Murder in the Name of Allah — Page 4
Murder in the Name of Allah thing of the heart. It is human nature which never changes. Innocent people who are sentenced to death in the name of religion by those who do not understand it will continue to raise their voice against this injustice. They will forever pose the question: 'Do you want us to stick to the beliefs our intelligence has rejected?" Whenever this question has been asked, enemies of religion across the world have accused the prophets of apostasy and sentenced them to death. Inhuman torture and punishments were invented. . . the story of violence is one which never ends. . Mosesas and his followers met the same fate at the hands of the socalled religious heads of the time - Pharaoh, Haman and Korah - who said: 'Slay the sons of those who have believed with him and let their women live. ' (40. 26) Conversion from one religion to another was not punished by the prophets, yet they and their followers were punished for the so-called apostasy. After Mosesas, Jesus as endured similar torture and violence which culminated in an attempt to kill him on the. Cross. Bloodshed and violence have always been carried out in religion's name: their victims have throughout time been those found guilty of apostasy. Yet not a single revealed book sanctions the punishment of those who changed from one religion to another. If the texts of revealed Books have been altered by dishonest people, one can hardly blame the Books themselves. By their very nature, Books revealed to God's prophets cannot teach violence. . Making reference to the history of religions, the Quran proves that the prophets and their followers were victims of violence; victims who, nonetheless, accepted brutality with patience. It is beyond one's belief that people who change faiths can be tortured in the name of religion, and prophets of God, who are sent to convert us, cannot accept it either. It makes nonsense of their own mission. The Quran also tells how a prophet's followers are punished for conversion not only during his life, but for hundreds of years after his death. Such oppression has no sanction from God. . Then there is the Quranic story of the people of the cave. These. Christians were persecuted for 300 years, and I have seen the places where these poor people were tortured - the amphitheatres intended for gladiatorial combat with bulls and lions. It was in these places that naked. Christians were thrown to hungry wild animals. The animals howled and made short shrift of the defenceless Christians. Sometimes these ‘apostates' were thrown to bulls which had been starved for several days. The 4