Through Force or Faith? — Page 6
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 6 There should be no compulsion in religion. ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:257) The Pope states that this chapter is from amongst the early chap- ters [to have been revealed]. In fact, it is not from that much of the early period. Rather, it is from the first one or two years in Madinah. But the Kaiser knew of the later chapters as well, and was aware of the subsequent teachings about ‘jihad’. Regardless, whether he knew them or not, he certainly had a biased view. He stated that the Quran advocates different treatment of infidels and the People of the Book, whilst there is no concept of coer- cion in religion. He said (per his assertion, God forbid) that in the teachings of the Holy Prophet s as , you will find nothing besides evil and inhumane precepts; and that (God forbid) Islam is meant to be spread with the power of the sword. He attributed something erroneously that is not even remotely related to Islamic teachings, and then goes on to pass judgment by himself that these unreasonable things are in conflict with the jus- tice of God. He then continues on to say that an intelligent person does not need force or coercion or weapons. Indeed, it is correct that an intelligent person does not need weapons or force. This he said correctly. There is absolutely no need for this. But then why are the superpowers of the present day using force to inter- fere with the affairs of other nations while sitting thousands of miles away? He did not address this question, so we should start with letting them explain whether what they are doing is right or wrong. Then there are the internal wars that took place in the his- tory of Christianity. Why turn a blind eye to these wars? Which