Understanding Islam — Page 113
111 DOES VIOLENCE ESCALATE IN EARLY ISLAM? A FEW CRITICS of Islam suggest that there is a trajectory of violence in the early history of Islam, meaning that Islam began as a peaceful religion but later developed into a violent creed. To support this hypothesis, it is argued that the peaceful passages of the Holy Quran were revealed in the early years and the allegedly violent passages were revealed later, culminating eventually in the revelation of S ū rah At-Taubah (Chapter 9) of the Holy Quran. It is then alleged that this is the “most violent” chapter of the Holy Quran and since it is the last of the revealed chapters, it contains the “marching orders” for Muslims that constitute an open-ended command to be violent and to keep on fighting the non-Muslims endlessly. It is further alleged that