The Koran and Abrogation

Submitted by Ellyn (United States), Sep 19, 2006 at 18:29

The doctrine of abrogation, applied in the interpretation of the Koran by Muslims, means that later passages over-ride earlier ones. Since many Americans are unaware of this, they often fall for the line that the Koran teaches peace, not jihad.

Of course, none of this means that every Muslim follows the letter of the Koran as it was written, just as every Westerner does not follow every word in the Bible. We do not believe in an eye for an eye, for example. Islamists, or fundamentalists, however, certainly do appear to atttempt to follow the Koran as written, and in their view of morality, it would appear that one is required to meet criticism of Mohammad with violence.

Thus, when the Pope says that violence is not in the nature of God, one has to wonder of whose God he speaks. The Christian God teaches love; but the God to whom Muslims go for guidance would, by all appearances, seem to teach violence in protection of Mohammad's name. Thus, unfortunately, worshipers on each side follow their own religious teachings and each believes itself to be doing what is right.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".