Violence in the Quran and Old Testament

Some try to equate violence in the Quran with violence in the Old Testament. This is not a valid comparison. 

First, when the Lord ordered Israel to attack another nation, it was for a specific purpose for specific sin – they were a morally guilty people.  God always gave these pagan nations time to repent and avoid judgement.  People who were moral in the sight of God were saved, such as Rahab and her family in Jericho and Lot and his family, who God ordered out of Sodom and Gomorrah before He destroyed them. The Jewish armies warfare was limited to specific instances, not open-ended, as the Quran teaches. The violence in the Old Testament was limited to that time frame. It is a historical account, not an order to warfare in today’s world.

The Quran contains at least 109 verses that has resulted in a culture of never ending violence by Muslims. Muslims who do not join in jihad are condemned to hell.  The violent verses in the Quran are as relevant today to muslims as they were over 1200 years ago. Violence is a mandate for eternity.

Second, the Lord anointed Israel to be His chosen nation by many supernatural events and miraculous signs and wonders. The God of the Bible often directed Jewish armies. Allah never performed miracles on behalf of Moslem armies or Mohammed.  

Third, God’s intention was for Israel to reside in the Holy Land so the most epic event in the history of the world would be fulfilled – the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead.  Jesus brought the world the New Covenant – a Covenant of mercy and grace. 

To sum up, The God of the Bible NEVER said to launch never ending wars of world conquest against the unbelievers. ONLY THE QURAN SAYS TO KILL ANY AND ALL INFIDELS.

The Quran contains over a hundred verses that speak of war with nonbelievers

Some Quranic verses are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight are called ‘hypocrites’ and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.

Quran 2: 244 – “Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things.” 

Quran 2:216 – “Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.” 

Not only does this verse establish that violence can be virtuous, but it also contradicts the myth that fighting is intended only in self-defense, since the audience was obviously not under attack at the time.

Quran 3:151 – “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority”. 

Quran 4:74 – “Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward.” 

The martyrs of Islam are unlike the early Christians, who were led meekly to the slaughter. These Muslims are killed in battle as they attempt to inflict death and destruction for the cause of Allah. This is the theological basis for today’s suicide bombers. 

Quran 4:76 – “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of Taghut (Satan, etc.). So fight you against the friends of Shaitan (Satan)”

Quran 98:6 – “Those who are bent on denying the truth – from among the followers of earlier revelation or from among those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God will find themselves in the fire of hell, therein to abide: they are the worst of all creatures.”

Quran 4:89 – “They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks.”  

Quran 3:56 – “As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.”