The Holy War — Page 265
PROCEEDINGS-DEBATE 5 JUNE 1893 265 A-You were not able to prove protection being afforded on condition of belief in the case of the battles of Mosesas. G-You have already seen the offer of safety and security in return for the payment of Jizyah [tax], see Judges 1:28-35. You have also heard the offer of peace. If there was wrath, then why the offer of peace? See Deuteronomy 20:10, one who desires peace gets nearer to the faith, and then who can stop him from believing? A-Killing innocent children is like death by epidemics. G-If killing little, suckling children in front of their mothers with swords and bayonets-not one or two, but hundreds of thousands- is by a commandment of God Almighty, then why are these Quranic jihads considered to be so objectionable? Are these the attributes of God and those not? A-Moses as was commanded to eliminate these seven nations. G-Where were these nations destroyed? Peace was arrived at, and they were released upon payment of a Jizyah. The women were left alive. A-Force was used to convert people to Islam. G-The one who said إِكْرَا فِي الدِّينِ agreed to peace, gave security upon receiving payment of the Jizyah-who can call that person a tyrant? A-The teaching of the Holy Quran is that one can rob a person by way of deceptive slander. This is what I understood from the statement of Deputy [Abdullah Atham] sahib. 1. There should be no compulsion in religion (Sūrah al-Baqarah, 2:257). [Publisher]