Islam and Violence

This page provides brief summaries of a few select articles concerning Islam and its relationship with various forms of violence. More relevant articles can be found via the Hub and Category pages (see the Site Map).

Violence Under Muhammad

Facts and Figures

Islamic Scripture

Muslim Statistics

This page consists of various statistics concerning Islam and its scriptures. A small sample include:

1. There are 164 Jihad verses in the Qur'an and nearly 500 verses (roughly 1 out of every 12) that speak of Hell.
2. Practicing Muslims recite anti-Semitic and anti-Christian rhetoric at least 17 times a day, and over 5,000 times a year.
3. Compared to Mein Kampf, the non-abrogated Medinan verses of the Qur'an contain more than 2x the amount of anti-Jewish text.
4. 122 peaceful Qur'anic verses have been abrogated by the Sword verse (9:5) and Fighting verse (9:29).

Related Articles

Invitations to Islam Prior to Violence

The practice of inviting non-Muslim nations to join Islam or pay the Jizyah prior to engaging in offensive Jihad was first initiated by the Prophet Muhammad. For example, he sent a letter to Heraclius, the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople, stating "I invite you to Islam, embrace Islam and you will be safe; ...But if you reject this invitation of Islam, you shall be responsible for misguiding the peasants (i.e. your nation)." Another letter was sent to Negus, the king of Abyssinia, stating "I call you unto the fold of Islam; if you embrace Islam, you will find safety,... Should you reject this invitation, then you will be held responsible for all the evils of the Christians of your people." Similarly, another letter was sent to Muqawqas, the vicegerent of Egypt, stating "I invite you to accept Islam. Therefore, if you want security, accept Islam... But if you refuse to do so, you will bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts." Muhammad's lead was then followed by the Rightly-Guided Caliphs Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Umar Ibn al-Khatab. The leaders of later Islamic empires such as the sultan of the Ottoman Empire also followed suit, and it has even been codified within the Islamic Shari'ah (see sections o9.0 to o9.8 in 'Umdat as-Salik wa 'Uddat an-Nasik). This practice is continued today by Islamic leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.

Killings Ordered or Supported by Him

Violence under Prophet Muhammad was a frequent occurrence. This is of little surprise. The use of assassination to achieve political/religious goals has been important throughout the history of Arabia and Islamic expansion, and the very word "assassin" has Arabic roots. The list of known killings ordered or supported by him number at least forty-three. He and his men murdered (and even tortured) hundreds of people, mostly Jews. His targets included men, women and children, both young and old. The reasons behind their executions varied from "causing offence" and writing or reciting poetry, to purely monetary gains for Muhammad, his men and the wider Muslim community. This page lists some of the results and reasons for the targeted killings and assassinations ordered or supported by Muhammad, as well as the primary Islamic sources which mention these incidents.

Genocide of the Jewish Banu Qurayza

Murder of Umm Qirfa of the Banu Fazara

Violence Against Women

Facts and Figures

Islamic Scripture

Muslim Statistics

Related Articles

Wife Beating

Wife-beating is supported by the teachings of Islamic religious texts such as the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and has been an accepted part of Islam since its inception. Surah 4:34 states that men are in charge of women and that husbands may beat their wives if they simply fear disobedience. Prophet Muhammad provided tacit approval of wife beating by not scolding Muslims for beating their wives, referred to women who spoke-out against abuse as "not the best among you", forbid Muslims from questioning men who beat their wives, allowed others to hit his wives (the very women whom all Muslims adore and refer to as "the Mother of believers"), reaffirms the command of wife-beating in his parting sermon, and himself struck one of his wives in the chest. In addition to Muhammad's actions, three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs also beat women. Because of its many endorsements within Islamic scripture, wife-beating is permitted by the majority of Muslim scholars and leaders. This has led to domestic violence being permitted under law in several Islamic states or being largely ignored by the authorities.

Honor Violence

Honor related violence is physical violence that is inflicted on an individual by perpetrators who believe the victim has brought dishonor upon the family, clan, or community by engaging in any conduct that is perceived as immoral or unacceptable by religious or social/cultural standards. This violence almost always happens in Muslim families, where women are killed for many "honor" related reasons, including being raped or associating with non-related males (both crimes under Islamic law).^[1]

In practice, honor related violence is not limited to humans, but can also apply to animals. For example, in July 2011, a male who was caught in Pakistan having sex with another man's donkey was fined 110,000 rupees. This fine was not imposed for having sex with an animal, but for committing adultery. The raped donkey was labelled a 'kari' (an adulteress) and eventually honor killed by its owner.

Rape

Witch Hunts

Terrorism

Facts and Figures

Islamic Scripture

Muslim Statistics

Related Articles

Lesser vs Greater Jihad

Suicide Bombing

Converts to Islam

Although terrorism is not exclusive to the Islamic ideology, it should be noted that a disproportionate number of terrorists are Muslims who are motivated by the teachings of Islam. Peter Neumann, a Professor of Security Studies at King’s College in London, has noted that Western converts were "overrepresented among jihadists", and a 2011 study found that 55% of US born Muslims arrested for Islamic terrorist activities were converts to Islam. In the Philippines there is even an entire terrorist organization comprised solely of converts to Islam.

Those who were born into Islam may be ignorant of their religion and its actual teachings, therefore they are Muslims who are most likely to interpret Islam in a peaceful way. However, many converts to Islam are more zealous; learning as much about their new found faith as they can. When they do that, the only conclusion that they can draw is that Islam's deity endorses terrorism and rewards terrorists. If someone is involved in crime and terrorism and they had converted to a certain faith system, it is almost always Islam that the person converted to. The hate for non-Muslims found in Islam is quickly picked up by them. As a result, these converts often turn to the practice or support of terrorism and violence; often showing hatred for their own family, country, and former way of life.

Persecution

Facts and Figures

Islamic Scripture

Muslim Statistics

Related Articles

Persecution of Ex-Muslims

Islam is the only major world religion that does not allow its followers the freedom to change faith. According to Shari'ah laws (extracted from the Qur'an and Sunnah), apostates of Islam must be sentenced to death. This has led to ex-Muslims often being persecuted, abused and killed. This treatment of apostates is not simply down to the issue of state-enforced religion as some may suggest. As you will find out on this page, the violence or threats of violence against apostates in the Muslim world usually derives not from government authorities but from family members and individuals from the Islamic communities themselves, who operate very often with impunity from the government. This point is further emphasised by the persecution and murder of ex-Muslims which has now become evident in many non-Muslim societies across the globe.

Persecution of Non-Muslims

According to Islamic laws, non-Muslims in Islamic lands should be subdued and be treated as dhimmis (second class citizens). They should be coerced and intimidated to convert to Islam, through special humiliating taxes like Jizyah imposed on them. Following Prophet Muhammad's example, this has been taking place throughout Islam's history. While Muslims demand for concessions in non-Muslim countries, non-Muslims are systematically persecuted, terrorized and ethnically cleansed from Islamic lands. In 2008 alone, there were 2,204 separate documented incidents of Islamically motivated violence which led to death. In total there were 10,779 deaths and another 18,213 critically injured. That is more people killed each and every year in the name of Islam, than in all 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined. More than 29 people are killed in religiously motivated attacks every single day at the hands of Muslims. If you spend just one short hour reading through some of the news articles compiled on this page, there would have been another one to two deaths attributed to Islam and countless other incidents involving beatings, rapes, abductions, forced conversions, desecration of non-Muslim buildings, etc.

Persecution of Homosexuals

Homosexuality is considered to be one of the worst sins in Islam and one of the greatest crimes punishable under Islamic law. The Prophet Muhammad not only condemned homosexuality but even the "appearance" of homosexuality (effeminate men and masculine women). With the rise of the Islamic population amongst historically non-Muslim societies, also comes the rise in persecution. For example, while Muslims comprise just 2% of the total British population, they commit 25% of all anti-Homosexual crimes. However, this ongoing and increasing persecution of homosexuals by Muslims around the world, rarely makes the mainstream news. The fear of offending Islamic sensibilities and enraging the Muslim populous has effectively silenced the free world in many areas. Thanks to the Internet, those of us who search can find many news items that would otherwise be lost.

Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes

In attempting to deceive people into believing that they are being persecuted around the world for their faith, many Muslims have been caught fabricating anti-Muslim hate crimes. This is particularly important to some of them, hoping to paint the persecutor as the persecuted and shifting focus away from the millions who face real persecution at the hands of Islam. Fabricated hate crimes are also useful in creating an atmosphere of fear among the general Muslim population, gaining the sympathy and political support of non-Muslims, and shaming vocal critics of Islam into silence.

According to FBI hate-crime statistics, hate crimes directed against Muslims "remain relatively rare" in the United states,^[2] with gays, lesbians and caucasians more frequently a target than the followers of Islam. Jewish victims of hate crimes also outnumber Muslim victims by a ratio of almost 9 to 1, and anti-Muslim incidents only account for a tiny 1.3% of all hate crimes. Even anti-Christian (Catholic/Protestant) incidents outnumber those perpetrated against Muslims in America. Some of the cases listed in this article also put into doubt the truth behind all 105 reported incidents.

Miscellaneous

Violence in the Afterlife

Violence in Islam is not only limited to this life, but is also an integral part of the afterlife. The belief that disbelievers will be punished may be true for other faiths, but the amount of text that Islamic devotes to detailing this punishment and the explicit and triumphant nature of their descriptions is certainly not. There are nearly 500 verses (roughly one out of every twelve) in the Qur'an which speak of Jahannam (Hell). We are told it was specifically created and prepared with eternal fire by Allah, so that he could torture disbelievers. In fact, disbelievers are the fuel of Allah's fire, and he even says that he had the option of 'giving every soul its guidance' but would prefer to 'fill Hell with jinns and men'. Some of the tortures include; wearing garments of liquid pitch and fire, being bound in yokes and chains, spending eternity in a blazing fire with exchangeable skins so that they can be roasted over and over again, faces being covered in fire and lips being burned off, boiling water being poured over heads and used to scald skin and internal organs, being dragged by the face through boiling water and fire, beaten with maces of iron, and being fed painful, noxious, choking foods which will leave people hungry and boil their insides.

Violence in Other Religions

"There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur'an; the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam." This quote sums up the single most influential argument currently serving to deflect the accusation that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant: All monotheistic religions, proponents of such an argument say, and not just Islam, have their fair share of violent and intolerant scriptures, as well as bloody histories. Thus, whenever Islam's sacred scriptures are highlighted as demonstrating the religion's innate bellicosity, the immediate rejoinder is that other scriptures, specifically those of Judeo-Christianity, are as riddled with violent passages. But is that really the case? Does Hebrew violence in the ancient era, and Christian violence in the medieval era compare to, explain away or even legitimize the tenacity of Muslim violence in the modern era?

Accidents and Natural Disasters

Many Muslims often gloat and celebrate when an accident or natural disaster befalls the non-Muslim world, believing that it is the actions of a vengeful Allah. For example, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, some Muslims claimed this tragedy befell the Japanese because "Denying the Lordship of Allah and refusing to submit to Him in worship is the biggest act of injustice," and following the 2005 Atlantic hurricane which struck the United States, the high-ranking Kuwaiti official, Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi, referred to Hurricane Katrina as a "wondrous storm", a "Wind of Torment and Evil from Allah", and a "Soldier of Allah". This belief stems from the fact that the Qur'an often states earthquakes are specifically sent to punish non-Muslims for their disbelief. As Allah's people, Muslims believe they will always be protected by Allah against such calamities. However accidents and natural disasters happen very often in Muslim countries and Allah seems to turn a blind eye when disaster strikes, even when they occur during the Hajj in Mecca, where Islam's holiest site, the Ka'aba, is located. Irrespective of the fact that the Qur'an tells us it is an "asylum of security for men".

See Also

Articles

• Free Speech - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Free Speech

Multimedia

Other Core Articles

Core articles contain an overview of other articles related to a specific issue, and serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn about Islam:

• Islam and Apostasy
• Islam and Homosexuality
• Islam and Miracles
• Islam and Pedophilia
• Islam and Propaganda
• Islam and Science
• Islam and Scripture
• Islam and the People of the Book
• Islam and Women

References