Islam Denounces Terrorism

War cannot Be Waged to Enforce Conversion to Islam

Those who employ war, force or coercion to impose Islam on someone are betraying the Qur'an. One of the most explicit statements in the Qur'an is that "there is no compulsion in the religion":

There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned ... (Qur'an, 2:256)

This is an explicit commandment of the Qur'an. No Muslim can disobey that command and force anyone else to be devout. That is expressly forbidden in the Qur'an.

Our Prophet (pbuh) is only an adviser. He has a responsibility to preach and introduce communities to Islam, the last revealed religion. At that time, some of those who heard about Islam from the mouths of our Prophet (pbuh) and other Muslims came to believe, while others did not. As explicitly required by the Qur'an, neither our Prophet (pbuh) nor the other Muslims with him ever resorted to compulsion. Our Prophet (pbuh) is reminded in the Qur'an; "So remind them! You are only a reminder. You cannot compel them [to believe]." (Qur'an, 88:21-22) Compulsion is therefore absolutely forbidden.

According to the Qur'an, all Muslims have a duty to tell people of the moral values of Islam, but nobody can use compulsion and say, "You must become a Muslim" or "You must perform the religious observances." The purpose of the Qur'an is to bring love and peace to the world. Such pressure is therefore incompatible with the Qur'an.

Other verses in which compulsion is prohibited read:

Say: "It is the truth from your Lord; so let whoever wishes have faith and whoever wishes be irreligious"…(Qur'an, 18:29)

If your Lord had willed, all the people on the earth would have had faith. Do you think you can force people to be believers? (Qur'an, 10:99)

We know best what they say. You are not a dictator over them. So remind, with the Qur'an, whoever fears My threat. (Qur'an, 50:45)

Say: "Unbelievers! I do not worship what you worship and you do not worship what I worship. Nor will I worship what you worship nor will you worship what I worship. You have your religion and I have my religion." (Qur'an, 109:1-6)

Since force and compulsion are prohibited in the Qur'an, there is no justification for war, aggression, enmity or anger. What things, apart from converting, would Muslims compel polytheistic communities to do? It is clear that it is unlawful for someone to be forced to convert. Therefore, according to the Islam of the Qur'an, imposing Islam can never be a pretext for war.

War cannot Be Waged for Ideological or Ethnic Superiority

Islam respects all ideologies, all nations, all ethnic groups, all ideas and all faiths. Islam is a religion in which all ideas are listened to and that permits the maximum possible freedom of ideas. War due to any clash of ideas or clash of ethnicities is of course impossible in a faith with such an excellent conception of democracy and freedom.

War cannot Be Waged for the Purpose of Spreading the Rules of Islam to be Introduced by a Muslim Leader

According to the Qur'an, a Muslim leader must be someone who also embraces Christians, Jews, atheists, communists, agnostics, Buddhists and people who adhere to other beliefs and ideological systems in the community he leads. He must implement complete freedom of ideas. He must allow people complete liberty.

Conflict, slander and hypocritical people appear where there are no freedoms. He must prevent that and do what the Qur'an requires. As stated in the verse "You who believe! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for God alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives." (Qur'an', 4:135) every believer has a responsibility to maintain justice without regard for individuals, beliefs or origins, even if that works against himself.

War cannot Be Waged to Eliminate Those Regarded as "Enemies"

It is usually radical groups that are encouraged to wage war, but those who need war for their own evil ends manage them all. Ignorance is of vital importance to those "managers" in question. Ignorance gives them pawns to make use of.

How can there be enemies in Islam? Islam is a religion that requires all people to be equal and brothers. According to Islam, no matter what someone's colour, language, religion, race, citizenship or social standing, he is worthy of respect simply for the fact that he is an entity with soul. As all the revealed religions say, human beings are brothers as we are all the children of the Prophet Adam (pbuh). This principle of brotherhood is a requirement of religious belief.

Islam is opposed to all fascist-type ideologies and ideas and Darwinist/materialist philosophies that are based on racial superiority and divide people into false categories such as "advanced" and "primitive." It therefore engages in an intellectual and rational struggle against these conflicts that these ideologies bring with them, and has no room for them within itself.

The rule in Islam about all humans being worthy of respect represents the basis of all relations between people. In the view of Islam, even someone who acts wrongly always has the potential to be turned in the direction of goodness. It is therefore impossible for a true Muslim to have any enemies. Every Muslim has a responsibility to treat others with affection and to tell them about moral virtues, not to make enemies with others and plot to bring them down.

While there is no distinction among people on the subject of superiority when they are addressed in the Qur'an, the use of the term "the sons of Adam" shows that in that respect all people are created equal:

We have honoured the sons of Adam and conveyed them on land and sea and provided them with good things and favoured them greatly over many We have created. (Qur'an, 17:70)

The way that a religion is heralded by many as a religion of war, even though there are no pretexts as summarised above, stems entirely from the practices of the peddlers of superstition. Some people are generally mistaken about Islam because they are simply unaware of these clarifications regarding it and only witness the practices of the radicals. People with a radical mindset are unaware that they are applying commandments outside the Qur'an and have adopted another faith quite different to the true Islam. However, the religion of Islam and Islamic sharia are based on the Qur'anic verses. Other sources that are based on fabricated hadiths and superstitions have no validity for a true Muslim. So do Muslims desire war?