Does Islam really forbid the killing of others?

In recent debates I have seen between various people representing muslims and the rest of the world, most recently thanks to the atrocities committed by the Islamic State, I have seen the same line quoted from koran by nearly all who wish to make it appear that Islam doesn’t sanction the killing of others no matter what the faith or group of the victim.

I wanted to link to the best article I have read on the subject so far which was written by Sonia Bailley but couldn’t find it. So I asked her if she would be kind enough to send it to me and allow me to republish it here so that I can find it and link to it in future when needs be. Which will likely be quite a bit.

Thank you very much Sonia

Eeyore for Vlad:

Saving All of Humanity in Islam? Not!

By Sonia Bailley

How typically deceptive it is when Muslims refer to koranic verse 5:32 claiming that saving one human being is like saving all of humanity. This analogy applies only when a Muslim is killed by a Jew. Muslims are attempting to prove that Islam cares about people of all religious faiths. It doesn’t.

First, verse 5:32 is Jewish in origin — it comes from Judaism, from the Jerusalem Talmud (Sanhedrin 4:1, 22a), and it refers to and protects people of ALL religions, unlike the koranic verse that followed later on. This is far from the only Islamic verse or concept snatched from Judaism. Others were pilfered from Christianity and Zoroastrianism.

Koranic verse 5:32 was meant only for Jews to follow, and protects Muslims in that Jews are forbidden to kill them. Jews are referred to explicitly at the beginning of the verse: “we decreed for the Children of Israel”.

Second, the purpose of this verse was not to instill or reveal benevolence in the Muslim, but rather to place aggressive restrictions on Jews regarding whom they can kill without punishment: Jews can only kill (a) in retaliation for manslaughter, and (b) non-Muslims for causing “corruption in the earth“ or fitna (Islam not being followed).

What the verse really says is that if a Jew kills a Muslim, it’s as if the Jew kills all of humanity, akin to genocide. In reality this quote justifies Islamic discrimination by protecting only Muslims from being killed, and places Jews under constant threat of heavy retaliation should one Jew kill a Muslim (see 5:33 below). Other koranic verses (and Islamic texts) reveal there is no manslaughter involved when Muslims kill non-Muslims.

When you cherry-pick from verse 5:32, as most Muslims do (and as Obama did in his Cairo speech in June 2009), it appears to condemn the killing of ALL humans by anyone. This is why parts of the verse are always purposely omitted by proselytizers of Islam when attempting to convert others. However, when understood in its entirety, this koranic verse permits and encourages the killing of non-Muslims by Jews.

If, as Muslims claim (based on 5:32), they cannot kill anyone of any religion, then you would expect, at the very least, that they not kill other Muslims. However, take a look around the world. Pick any country where death, oppression and destruction run rampant. You will see the extent to which Muslims with the power to kill (like ISIS) care about Muslims who are not considered to be Muslim enough (like Shiite or Ahmadi Muslims), let alone people of other religions, in order to avoid fitna (a state of disorder due to people not following Islam).

Here is koranic verse 5:32, which should be read in its entirety: “For that cause, we decreed for the Children of Israel, that whoever kills a human for reasons other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind. And whoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came to them with clear proofs (of Allah’s sovereignty), but afterwards lo! Many of them become transgressors of the earth.”

Here is the next verse, 5:33, showing how to punish the disbelievers of Islam: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified, or that their HANDS and FEET BE CUT OFF from opposite sides, or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.”

“Saving one human is like saving all of humanity” applies only when that human being is a Muslim. A life is worthy only when it follows Islam. Otherwise, it just doesn’t matter.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

10 Replies to “Does Islam really forbid the killing of others?”

  1. One cannot read the Quran like the Bible or Torah. Quran is strictly chronological based and their religion evolves in the later chapters where they contradict their earlier peaceful chapters. As their prophet become more power crazed and build up resentment because the Jews and Christians rejected him as a prophet – you can see that more violent and evil commands were arbitrarily issued by their prophet that justifies whatever action he fancies. Unlike the Torah and Bible which contains no contradiction, the Quran is full of contradiction.

    • You are right, the Koran is full of contradictions it is so riddled with them that only the brain dead or terminally stupid can believe in it.

      • Actually, those who believe in the Q’ran are mainly those who never read it themselves but instead only listen to their Imam and/or to hearsay. The vast majority of Muslims are peaceful people who were born to Muslim parents and therefore inherited their “identity” of being Muslim. Their religion follows, more as a sense of identity than as a true faith as we westerners (anyone influenced directly or indirectly by the Bible) think of faith. But a person’s self-own identity is something not easily rejected! This is compounded with Islam because of the harsh penalties given to Muslims for even doubt, let alone rejection of Islam. So let’s keep in mind that most Muslims are actually victims of a powerfully evil institution. With this in mind, perhaps we can better find ways to help them find a way out of the shackles that bind them. A good analogy is young naive kids who grow up as the young sibling of gang members in a ghetto….

        • Baby-faced weapon: Boy, 9, heaps praise on ‘martyrs’ and ‘mujahideen’ engaged in bloody jihads throughout the Middle East

          HE is the baby-faced weapon of the religiously driven, democracy-hating men striving for a Muslim caliphate built on sharia law.

          All of nine years old, he stands at the front of a gathering in Sydney reciting passages from the Koran and lecturing followers on the importance of sacrifice in Islam.

          The little boy, who according to his father’s social media profile enjoys trips to McDonald’s and dinosaur exhibitions when he’s not giving sermons, heaps praise on “martyrs” and “mujahideen” engaged in bloody jihads throughout the Middle East.

          In a video posted by his father, the youngster delivers a chilling speech to a crowd of his “brothers and sisters” in which he calls for the restoration of Islamic authority around the world.

          “The mujaheens in Syria and Afghanistan and in Palestine and all around the Muslim lands who know that only Islam can bring mercy to mankind,” he preaches in an Australian accent.

          “Let us take this opportunity, in this month (Ramadan) … by sacrificing everything for the sake of Allah.”

          The video of the speech was uploaded to social media in July and shared a number of times. At one point the boy appears to receive prompting by somebody sitting behind the lens.

          Alongside the video his father — a devotee of controversial Muslim group Hizb Ut-Tahrir — has also shared a number of confronting images, including soldiers brandishing machine guns and Islamic flags.

          He has also posted extremist banners proclaiming “Say no to democracy” and proudly describes his admiration for the group’s controversial spokesman Uthman Badar. The man, who The Saturday Telegraph has chosen not to name, seems hell-bent on the idea of a global Islamic state and has shared links to organisations displaying the slogan “Muslims Rise, Caliphate Imminent”.

          Terror group Islamic State, which has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria, has expressed a caliphate as its goal.

          The same boy was also introduced by Uthman Badar at a 2012 rally in Bankstown’s Paul Keating park before delivering another speech: “We witness that our brothers and sisters in Syria, in Afghanistan, in Palestine and other countries has been oppressed by corrupt tyrant rulers.

          “They sacrifice their lives and they sacrifice their families for the sake of Allah. May Allah help our Ummah to work day and night to establish the (caliphate) that will protect and free all Muslims from oppression.’’

          Neither the boy’s father nor Hizb Ut-Tahrir responded to requests for comment.

          http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/babyfaced-weapon-boy-9-heaps-praise-on-martyrs-and-mujahideen-engaged-in-bloody-jihads-throughout-the-middle-east/story-fni0cx12-1227072133905?nk=0596eefe133818f04f4d10511f7ab79e

  2. Real ignorant of Jewish religion aren’t you ?
    The Torah is the one and only Jewish religion as the collection of scrolls by that name.
    The talmud is an entirely re-written interpretation of the Torah by “wiseguys” those with intent to distort it to their wants & needs.