Misunderstanding the Prophet’s teaching on violence

In the above captioned article by Jonathan Powell, published in the Daily Mirror of the March 10, he quotes verse 29 of Chapter 9 of the Holy Qur’an, which is often quoted by detractors to support their misunderstood claim that ‘offensive violence is sanctified’ in Islam. This verse has been explained time and again refuting this baseless claim but that does not stop the detractors.  

The verse 9:29 (not correctly quoted by Jonathan Powell) translates as:  
“Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth among the People of the Scripture”.

For those who are objective and have an open mind, this verse does NOT ‘sanctify violence’ as claimed by Powell and his likes. It is a specific command to meet a specific situation and Nothing more

This verse, like many other verses in the Holy Qur’an, is contextual and a specific command to fight the Byzantine Romans and other hostile powers who were planning an invasion against the Muslims in Arabia. In context, it is a distinct response to aggression, in particular the assassination of one of the Prophet’s ambassadors who carried a letter to the Christian ruler of Busra.  

For those who are objective and have an open mind, this verse does NOT ‘sanctify violence’ as claimed by Powell and his likes. It is a specific command to meet a specific situation and Nothing more.  

It will be quite relevant to examine the situation of the Muslim world during the last 100 years or so. The Muslim Empire - the Ottoman Empire - was disposed of by the West led by Britain during WWI. Not content with that, the West set about the Balkanisation of the Muslim Middle East soon after WWI. In furthering their Hostility towards the Muslims, soon after WWII, the Zionist state of Israel was set up in the middle of the Muslim Middle East by the West. The continuing and unending Brutalities inflicted by Israel on the original inhabitants of Palestine, for Seven Decades, has resulted in the killing of tens of thousands and the eviction of millions of Palestinians from their homes, who have been forced to live a life of misery in squalid refugee camps. The Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza (under Blockade since 2007) are subject to vicious oppression with no end in sight for the severe persecution that the Palestinians suffer on a daily basis.  

The West extended its animosity towards the Muslims further by the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 followed by the invasion of Iraq in 2003

The West extended its animosity towards the Muslims further by the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 followed by the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Iraqi invasion was justified through Blatant LIES and Vile PROPAGANDA. These invasions resulted in the killing of millions of Afghanis and Iraqis with millions more maimed and wounded and more millions forced out from the comfort of their homes to a wretched life as refugees. These countries have been bombed to Stone Age by the West. Iraq was a rich country with a highly developed infrastructure before the invasion. The stable and wealthy Libya was targeted next by the West in 2011 which resulted in the ouster and cold blooded murder of its leader Gaddafi. The country is reduced to ruins and is in chaos now. It is Syria’s turn now with no end in sight.  

Getting back to the verse 9:29 which was specifically in relation to the threat from the Western Byzantine Romans, is it so hard to understand its relevance to the Savageous blood bath, humiliation, indignity and unending suffering the Muslim world has been subject to as a result of the ruthless attacks by the West for the past century and continuing? There is little doubt that the vicious attacks on the Muslim World by the West is well planned and executed and is unlikely to be halted in the foreseeable future. The only question is, which country will be next and when will the Rapacious West turn its war machine on that country. I trust that your readers will understand the Quranic verse in its correct context.  

- M.I.M. Siddeeq