There Is No Compulsion In Religion

(continued from Religion of Peace) 

But the Quran says there is no compulsion in religion - i.e. no pressure to convert to Islam.

Where does the Quran say that there is no compulsion in religion?

"There shall be no compulsion in religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in false deities and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. Allah is Hearing and Knowing." - Quran 2*:256

Say, "O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion." - Quran 109*:1-6

But the Quran's "no compulsion" statement above contradicts its prescription below to kill non-Muslims if they don't pay the infidel tax, and to massacre:

"Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the infidels and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous. And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the infidels wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and pay tribute tax, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." - Quran 9*:4-5

"It is not for a prophet to have captives [of war] until he inflicts a massacre in the land. Some Muslims desire the commodities of this world, but Allah desires the Hereafter. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." - Quran 8*:67

Why does the Quran contradict itself as above?

Quran began to be written when Muhammad led only a small group of followers in Mecca and had no military power. The parts of the Quran written during this period were not belligerent and only sought recognition for his new religion.

After Muhammad moved his group to Medina and became a powerful warlord, his Quran became belligerent and intolerant towards non-Muslims (see War Against Islam).

Muslims today employ Taqiyya and claim that Islam is still a Religion of Peace, but they know that through Naskh, the early non-violent surahs in the Quran have been abrogated by the later violent surahs, which apply to the Muslims of today.

* Quran's surahs are not ordered chronologically. After Muhammad died in 632 AD, different versions and elements of the Quran abounded. In 651 AD, caliph Uthman ibn Affan ordered a small group to produce a standardized version of the Quran. The group produced 114 surahs ordered mainly based on their length (longer surahs near the front). Their work was accepted and comprise the Quran the world has today (Uthman ibn Affan ordered all other versions and elements of the Quran burned). Surahs 2 and 109 above came early in Muhammad's life, while surahs 8 and 9 came later, after Muhammad achieved military dominance in the region. See Muhammad.

Continue...