Adams (mniob)

Hey Barbir @Alex_Barbir, I thought as an American, you should be smart. Unfortunately, you aren’t. You quoted this same verse two days ago, now you have quoted it again. If this verse is your only weapon, then you need to call your teacher Dachomo that you have failed again. I know why this verse looks strange to you. It is because you are reading a 7th century text on statecraft and warfare through a very lazy modern lens. But I will help you and others like you who may want to weaponize it in the future. Surah 9:29 is not a blanket command to fight every non-Muslim. That is a very poor reading of the Quran. This specific verse was revealed during an active state of war. It was directed at the Byzantine Empire, the Romans, who were mobilizing a huge army to attack the Muslims in Medina. This was the buildup to the Battle of Tabuk. You are taking a military directive meant for a hostile Roman army and trying to sell it as a random command to kill people today. Thats gravely unfair. Jonathan A.C. Brown who was formerly a Christian and later became a Muslim broke this down perfectly in his book “Misquoting Muhammad.” He showed how orientalists and hostile Christians like you strip verses from their historical application and misapply them to modern society. He called this an academic fraud. And as for that tax you highlighted at the end. In an Islamic state, Muslims paid Zakat and had compulsory military service. Non-Muslim citizens on the other hand were totally exempt from fighting. The Jizyah was a protection tax. The state was obligated to protect their lives, churches, and properties. History records that if the Islamic state could not protect those citizens, the money had to be returned. What is more good than that? Let’s now consider some historical comparison to show your obvious ignorance. Go to Deuteronomy 20 in the Old Testament. It outlines the rules of war for the Israelites. It says when you march up to attack a city, make an offer of peace. If the city accepts, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and pay tribute. If they refuse, you lay siege to it and put the men to the sword. Does that mean every Christian or Jew today is commanded to enslave people and collect tribute? No. Because rational people understand that was a historical context for ancient nation building. But when you see the same concept of a state tax in the Quran, you suddenly lose your reading comprehension. Karen Armstrong, who was a renowned historian and former Catholic nun said in her book “Fields of Blood,” she explained that in the medieval period, every single empire required taxation and military defense to survive. Islamic statecraft was no different. The Romans had a similar system called the Tributum capitis. It was a poll tax paid in exchange for state protection. To Alex Barbir: you are too small for the intellectual war you want to embark upon. To every Nigerian who loves peace, we need to ignore this clown. He is acting more like a spy who is only here to milk our national tragedy for his own hidden agenda. And to media houses such as News Central and AriseTV giving this guy a platform and promoting him, you people are playing a very dangerous game. You will end up blowing up this country just for ratings. Thank you for your attention.