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The Quran..................?

There is so much bickering back and forth between Muslims and Christians on here. Keep in mind when I ask this question, it is for a good point to be made. I am open minded and appreciate learning about others' religions, cultures etc. For the people out there who say the "Quran" is bad/evil - bad teachings, whatever --- please specify and quote the part the this book that teaches/promotes hatred. I don't think it does. My heart tells me we all (those who believe) believe in a God and it is the same person/spirit/entity. Please teach me here. Thank youl

Public Comments

1. Read some of this, I think you'll change your mind.
2. The Quran does not teach anything bad at all.
3. I believe that those who make this assertion are putting a large part of their own ignorance and fear into the holy book of Islam. Except for its tribalistic and rather primitive social standards, it is not an evil book, merely one that relies on heavy plagiarizing for much of its content. And those standards themselves are not intrinsically evil, merely hopelessly out of date.
4. Read your Quran, that is enough to make you want to convert to another.
5. If you read Quran, you will be surprised of how many times it mentions "peace". the word Islam comes from the word "salam" in arabic which means peace. it encourages people to love and respect each other.
6. well, many people do quote verses of quran without context to prove their point that quran teaches hatred. Unsurprisingly, Islam-critic shy away from posting verses of the Quran, which preaches peace. By bombarding verses out of their context or using dubious translations they seek to give the impression that a book such as Quran leaves no place for peace. when the quran mentions about fighting, it clearly specifies in combat and in battlefield. There is nothing wrong with fighting with your enemies if they wage war with you. whenver you see such verses posting,, go to the context of that verses, and you will find the true meaning of verse. ================ "But if the enemy incline towards PEACE, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in God: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things). (The Noble Quran, 8:61)" “If they leave you alone and offer to make PEACE with you, God does not allow you to harm them.” (QURAN 4:90)
7. There is nothing any worse in the Qur'an than in the Bible. As Judaism was in a fight for existence, so was Islam. And so you tend to get a more militaristic view from the Holy Qur'an. For me personally, I believe in self-defense as opposed to letting someone have their way with you. The Holy Qur'an is practical thinking for the modern man. The Bible to me is more of a "pie in the sky" promissory philosophy. It is what gave creedence to slaves accepting their fate and "I'm gon' let JESUS (SAW) take care of it". And for those who say there was slavery in Islam, perhaps you should research the different types of slavery that was practiced in Africa. Islamic tribes took the women and children of slain warriors and provided for them, as Allah (SWT) has decreed that they were responsible for them. And for the 868th time, there is nothing in the Holy Qur'an (35:17-21) that says anyone is getting virgins to have sex with in the hereafter!!!
8. This is a very good line of questioning to be pursuing. In today's world there is so much trouble because people have listened to many people, who, although perhaps well meaning, do not always know what they are saying on a particular topic. Please note that I am not a religious scholar - I encourage you to do further research beyond what I am sharing with you. Many people of various religious backgrounds have not actually studied their own religious books and materials. It is important for all of us to take responsibility to study what our own texts are, as well as any religion that we may be afraid of or commenting on. As a Christian I have studied the Bible at church and university for a number of years, but I am not an expert. I first started learning about Islam when there was a controversy about Salman Rushdie's, The Satanic Verses. (You might want to go to Amazon. com and look at the customer reviews on this book to see what people are thinking and saying.) I then had the opportunity to work with the Afghan refugees from 1997 onward, prior to the U.S. military involvement there. I have read much of the Qu'ran and commentaries on Islam, as well as biographies of Mohammad. I have also gone to religious conferences at Concordia University and McGill that had Muslims speaking on Islam. As in all religions there are people who are good, and people who are bad. As in Christianity, many people claim to know their religion and don't actually have a background. But regardless - in my speaking with Muslim "experts" and the people I know in the refugee community I have not found any who feel violence is sanctioned by Islam. In my own reading of the Qu'ran, I do not find any push towards violence. Again, I am not an expert, but Muslims from Afghanistan, who do not support the violence there, nor the troubles for women - an in knowing Muslims from Packistan and Bangledesh - I am told that they believe Jihad is about a person's commitment to fight the battle of good and bad within themselves. Time and time again people have told me they feel that the people who are using Jihad as an excuse to harm others are using the term in a wrong manner that is, in their opinion, against God. Now, of course, perhaps this is just their opinion. I found that religious scholar, former Nun, Karen Armstrong's book, "Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet" (1993) is one of the best books written on Muhammad for those just starting out. I also like her book, A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to help give some background on the three religions. If you don't want to read them, then at least look at the customer reviews of the books on Amazon - as they are helpful. It is said that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the People of the Book - all believing in the same God. Muhammad considered himself a man and a prophet - and thus, fallible. He felt that God, via the Angel, Gabriel (they call him, Gibril) brought the Qu'ran to the desert peoples as the Jews and Christians already had contact with God through their own books. Many people don't realize that the Muslims believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus - for them, Mary had Jesus, in the desert, under a palm tree. Mary is one of the four women that Muslims consider most Holy. When I look at Western History there has been much that has been done in the name of Christianity - including the Spanish Inquisition and the mass burnings of women and others - during the Middle Ages when the church was mostly grabbing land from innocents and justifying it with religion. This does not mean that these actions were sanctioned by Jesus or in our Bible. Keep on in your line of exploration - read and listen to as many sides as you can. Learning is very important if we are to try to find healing in this world.
9. Here is a short list, I have excluded teachings that promote hatred toward Jews, Christians, gays and women because it would be to voluminous. 2: The Cow 2:191 And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. 2:216 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. 2:244 Fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearer, Knower. 4: Women 4:74 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. 4:76 Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo! the devil's strategy is ever weak. 4:91 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. 5: The Table Spread 5:33 The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom; 8: The Spoils of War 8:15 O ye who believe! When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. When you fight with disbelievers, do not retreat. Those who do will go to hell. 8:16 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. 8:39 And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they cease, then lo! Allah is Seer of what they do. 8:65 O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are a folk without intelligence. 9: Repentance 9:29 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low. 25: The Criterion 25:52 So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them herewith with a great endeavour. 28: The Story 28:86 Thou hadst no hope that the Scripture would be inspired in thee; but it is a mercy from thy Lord, so never be a helper to the disbelievers. 33: The Clans 33:60 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 neighbours in it but a little while. 33:61 Accursed, they will be seized wherever found and slain with a (fierce) slaughter. 48: Victory 48:16 Say unto those of the wandering Arabs who were left behind: Ye will be called against a folk of mighty prowess, to fight them until they surrender; and if ye obey, Allah will give you a fair reward; but if ye turn away as ye did turn away before, He will punish you with a painful doom. 60: She That is to be Examined 60:9 Allah forbiddeth you only those who warred against you on account of religion and have driven you out from your homes and helped to drive you out, that ye make friends of them. Whosoever maketh friends of them - (All) such are wrong- doers. 61: The Ranks 61:4 Lo! Allah loveth them who battle for His cause in ranks, as if they were a solid structure. 66: Banning 66:9 O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end.
10. verses relating to fighting or "killing" refer to those who aggressed against Muslims and mostly [especially in Chapters 8&9 of the Quran] refer to idolatrous Arabs who committed "war crimes" against Muslims. The final Messenger of God Prophet Muhammed said, "One who kills (non-Muslim citizen of the Islamic state), will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) further warned: "Whoever oppresses any Dhimmi (non-Muslim citizen of the Islamic state), I shall be his prosecutor on the Day of Judgment." By going through the teachings of Islam, it is clear that such a religion has only come to benefit mankind - not to destroy it One of the many short comings which has arisen in the West, is judging Islam by the conduct of a minority of its people. By doing this, segments of Western society have deliberately played off the desperate actions of many Muslims, and have given it the name of Islam. Such behaviour is clearly not objective and seeks to distort the reality of Islam. For if such a thing was done Judge a religion by the conduct of its people) then we too could say that all Christianity is about is child molesting and homosexuality By using the many cases of child abuse and homosexuality by priests, Such a generalisation about Christianity could be made In short, Islam is intolerant of false ideas, however it is tolerant of the people who hold to those ideas
11. I have written a book about Islam. It talks about the lives of the prophets, God, the Hereafter, the life of prophet Muhammad PBUH, the Holy Qur'an (i.e. scientific truths and why it is from God), and the misperceptions of Islam. If you really want to learn like you claimed, then i respectfully urge you to at least read "The Misperceptions of Islam", "The Holy Qur'an", and the life of prophet Muhammad PBUH (which answers many of the criticisms that people attack Muslims with). The links are given below, respectively. I have to tell you, reading them is not short at all, so it all depends on whether you really want to learn. Peace be with you.