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Ali Sina provides the
relevant context about "they." Even so, this verse can be interpreted
as ordering Muslims to kill disbelievers.
Quran 9:74
They swear by Allah that they did not speak, and certainly they did
speak, the word of unbelief, and disbelieved after their Islam, and they
had determined upon what they have not been able to effect, and they did
not find fault except because Allah and His Messenger enriched them out
of His grace; therefore if they repent, it will be good for them; and if
they turn back, Allah will chastise them with a painful chastisement in
this world and the hereafter, and they shall not have in the land any
guardian or a helper.
Muslims often carry out this delivery of chastisement.
Sahih Bukhari: Volume
9, Book 84, Number 57.
Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to 'Ali and he burnt them. The
news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in
his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it,
saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would
have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever
changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"
But remember, Islam is the Religion of PeaceTM.
Sahih Bukhari: Volume
9, Book 84, Number 58.
There was a fettered man beside Abu Muisa. Mu'adh asked, "Who is
this (man)?" Abu Muisa said, "He was a Jew and became a Muslim
and then reverted back to Judaism." Then Abu Muisa requested Mu'adh
to sit down but Mu'adh said, "I will not sit down till he has been
killed. This is the judgment of Allah and His Apostle (for such cases)
and repeated it thrice. Then Abu Musa ordered that the man be killed,
and he was killed. Abu Musa added, "Then we discussed the night
prayers and one of us said, 'I pray and sleep, and I hope that Allah
will reward me for my sleep as well as for my prayers.'"
Ah, the sweet wet dreams of 72 raisins.
Sahih Bukhari: Volume
9, Book 84, Number 64.
No doubt I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "During the last days
there will appear some young foolish people who will say the best words
but their faith will not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will have no
faith) and will go out from (leave) their religion as an arrow goes out
of the game. So, where-ever you find them, kill them, for who-ever kills
them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection."
Again, we see the talk of reward (read: heaven) for killing a murtad.
A sensible person might think that modern Muslims have outgrown these
1400-year-old writings. One might even ask, "Isn't this punishment
too barbaric?" The answer
from Understanding Islam is simple and illuminating:
Saying that a particular punishment is too barbaric or otherwise, is
basically giving a value judgment about that punishment. If that
punishment is fixed by Allah or any of His prophets, it is the belief of
all Muslims that then that punishment, whether severe or soft, serves
justice.
That brief answer crystallizes the pig-headed thinking of most Muslims:
If the Quran or Hadith specify a certain action, then that activity is
right.
End of debate.
Let's see the prescription
of Islam Online for a murtad:
If a sane person who has reached puberty voluntarily apostatizes from
Islam, he deserves to be punished. In such a case, it is
obligatory for the caliph (or his representative) to ask him to repent
and return to Islam. If he does, it is accepted from him, but if he
refuses, he is immediately killed.
Note that Sharia is not confined by geographical boundaries. If it is
just to kill a murtad in Saudi Arabia, then so it is in America,
Australia, Europe -- anywhere and everywhere.
Conclusion
The vast majority of Muslims treat murtads as traitors. In their eyes,
the life of an apostate is worthless. From the closest relatives to the
entire Ummah, an apostate has little to no shelter. Murtads are surrounded
by a climate of suffocation in Islamic societies. That is why so many
countless apostates keep their thinking to themselves. If caught, their
only recourse is to profess maniacal allegiance to Islam. Otherwise, a
tight noose or a sword welcomes them.
Muslims are immensely proud of their timeless religion. The Quran is
respected and revered instead of being recognized for what it is -- a
glorified encyclopedia of asininity. Islamic laws such as punishments for
stealing, adultery, murder, rape, and apostasy remain the same across time
and space. These laws are unreformable by definition.
The only hope is for Muslims to ignore such laws. Sadly, the past
fourteen centuries don't offer much in that direction. Terror, both
psychological and physical, is the very soul of Islam. For what would you
say to "continue to believe or die"?
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