Koran - Interpretations

These quotes are taken from a speech delivered at Hillsdale College on 1/7/2011, by Brian T. Kennedy, president of the Claremont Institute and publisher of the Claremont Review of Books. He has written on national security affairs in the Wall Street Journal, the National Review, Investors Business Daily and other national newspapers. He is also author of "Shariah: The Threat to America".

"Let me begin with Islam. Former President George Bush, speaking after 9/11. assured us that Islam was a religion of peace not much different from Christianity or of Judaism. Unfortunately, Mr. Bush was trying to understand Islam as we would like it to be rather than how countless Muslims understand it.

Organizationally, Islam is built around a belief in God or Allah, but is equally a political ideology organized around the Koran and the teaching of it's founder Muhammad. Whereas, Christianity teaches that we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is god's--allowing for a non-theocratic political tradition to develop in the West, culminating in the principles of civil and religious liberty in the American founding--Islam teaches that to disagree with or even reinterpret the Koran's 6000 odd verses, organized into 114 chapters or Suras and dealing as fully with law and politics as with matters of faith, is punishable by death.

Islam authorities of all major branches of Islam hold that the Koran must be read so that the parts written last override the otherss. This so-called theory of abrogation means that the ruling parts of the Koran are those written after Muhammad went to Medina in 622 A.D. Specifically, they are Suras 9 and 5, which are not the Suras containing the verses often cited as proof of Islam's peacefulness.

Sura 9, verse 5, reads, 'Fight and Slay the unbelievers wherever ye find them, and lie in wait for them  in every strain in every stratagem of war. But if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them...'.

Sura 9, verse 29, reads: 'Fight and slay those who believe not in Allah nor the Lasr Day, nor hold that forbidden  which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of trut, even if they are of the 40 people people of the Book, until they pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.'

Sura 5, verse 28, 'introduces the doctrine of taqiyya, which holds that Muslims should not be friends with the infidel except as a means of decption, always with the end goal of converting, subduing, or destroying him'

I need to stop here as my computer, my software or Comcast will not let me continue. If I can print this, I will call it Part 1 and hope for less stress tomorrow.