# Does the Koran Say That It is Ok to Kill Non Muslims? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397 "2001-09-13T17:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saxman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Saxman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saxman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/21 "2001-09-13T22:41:39Z")
Regarding the Jeffrey Goldberg article in the NYTimes: I was utterly chilled when I first read it last year. At one point, the madrasah students ask him how he could possibly know various of the Quranic commands to protect and honor “The People of the Book” (i.e., Jews and Christians). He responds that the Quran is available in English. They are utterly shocked, and refuse to believe him. Such warped conditioning, resulting in closed minds that cannot accept logical truths, is frightening to the extreme. In some ways, and I know this is controversial (would it help to reiterate that I’m Muslim myself?), I fear that the only way to combat such a “broken” mind is to destroy it by force, because negotiation would be impossible. Ku Klux Klan, Taliban, it doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/22 "2001-09-13T23:39:33Z")
Once again, I’ll post this link, which I think does a decent job of explaining some of this: [http://www.cyberislam.com/literature/fiqh/halalharam/chap4s5.html](http://www.cyberislam.com/literature/fiqh/halalharam/chap4s5.html) - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![jaimest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@jaimest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaimest)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/23 "2001-09-14T01:03:33Z")
The Koran is derived from the same sources as the Jewish and Christian scriptures (the Koran itself makes many references to the Bible and Biblical figures). It is also based on principles of logic that are in the Hellenistic tradition of the Greek and Roman Near East. It is not some odd and incomprehensible book full of mad ravings. I have seen some odd verses in the Old and New Testament - and I am very grateful that few Jews or Christians hold to these verses in the modern world. \*\* Saxman \*\* I was under the impression that some Muslims believed that the Koran could only be the true Koran in Classical Arabic, therefore the comment about not believing the Koran could be translated in English is rooted in that. A Koran in English, French, German, or even Farsi is merely a interpretation in their view. But I may be wrong, because only 20% of all Muslims are even Arabs today. ---
**Author:** ![Saxman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Saxman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saxman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/24 "2001-09-14T01:44:58Z")
**jJaimest** , you’re exactly correct, it’s a generally held principle of Islamic theology that the Quran is God’s word verbatim. (In previous posts, I was lazy and didn’t use the more accurate “intrepretation” instead of “translation”.) While the boys at these madrasahs were no doubt learning Arabic, their native tongues vary from Punjabi to Pashto to any of the various dialects from the region, so the notion of translation/interpretations of the Quran into other languages wouldn’t be alien to them. As such, what froze my blood was a) their utter ignorance that the Western world might also have intelligible access to Quran – and thus an appreciation for its message, and b) their utter refusal to believe the obvious proof of such access and appreciation when Goldberg kept quoting to them passages from it. When prodded, one of the kids racked his brain to see if there was _anything_ good about our country. “Candy,” the boy said. “Candy comes from America.” ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/25 "2001-09-14T02:10:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Saxman \* > Per the passage quoted above by djbdjb: > > > [@](#): > > > > “So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve” > > The Quran says, in other parts, that force may only be used defensively, or pre-emptively, in response to an enemy offensive. Why then the mention infidels? Are Muslims not allowed to fight in self-defense against other Muslims? > [@](#): > > “then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make (them) prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom (themselves) until the war terminates.” > [@](#): > > While war will always have its casualties, the passage above clearly indicates (the meaning of “smite” being a flexible one) that taking prisoners is preferable whenever possible. After all, if “smite” uniformly meant “kill”, a dead prisoner wouldn’t have much use for later being set free. 🙂 Remember, the OP did not ask if the Quran said it was preferable to ransom captives rather than cut their heads off at the neck, it asked if it said it was OK to “smite their necks”. You look like you might be getting ready to claim that smiting in some instances might mean slapping, or being shot at with a pea-shooter, which will be a most amusing debating point… ---
**Author:** ![Saxman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Saxman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saxman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/26 "2001-09-14T03:04:20Z")
If a Muslim were to attack another Muslim, then clearly, one of them must be in the wrong, theologically speaking – either the attacker for improperly attacking, or the defender for improperly acting against the attacker. Therefore, self-defense (or pre-emptive offense) would be entirely justified. That is, if I was looking to murder my equally Muslim neighbor, that would be neither very Muslim nor very neighborly of me. Clearly, he has the right to defend himself – it’s a given. Explicit instructions on how to treat infidels would be necessary just to make sure that people know what’s what. As for definitions of “smite”, that’s certainly one place where non-Arabic interpretations of the Quran _may_ fall short, because for all I know (IANAAS – “…an Arabic scholar”), the word translated as “smite” might be more akin to “strike”, or might be an all-purpose verb that nonetheless has more contextualized meanings elsewhere. On that note, an interesting tangent is that the word used for “strike” in the oft-quoted Quranic edict that husbands may “strike” disobedient wives (sorry, no cite right now, will look it up later) is apparently the same verb used to idiomatically refer to the coupling of camels. (Just as [Cecil has said](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html) regarding the English word “f\*ck”, which likely derives from the Middle English _fucken_, “to strike”.) Therefore, as more scholarly folks than I have well discussed, God may not be saying, “Husbands can beat their wives,” but “Men should make love to their wives”, as the surrounding context of the passage discusses how God has created man and woman to be a comfort and joy to each other. ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/27 "2001-09-14T03:19:35Z")
> [@](#): > > As for definitions of “smite”, that’s certainly one place where non-Arabic interpretations of the Quran _may_ fall short, because for all I know (IANAAS – “…an Arabic scholar”), the word translated as “smite” might be more akin to “strike”, or might be an all-purpose verb that nonetheless has more contextualized meanings elsewhere. > > On that note, an interesting tangent is that the word used for “strike” in the oft-quoted Quranic edict that husbands may “strike” disobedient wives (sorry, no cite right now, will look it up later) is apparently the same verb used to idiomatically refer to the coupling of camels. (Just as [Cecil has said](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html) regarding the English word “f\*ck”, which likely derives from the Middle English _fucken_, “to strike”.) Therefore, as more scholarly folks than I have well discussed, God may not be saying, “Husbands can beat their wives,” but “Men should make love to their wives”, as the surrounding context of the passage discusses how God has created man and woman to be a comfort and joy to each other. ok, these two examples have demonstrated that you are way too much an apologist to be of any use in interpreting the Quran to me. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/28 "2001-09-14T04:14:54Z")
**djb[sup]2[/sup]**, as to your question of why the specific mention of disbelievers/infidels: of course Islam assumes that Muslims will see each other as brothers and would not attack each other. The purpose of the Qur’an is to join people in faith. During Mohammed’s time there was also great strife in the region and a lot of fighting and squabbling between different tribes. The idea was to unify these peoples under God as possible and where not possible defend those they considered kindred spirits. If Christians followed strictly the tenets of Christianity there would also be no war, for all would be brothers in Jesus Christ. At least that’s the theory. **Saxman** has stated that he is a Muslim. He has not come across, IMO, in his statements as doing anything but trying to elucidate a) what is written in the Qur’an, which should be what Muslims believe and b) how young and initially innocent minds can be misled down the path of hatred and zealotry. This is not terribly different from how people of other faiths can be led to believe that God has somehow approved their unGodly actions. I don’t think he is attempting to make any sort of apology or lessening of guilt here. The point that should come across here loud and clear is: [list=1][_]Some Muslims obviously have interpreted the Qur’an to mean that it is open season on disbelievers. This is wrong. [_]Most Muslims see this as a corruption of Islam. [_]The Qur’an itself makes clear that those who claim to believe but do not follow Allah’s laws are lost and doomed. [_]The vast majority of Muslims do NOT believe that this is okay and are repulsed by these beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Saxman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Saxman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saxman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/29 "2001-09-14T08:52:41Z")
For the record, few of my personal views on Islam have have made their way onto these boards. (Some that have are hardly apologist; witness my suggestion in this thread that fanatics with hopelessly closed minds are “broken” and should be killed.) Rather, I’m just trying to cast a small ray of light on the many nuances and complexities that exist in a 1500-year-old, richly textured theology that most non-Muslims are unfamiliar with. Matters of religion, regardless of which one, are rarely black and white. **djbdjb** , by labeling me an “apologist”, you believe there is something I’m apologizing for, thereby implying that you already have a specific idea about Islam and the Quran that you would like to see proven correct. However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and continue rambling on in such a way that I sound impressive and pretentious. Arabic words, like words in most languages, have numerous shades of meaning; additionally, the Quran is written in _Classical_ Arabic. The text exists exactly as it was codified in the 7th Century – predating even Beowulf, written in Old English sometime around 1000 A.D. The original untranslated version of Beowulf is available at [Internet History Sourcebooks](http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/beowulf-oe.html). I certainly can’t make heads or tails of the original Beowulf, so I’d need a Modern English translation. However, since many of the idioms and customs described in a circa 10th Century story might not make any sense to a modern reader, the Modern English translation would be, by definition, an interpretation that does make sense to us today. Similarly, most Muslims are not Arabs and thus don’t speak modern Arabic, to say nothing of classical Arabic, so they’d need translations (whether they’re in English, French, Urdu, Chinese, etc). Even among the English “translations” available all over the web, specific word choices vary widely throughout the text. To tie this all back into the OP: a commonly held view is that yes, the Quran says non-Muslims can be killed, but ONLY when they threaten Muslims. Furthermore, the Quran goes further to say it’s also cool if otherwise-murderous non-Muslims aren’t killed in battle, but merely taken prisoner. Basically, God is saying, “Although your pre-revelation customs may say you can slaughter whomever you want, just because they don’t worship your own gods, I say you can’t do that – they have to be threatening you in order for you to hurt them.” (A far cry indeed from “Mercy is for the weak! The enemy deserves no mercy!” 🙂 ) Finally, Classical Arabic words interpreted into English as “smite” may in fact have several meanings, one of which resembles “smite” – but maybe the resemblance isn’t perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/30 "2001-09-14T12:43:54Z")
Overall, this has been an enlightening thread. That online Qur’an link posted by **lno** is very interesting, too. I liked this (from [“The Disbelievers”](http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/koran/koran-idx?type=DIV0&byte=968503)): > [@](#): > > [109.1] Say: O unbelievers! > [109.2] I do not serve that which you serve, > [109.3] Nor do you serve Him Whom I serve: > [109.4] Nor am I going to serve that which you serve, > [109.5] Nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve: > [109.6] You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion. …although I have to admit I found the translation a little dense; I’m having trouble grasping the wider context of these words, and I may have completely misunderstood the message behind the above chapter. These lines, from [“The Chargers”](http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/koran/koran-idx?type=DIV0&byte=963610), were sort of chilling, even though I’m taking them way out of context: > [@](#): > > [100.2] Then those that produce fire striking, > [100.3] Then those that make raids at morn, > [100.4] Then thereby raise dust, > [100.5] Then rush thereby upon an assembly And finally, it seems as though [“The Calamity”](http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/koran/koran-idx?type=DIV0&byte=964405) could be turned around and used as a warning of sorts to the Taliban: > [@](#): > > [101.1] The terrible calamity! > [101.2] What is the terrible calamity! > [101.3] And what will make you comprehend what the terrible calamity is? > [101.4] The day on which men shall be as scattered moths, > [101.5] And the mountains shall be as loosened wool. > [101.6] Then as for him whose measure of good deeds is heavy, > [101.7] He shall live a pleasant life. > [101.8] And as for him whose measure of good deeds is light, > [101.9] His abode shall be the abyss. > [101.10] And what will make you know what it is? > [101.11] A burning fire. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/31 "2001-09-14T16:15:01Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Saxman \* > \*\*an interesting tangent is that the word used for “strike” in the oft-quoted Quranic edict that husbands may “strike” disobedient wives (sorry, no cite right now, will look it up later) is apparently the same verb used to idiomatically refer to the coupling of camels. (Just as [Cecil has said](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html) regarding the English word "f_ck", which likely derives from the Middle English _fucken_, “to strike”.) Therefore, as more scholarly folks than I have well discussed, God may not be saying, “Husbands can beat their wives,” but “Men should make love to their wives”, as the surrounding context of the passage discusses how God has created man and woman to be a comfort and joy to each other. \*\* That was brought out in the Qur’an translation by Ahmed Ali, a Pakistani scholar, and he based it upon classical sources. This page [“No wife-beating in Islam!”](http://sites.netscape.net/penkatali/wife) discusses it and analyses the many levels of meaning of the verb _to smite_ in context (including the same semantic development of the verb _ficken_ cited by Cecil). There’s something very cool about a sacred scripture that actually tells you to have sex lovingly. > [@](#): > > We know from other hadiths that encourage sacred sex in Islam that Allah is happy > when husband and wife have sexual intercourse, and they are showered with spiritual blessings > when they do. ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/32 "2001-09-14T17:22:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Saxman \* > **For the record, few of my personal views on Islam have have made their way onto these boards. (Some that have are hardly apologist; witness my suggestion in this thread that fanatics with hopelessly closed minds are “broken” and should be killed.) Rather, I’m just trying to cast a small ray of light on the many nuances and complexities that exist in a 1500-year-old, richly textured theology that most non-Muslims are unfamiliar with. Matters of religion, regardless of which one, are rarely black and white.** > > **djbdjb** , by labeling me an “apologist”, you believe there is something I’m apologizing for, thereby implying that you already have a specific idea about Islam and the Quran that you would like to see proven correct. However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and continue rambling on in such a way that I sound impressive and pretentious. I want to clarify what I thought you were being an apologist for: Not for terrorist actions, or the killing of non-Muslims, but an apologist for interpreting the Quran in a way that might cover up some of the awful things said there. I know less about Bible scholarship than you evidently know of Islamic, but I do know that there is a lot of non-fundamentalist scholarship that is skeptical of many of the events described in the Bible, has questions about the authorship of the gospels, etc. I would expect such scholarship when confronted with a story like that told in Joshua 6:21 to react by saying it is an appalling story. If I were to hear of someone advancing a theory that all the inhabitants of Jericho had a contagious disease and had to be killed out of mercy to them and others, I would lable that person an apologist. You seemed to make two points: That the phrase “smite their necks” might mean something other than to strike with a sword with the intent to kill, and that there are no words in Classical Arabic to distinguish between the act of beating a woman and having sexual intercourse. At my current understanding, I find both points unbelievable. One specific idea I have about Islam is that there is not (as big a) body of skeptical Islamic thought as there is of Christian scholarship; all discussion of the Quran seems to from a fundamentalist, inerrancy view. That view can’t have been changed by this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Saxman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Saxman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saxman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/33 "2001-09-14T18:47:51Z")
> [@](#): > > _ **djbdjb** wrote:_ > > That the phrase “smite their necks” might mean something other than to strike with a sword with the intent to kill, I’m sorry; I forgot to provides all the premises of my earlier argument. [“To smite”](http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=smite), even in English, does **not** primarily mean “to strike with the intent to kill”, but rather “to inflict a heavy blow on, with or as if with the hand, a tool, or a weapon”. After all, being “smitten by the girl next door” does not mean my crush renders me lifeless, just sufficiently disoriented that I can’t see straight. 🙂 “Smiting” clearly gained its lethal connotation by the logical assumption, based on biblical references to divine smiting, that when God opens a can of whup-ass on you, mere mortals are in for a world of hurt. > [@](#): > > and that there are no words in Classical Arabic to distinguish between the act of beating a woman and having sexual intercourse. At my current understanding, I find both points unbelievable. I don’t know your own experience with foreign languages (and for all I know, English may not even be your native tongue), but I have studied a few. It’s clear to me that many words have innumerable possible meanings – sometimes entirely opposite ones – when translated into other languages. Idiomatic construction and context are key. For example, if I got into a barroom brawl and said, “I am going to f_ck you up!", a foreign bystander heavy into online porn might assume I plan to make love to my sparring partner. Similarly, in French, baiser means “to kiss”, yet baise-moi means "f_ck me”. There are certain Quranic injunctions that I do believe were meant for a certain time and place (giving a lawless, paganistic, highly clannish people a means to create an ordered, altruistic society) but are too extreme to even consider applying today. And I do agree that modern Islam is in desperate need of a critical Reformation movement that isn’t afraid of saying certain things shouldn’t be applied today. But what I’m trying to say here is that often, what may seem as commands too extreme to make any sense today are, in fact, commands that were _never_ intended to be applied in such a way. And rather, that it is the lack of nuanced, contextualized interpretations that allowed these _mis_interpretations to be perpetuated in the first place. The [article](http://sites.netscape.net/penkatali/wife) mentioned below elaborates this point very clearly. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/34 "2001-09-14T19:08:44Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Saxman \* > \*\*For example, if I got into a barroom brawl and said, "I am going to f_ck you up!", a foreign bystander heavy into online porn might assume I plan to make love to my sparring partner.\*\* Why does this bring George Carlin’s famous ‘Seven Words’ routine to mind? From his section on the word ‘f\*\*\*’ (paraphrased from memory): “Someone once said that he’d rather his kids saw a movie with two people making love and two people trying to kill each other. I agree, and I’d really like to take it a step further. Let’s replace the word ‘kill’ with the word ‘f\*\*\*’ in all of those movie cliches we grew up with.” “We’re gonna _f_\*\*\* you now, Sherrif!” \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* "But we’re gonna f\*\*\* you _slow_ … 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Muslim\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Muslim\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muslim_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/35 "2001-09-15T20:43:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beadalin \* > \*\*I am going to quote another poster \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by \*_Jomo Mojo_… So for several reasons, terrorism is completely outside Islam. \*\* > > \*\* What **Jomo Mojo** said. Right on, man. ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/36 "2001-09-15T20:47:32Z")
Koran 9:5 instructs the faithful to “slay such polytheists” wherever they are found. Koran 47:4 tells believers to strike off the heads of those who disbelieve. Courtesy of “The happy Heretic” [http://www.thehappyheretic.com](http://www.thehappyheretic.com) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/37 "2001-09-16T02:42:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\* > > Koran 47:4 > > \*\* Already explained above. And the passage refers to those unbelievers “met in battle”, not just random unbelievers in the street. Why doesn’t anyone seem to notice that? ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/38 "2001-09-16T03:34:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lno \* > \*\*Qur’an 2:256: “There is no compulsion in religion.” > > If you would like to browse the Qur’an, there is a convenient online resource [here](http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/). This allows searches for short phrases, and has the entire text available by chapter. > > Please remember that it is possible to react to something without understanding it. You may read something that surprises you, but take a deep breath, realize that Islam IS a peaceful religion, and keep reading. > > In my experience, the book is far more fascinating than most other religious texts. \*\* Thank you for adding this, Ino. I’ve sent the link out to my email list. There’s a lot of misinformation about. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/39 "2001-09-16T07:04:20Z")
Reading that last from **Stupendous Man** makes me think that the way the Koran is interpreted for the masses who are not able/allowed to understand the original meaning of the texts is not far differant in scope to the way that it was forbidden to translate the Bible right up to the 16C but to simply follow the teachings of those who are. In other words it appears to me that some devotees, most notably the extremists, seem as if they are still living with 16thC attitudes to religion. ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2001, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397/40 "2001-09-16T08:27:53Z")
I asked about this in another topic. Since Islam is against terrorism, can some cleric or mullah “excommunicate” Bin Laden? It would remove him from this holy war rhetoric he’s been hiding behind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-say-that-it-is-ok-to-kill-non-muslims/81397.md?page=3)