The Sword of Islam -1

Assalaamu alaikum [peace be to you],

Is Islam a religion of war?
Throughout history was it spread by the sword?
were people forced to convert?
Does the Qur’an teach Muslims that those they conquer must convert or die?

First of all I will gladly offer all the riches I possess to anyone who can show where the verse ‘convert or die’ is located in the Qur’an. There is no such verse in the Qur’an! This is a terrible distortion that has no basis in truth. Instead of ‘convert or die’ you would find verses such as the following:
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.
^{translation of 2:256}

Many verses in the Qur’an, show that Islam is against forcing people to become Muslims. Islam believes in freedom of expression where we all can choose of our own free will to follow the religion of our choice. Only Allah can touch the hearts of human beings and as Muslims we cannot force anyone to accept Islam.

Those who force others to accept Islam are not following what Islam teaches. The history of Islam has not been one where people were forced at the point of a sword to convert.


In Indonesia where the largest number of Muslims in the world live, there were never forced conversions. This is true of Malaysia, India, Africa, Europe, America and wherever Muslims are found. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. After 9/11, Muslims experienced one of the highest rates of conversion in the US despite the enormous negative portrayal of Muslims as terrorists. What sword did American Muslims use to make that happen?

When Muslims ruled Spain it became the marvel of the Middle Ages, and when all of Europe was plunged in barbaric ignorance and strife, it alone held the torch of learning and civilization bright and shining before the Western world. The reasons for the rapid advance and conquest of Spain are numerous but one stands out more than others. The generous terms the Moors offered which contrasted markedly with the harsh rule of the Visigoth rulers before them. Approaching Toledo in 711 C.E, the Muslim ruler, Tariq ibn Ziyad offered that anyone who wished to leave could do so while those who stayed could retain property, practice their religion freely and be governed by their own rules and laws.

This was all in line with what the Qur’an taught and the example demonstrated in the life of Prophet Muhammad.


It is interesting to note that after the Christians recaptured Spain, one of the great charges they brought against the Muslims was that Muslims were too tolerant in religion. The Archbishop of Valencia, in recommending the expulsion of Muslims from Spain stated, “that they (the Muslims) highly praised nothing as much as liberty of conscience in all matters of religion, which the Turks, and all other Mohammedans, allow their subjects to enjoy”. Although brought up as a negative charge against Muslims, this was indeed a great compliment paid unwittingly showing the tolerance practiced by Spanish Muslims.


The idea that Islam was spread by the sword and forced people to become Muslims is not sanctioned by the Qur’an or from real evidences in Islamic history. There are many historians and distinguished people from all over the world who are non-Muslims who also say the same thing.

Uri Avnery, an Israeli Journalist, humanitarian and former Knesset member said:
“Muslim Spain was a paradise for the Jews, and there has never been a Jewish Holocaust in the Muslim world. Even pogroms were extremely rare. Muhammad decreed that the ‘Peoples of the Book’ (Jews and Christians) be treated tolerantly, subject to conditions that were incomparably more liberal than those in contemporary Europe.

“The Muslims never imposed their religion by force on Jews and Christians, as shown by the fact that almost all the Jews expelled from Catholic Spain settled in the Muslim countries and flourished there."

^{from [link]}

To be continued in part 2:



WARNING (for those who come with hate):
I let you know that Anti-Islamic propaganda is NOT ALLOWED in my pages. you have the right to disagree with what I say. I don't aim to force you to change your opinions. But if you are assuming that you can freely express your hate towards Islam here, you are certainly mistaken. i do not tolerate the propagation of falsehood, misconceptions and lies against Islam in my pages.
if you hate Islam and want to express it, do me a favor and propagate your opinions IN YOUR OWN PAGE.
peace be to those who come in peace.
'flag as spam' be to those who come with hate.


If I am right, it's from the God. if I am wrong, it's from myself.