Murder in the Name of Allah — Page 17
The Preaching of Islam oppression, not truth? There is no greater injustice than to accuse him of using force to change people's beliefs. . Another non-Muslim scholar, Dr D. W. Leitz, in rebutting this false charge, based his argument on the Quran itself. He said:. All these arguments, advanced to prove that the purpose of jihad was to spread Islam by force, are contradicted by the Quran. The Quran says that the purpose of jihad is to protect mosques, churches, synagogues and cloisters. 12. After such a clear defence of the Prophets, let so-called Muslims who accuse him of wielding the sword answer this Quranic question: 'Do they not ponder over the Quran, or is it that their hearts are locked up from within? (47. 25) Maulana Maududi, the author of the voluminous commentary on the Quran, Tafhim-ul-Quran, must have read this verse many times. Did it not occur to him that interpreting the Quran for political purposes might lead the commentator astray? The Maulana then says:. This was the policy which was adopted by the Prophetsa and his rightly guided caliphs. Arabia, where the Muslim Party was first formed, was the first to be subdued. After this, the Prophet sent invitations to all neighbouring countries, but did not wait to see whether these invitations were accepted. As soon as he acquired power, he started the conflict with the Roman Empire. Abu Bakr became the leader of the. Party after the Prophets and attacked both the Roman and Persian. Empires and Umar finally won the war. ' 13. This is virtually a declaration of war against all non-Muslim neighbouring states they are safe only as long as the Muslim state is weak. Had the above passage been written by a Marxist historian from the Communist Party, one would not have given it a second glance. But it is the considered opinion of a Muslim leader of Maulana Maududi's stature. As such, it is certainly far more insulting to the Prophets than all that Muir,. Pfander, Smith and other critics of Islam have written. The above passage was translated from the Maulana's original Urdu. The words: 'Muslim. Party' were used deliberately by Maududi. He was degrading the Muslim umma to the status of a political party. He was well aware of the difference between the two words, for in another book he said: 'The other word the Quran has used for "party" is umma. "14 Having dubbed. Muslims a politcal party, the Maulana either subconsciously or, more likely, deliberately, equates the Prophets with a political party leader, assigning to him the morals of a politician. How else can one explain the following passage written by the Maulana? 17