wrong-doers around after you've killed off all the disbelievers, persecutors and aggressors, then you'll have to kill them too. 2:193b
• "“Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.” 2:216
• "“Lo! those who disbelieve the revelations of Allah… promise them a painful doom.” 3:21
• "“And believe not save in one who followeth your religion.” 3:73
• "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." 3:151
• "So those who … fought and were slain, verily I shall remit their evil deeds from them and verily I shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow - A reward from Allah. And with Allah is the fairest of rewards.” 3:157
• “Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead."
  (Quoted by Osama bin Laden in his 'letter to America' regarding the 11 September 2001 attacks.) 3:169-171
• Those who die fighting for Allah will go to heaven. 3:195b
• "Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged."
  Quoted by Osama bin Laden in his 'letter to America' as a justification for the 11 September 2001 attacks. 4:39
• "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward." 4:74
• "Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah…" 4:76
• "They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks." 4:89
• "“Ye will find others who desire that they should have security from you, and security from their own folk. So often as they are returned to hostility they are plunged therein. If they keep not aloof from you nor offer you peace nor hold their hands, then take them and kill them wherever ye find them. Against such We have given you clear warrant.”4:91
• "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah [jihad] with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight [jihad] Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward." 4:95
• "And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as you suffer pain..." 4:104
• "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement." 5:33
• Allah will test believers to see if they are afraid. Those who fail a second test will suffer a a painful doom. 5:94
• Let the idolaters kill their children. It is Allah's will. 6:137
• "Taste the doom for what ye used to earn." 7:39
• "We cut the root of those who denied Our revelations and were not believers." 7:72
• "How can I sorrow for a people that rejected (truth)?" 7:93
• "Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy or punish with an awful doom?" 7:164
• Those who deny Muhammad's revelations are like dogs. 7:176
• Those who deny Muhammad's revelation are evil. 7:177
• "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them." 8:12
• "O ye who believe! When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. (16)Whoso on that day turneth his back to them, unless manoeuvring for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey's end." 8:15-16
• Those that the Muslims killed were not really killed by them. It was Allah who did the killing. 8:17
• "And fight with them until there is no more fitna (disorder, unbelief) and religion should be only for Allah." 8:39
• "If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember." 8:57
• "And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah's Purpose). Lo! they cannot escape.  Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy." 8:59-60
• "O Prophet, exhort the believers to fight..." 8:65
• A prophet may not take captives until he has made a slaughter in the land. 8:67
• "So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush..." 9:5
• Those who submit and convert to Islam will be treated well. (Those who don't submit will be killed. See previous verse.) 9:6
• Treat converts to Islam well. (Kill those who refuse to convert. See 9:5) 9:11
• "Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace..." 9:14
• Fight against Christians and Jews "until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low." 9:29
• The "Religion of Truth" (Islam) must prevail, by force if necessary, over all other religions. 9:33
• If you refuse to fight, Allah will afflict you with a painful doom. 9:39
• "Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah [jihad]! That is best for you if ye but knew." 9:41
• Fight the disbelievers and hypocrites. Be harsh with them. They are all going to hell anyway. 9:73
• Non-muslim who pretend to believe (so they won't be killed by Muslims) are unclean and will go to hell. 9:95
• "Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Quran: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme." 9:111
• "O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness." 9:123
• "His doom cometh unto you as a raid by night." 10:50
• "And when We wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandment to the people of it who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction." 17:16
• Parable laying the theological groundwork for “honour killings” [sic], i.e., “an innocent soul slain who had killed no man” because “his parents were believers and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. And we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in purity and nearer to mercy.”  18:65-81
• The people cried out for mercy, but Allah killed them anyway. 20:15
• Whoever thinks that Allah will not give Muhammad victory should go hang himself. 22:15
• "Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive against them [jihad] with the utmost strenuousness..." 25:52
• Stay away from poets. The erring follow them. 26:224
• "If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and the alarmists in the city do not cease, We verily shall urge thee on against them, then they will be your neighbors in it but a little while.  Accursed, they will be seized wherever found and slain with a (fierce) slaughter." 33:60-61
• Those who challenge the revelations of Muhammad will have a painful doom. 34:5
• Allah hates those who ignore his messengers. 34:45
• Only the "single-minded slaves of Allah" will be saved from the doom. 37:127-8
• In whatsoever ye differ, the verdict therein belongeth to Allah." 42:10
• "Those who reject Allah follow vanities, while those who believe follow the truth from their lord.  Thus does Allah set forth form men their lessons by similitude.  Therefore when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make [them] prisoner.” 47:4
• "Be not weary and faint-hearted, crying for peace, when ye should be uppermost [Shakir: "have the upper hand"] for Allah is with you." 47:35
• If you refuse to fight for Allah, he will punish you with a painful doom. 48:16
• "There is no blame for the blind, nor is there blame for the lame, nor is there blame for the sick [that they go not forth to war]. And whoso obeyeth Allah and His messenger, He will make him enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow; and whoso turneth back, him will He punish with a painful doom." 48:17
• But if you're willing to fight for Allah, he will provide you with lots of booty. 48:19-20
• "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard (ruthless) against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves." 48:29
• "Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way." 61:4
• "He it is who has sent His Messenger (Mohammed) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam) to make it victorious over all religions even though the infidels may resist." 61:9
• "O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?- That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah [jihad], with your property and your persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew! He will forgive you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity." 61:10-12
• "O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites [jihad], and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end." 66:9

And then there’s the Hadith, i.e., the alleged anecdotes of Mohammed and his fellow founders of Islam…

• Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'.  And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally." Bukhari, 8:387
• Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.” Bukhari, 52:177
• The Prophet... was asked whether it was permissible to attack the pagan warriors at night with the probability of exposing their women and children to danger. The Prophet replied, "They (i.e. women and children) are from them (i.e. pagans)." Bukhari, 52: 256
• Allah's Apostle said... “I have been made victorious with terror.”' Bukhari, 52: 220
• The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from (killing) a person who utters, "There is no god but Allah" and not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to excommunicate him from Islam for his any action; and jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist).” Abu Dawud, 14:2526
• The Prophet said: Striving in the path of Allah [jihad] is incumbent on you along with every ruler, whether he is pious or impious.” Abu Dawud, 14:2527
• The Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah." Muslim, 1:30
• The Messenger of Allah said: “I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Muslim, 1:33
• Abu Dharr reported: I said: Messenger of Allah, which of the deeds is the best? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Belief in Allah and Jihad in His cause..." Muslim, 1:149
• He (the Messenger of Allah) did that and said: There is another act which elevates the position of a man in Paradise to a grade one hundred (higher), and the elevation between one grade and the other is equal to the height of the heaven from the earth. He (Abu Sa'id) said: What is that act? He replied: Jihad in the way of Allah! Jihad in the way of Allah!" Muslim, 20:4645
• The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: “One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihid died the death of a hypocrite." Muslim, 20:4696
• The morning after the murder of Ashraf, the Prophet declared, "Kill any Jew who falls under your power." Tabari, 7:97
• And Mohammed said, "Killing Unbelievers is a small matter to us." Tabari, 9:69
• Allah said, “A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.” Ibn Ishaq/Hisham, 327
• And Mohammed said before a raid, “Fight everyone in the way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in Allah." Ibn Hishaq/Hisham, 992

Yea verily, these are the revelations of the religion of peace.  Yesterday in Sydney, we saw some more of its fruit:

[Hat tip Skeptic’s Annotated Quran, and Religion of Peace]

PS: So perhaps you’re saying, “Oh, violent jihad is only one interpretation of Islam.” Yes, it is: Mohammed’s interpretation.

PPS: And I bet some of you are saying, well, at least the Bible isn’t as violent. Not true.

But at least the West enjoyed an Enlightenment, where we could begin to break free of its shackles.