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From: ghouse@server.cs.jhu.edu
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Some thoughts on common questions regarding religion
Message-ID: <1991Jun4.132023.15739@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 4 Jun 91 13:20:23 GMT
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In article: <1991Jun3.142416.20487@wpi.WPI.EDU> 
            adnan@flammulated.rice.edu (Sarmad Adnan) writes:
> Repeatedly in the 
>Quran we have admonitions against dealing with and befriending nonbelievers,

>9:73	O Prophet!strive hard against the unbelievers and the 
>Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is hell, an evil refuge 
>indeed.
.
.

But these verses apply only to nonmuslims who are in a state of war
with muslims.  See:

 "God only forbids you to turn in friendship towards such as fight against
 you because of (your) faith, and drive you forth from your homelands, or
 aid (others) in driving you forth: and as for those (from among you) who
 turn towards them in friendship, it is they, they who are truly
 wrongdoers!"
 (Qur'an 60:9)

>As for condemning humans to hell the Quran has a very clear-cut point of view.

>33:64	Verily God has cursed the nonbelievers and prepared for them
>a Blazing Fire--

I doubt anyone would deny that God has the right to condemn people to
hell.  However, no *human* has the right to condemn another human to hell.

At the start of your article, you accused Salman Azhar of being `apologetic'.  
While this may be a danger that affects any presentation of Islam, I think
we should also be wary of making Islam sound harsh simply to avoid `apologism'.

As salaamu alaikum wa fee amaanillah,

-Mujtaba Ghouse

ghouse@cs.jhu.edu
``Somehwere else, the tea is getting cold."