A Rejoinder to Pope's Allegations Against Islam — Page 35
~ ". . . . . the Holy Quran says, " ~:. ul ~ ol}"~ ~" there is no compulsion in the religion, and the philosophy of this Quranic command is given in the next part of the verse,. ;l g J "'" / -: t l / J 0 JI / "'/iJ' ~ ";U. . ,L. ;. ~. . u lS. ~ ~ - / "Surely the right has become distinctfrom wrong". It is the height of injustice to accuse Islam for usmg force, for the propagation of Islam. The verse not only gives the commandment that in no case is force to be used for the purpose of converting non-Muslims to Islam, but also gives the reason why it should not be used, saying: Surely, right has become distinct from wrong. It means that the true path has become distinct from the wrong one and therefore there is no justification for using force. Islam is a manifest truth. Anyone who sincerely desires to see this truth can easily see it; but if there is a person who does not desire to see it, no force can possibly make him do so. All that we have to do is to point out its beauties to non-Muslims; it rests with them to accept it or reject it as they like. Faith in Islam is defined as believing in a thing with the heart and the mind and expressing that belief with the tongue. No force on earth can bring about that change. Islam never used force to convert anyone to Islam rather force was used against: Islam. The terminology of the Holy war is not an Islamic terminology; rather it is a Christian innovation, which was started during the Christian crusades against Islam. But in Islam the terminology of Jihad is used which I am going to discuss now. 35