Violence and warfare played a major role in the origins and rise of Islam. We can see this through the violence displayed in the Quran, and the relations and conflict of Muhammad with the Jews of Medina and the Quraysh of Mecca. The Quran is the book of which the religion of Islam is focused. Muslims believe it to be the word of God that was given to Mohammad. It lays out the five pillars of Islam to persuade the followers to “dedicate” themselves to God. (page 20) The pillars are faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. While the Quran lays out the ideas of giving and generosity, it also reveals concepts of warfare, “such as the use of weapons, treatment of prisoners and noncombatants, and the collection of revenue and spoils of …show more content…
Qital is a word that means “fight” or “armed struggle”, and the word jihad means a “struggle” to meet an objective. (page 23) The use and frequency of these two words in the Quran demonstrate the theme of warfare, and the idea that warfare can be a service to God. The Quran pushes its followers to attack people who do not accept Islam as their religion. We can see this in the verse Surat al-Tawba, 9:5, that “urges believers to fight idolaters until they convert to Islam.” (page 23) This brings up the idea of submission versus freedom. The Quran suggest “equality”, that “all humans, notwithstanding distinctions of origin and wealth, stand equally before God.” (page 21) The text outlines the “Muslim conduct” that prohibits things such as murder, adultery, and stealing. (page 21) It seems very contradicting to ban murder, while the followers and Muhammad destroy people just because they do not accept Islam as their religion. While the Quran states that God is sovereign, the early followers of Islam took power into their own hands and used their authority to