Islam and Terrorism - 7) The Qur'an says that Muslims should kill the non-believers wherever they find them. Does this mean that Islam promotes violence, bloodshed and brutality?

The Qur'an says that Muslims should kill non-believers wherever they find them. Does this mean that Islam promotes violence, bloodshed, and brutality?

There are a few verses from the Qur'an that are quite often misquoted or quoted out of context to perpetuate the myth that Islam promotes violence and exhorts its followers to kill those outside the fold

20 Quoted in The World's Religions by Huston Smith, Harper Collins, 1991, p. 256 of Islam. The words "Kill the polytheists wherever you find them" are often quoted to portray that Islam promotes violence, bloodshed, and brutality.

To understand the context, it is necessary to read from the beginning of the chapter. It discloses that there was a peace treaty between the Muslims and the pagans of Makkah. The pagans violated this treaty, so a period of four months was given to them to make amends; otherwise, war would be declared against them. The complete verse actually says:

فَإِذَا ٱنسَلَخَ ٱلْأَشْهُرُ ٱلْحُرُمُ فَٱقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَٱحْصُرُوهُمْ وَٱقْعُدُوا۟ لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍۢ ۚ فَإِن تَابُوا۟ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ فَخَلُّوا۟ سَبِيلَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ٥

"But when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and seize them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give Zakah, then open the way for them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

[9:5]

This verse is a command to the Muslims who had entered into an agreement with the pagans, who soon violated the agreement, to fight and kill those who betrayed them wherever they found them. It would seem that any open-minded person would consider the historical context of this verse and agree that it cannot be used as “evidence” that Islam promotes violence, brutality, and bloodshed, or that it exhorts its followers to kill anyone outside the fold of Islam.

The very next verse gives the answer to the allegation that Islam promotes violence, brutality and bloodshed.21 It says:

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ٱسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَـٰمَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُۥ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ ٦

"If any one of the pagans asks you for asylum, then grant it to him so that he may hear the words of Allah [i.e., the Qur'an]. Then escort him to where he is safe. That is because they are a people who do not know." 

[9:6]

The Qur'an not only stipulates that a pagan seeking asylum during the battle should be granted refuge, but also that he is escorted to safety. In the present age, what military commander would direct his soldiers not just to spare an enemy during battle, but to escort him to a place of safety? Yet, that is exactly what Almighty Allah instructs in the Qur'an.

21 Arun Shourie, one of the most persistent critics of Islam in India, quotes the same verse (9:5) in his book, The World of Fatwas, p. 572. But after quoting it, he skips the next verse and jumps to the one after it. This is a clear indication that some of the opponents of Islam are biased and prejudiced in their criticism.

For more clarity please visit here:

https://medium.com/@StudioArabiya/does-the-quran-really-say-to-kill-the-disbelievers-c8a646774b45