What the Koran actually says about non-Muslims
Re: “A setback for Indonesia,” Editorial, May 15.
While applauding the thesis of your editorial, I have to question your assertion that Al Maidah (“The Table,” Sura 5 of the Koran) says that “Muslims should not be ruled by non-Muslims”. But it comes close enough. In A Yusuf Ali’s translation, Verse 54 says: “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and Christians for your friends and protectors; they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them.”
So much for the Islamic attitude toward interfaith amity. If a Muslim makes friends with Jews and Christians, or turns to them for any sort of protection, he automatically becomes an apostate in the eyes of the Koran. To make sure we don’t cherish any delusions on that score, Verse 83 drives the point home: “Thou seest many of them turning in friendship to the unbelievers. ... God’s wrath is upon them, and in torment will they abide.”
I wonder if any of the non-Muslims who boast that they have many Muslim friends know about these verses. More to the point, I wonder if their Muslim friends know about them.
I think it is safe to infer that Muslims are correct when they interpret these verses to mean that they should not vote for a non-Muslim if a Muslim candidate is available. But to convict former Jakarta governor “Ahok” of blasphemy and sentence him to two years in jail for merely quoting from the Koran seems just a tad harsh. It’s one of the many reasons I call myself...
Not a Fan of Islam
