"There is no coercion in religion."
Quran 2:256
We've discussed several times about the common belief from outside of Islam that it's a religion spread by force. I think I shared the story (we're now half a year into this daily discussion of faith and I'm already forgetting what I wrote) about a colleague of mine of Zayed in Abu Dhabi who made that statement, and this was a man who had spent years living and teaching in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the Quran points out repeatedly that all religious choices must be based on free will. Why does the point of view still persist that Islam is spread at the point of a sword? Granted, some of this is just plain, unvarnished Islamophobia and racism, certainly. And doubtless a lot of this relates to ignorance of the faith, what it means. The perception continues that it is a harsh, spiritually dry religion, which probably relates to the fact that folks still equate the Arab world and deserts, although, as we've discussed, only about a fifth of the world's Muslims live in the Arabic world. I think people who don't understand why any single person would ever become a Muslim would be doubly perplexed by 1.6 billion people becoming Muslims, so it has to be by force. Instead, we are told repeatedly in the Quran that the decision is yours. Can you find examples of forced conversion into Islam, both in history and in today's contemporary world? Yes, sadly, almost certainly, as you can with every faith. In a world desperate to demonize an entire faith those are the ones that will receive attention.
Quran 2:256
We've discussed several times about the common belief from outside of Islam that it's a religion spread by force. I think I shared the story (we're now half a year into this daily discussion of faith and I'm already forgetting what I wrote) about a colleague of mine of Zayed in Abu Dhabi who made that statement, and this was a man who had spent years living and teaching in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the Quran points out repeatedly that all religious choices must be based on free will. Why does the point of view still persist that Islam is spread at the point of a sword? Granted, some of this is just plain, unvarnished Islamophobia and racism, certainly. And doubtless a lot of this relates to ignorance of the faith, what it means. The perception continues that it is a harsh, spiritually dry religion, which probably relates to the fact that folks still equate the Arab world and deserts, although, as we've discussed, only about a fifth of the world's Muslims live in the Arabic world. I think people who don't understand why any single person would ever become a Muslim would be doubly perplexed by 1.6 billion people becoming Muslims, so it has to be by force. Instead, we are told repeatedly in the Quran that the decision is yours. Can you find examples of forced conversion into Islam, both in history and in today's contemporary world? Yes, sadly, almost certainly, as you can with every faith. In a world desperate to demonize an entire faith those are the ones that will receive attention.
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