IslamicLaw: Lie,Steal, and Killtainly, you would have thought, he could
have found illustrations for some of his
principles from the Qur'an. The problem
for Lewis may have been that Islam sim-
ply does not uphold what he calls "The
Law of General Beneficence": One is not
to be charitable except to fellow
believers. The unpleasant fact is that Islam
simply does not teach the Golden Rule.
Jesus's dictum that "whatever you wish that
men would do to you, do so to them"
(Matthew:7:12) appears invirtually every
religious tradition on the planet—except
Islam. The Qur'an and Hadith make such a
sharpdistinction betweenbelievers and
unbelievers that there is no room forany
commandment of general beneficence.
Un bel ie ver s are to be que sti one d, sus-
pect ed, resi sted , and foug ht. That is all.
Not tolerated, Never loved.
This is what sets Islam sharply apart
fromother religioustraditions. It is impos
sible to imagine Sheikh Tabandeh's unembar ras sed jus tif ica tio n for
pun ish ing tho se who kil l unb eli eve rs les s' harshly than those who kill
believers in any modern religious teaching, other than Islam.
PC Myth: Islam forbids the killing of the innocent
in the wake of the September 11 attacks, many Muslim spokesmen and
Mid dle East anal ysts in the Wes t ass ure d us tha t Isla m for bid s tak ing
innocent life, and that to the vast majority of Muslims around the world,
Muhammad
vs. Jesus"You have heard that it was
saidtothe men of old, 'You
sha llnotkil l;and who eve rkill s sha ll be lia bleto
judgment.ButIsay to youthat everyonewhohis
angry with his brother shall be liable tojud gmen t:
who eve r ins ult s his bro the r sha ll beliabletothe
council,andwhoeversays,'Youfool!' shall be
liable tothe hell offire."
Jesus (Matthew 5:21-22)
"The refo re, when ye meet the unb elie vers in
fight, smite at their necks; at length, when ye have
thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly on
them: thereafter is the time for either generosity or
ransom, until the war lays down itsburd ens.. , But
thos e who are slai n in the Wayof Allah, He will
never let their deeds be lost"
Qur'an 47:4