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Originally Posted by newmark  ThoughtAddict; I've read, that according to the koran (and islam believes the koran to be literally the word of god) that any unbeliever, can quite legitimately be killed by a muslim. In fact it might even be considered a virtuous act. , How can any religion accept this kind of thought. Any non-islamic person: man, woman or child is therefore a legitimate target for any 'believer' to kill. How is this not bigoted? |
Salaam, newmark. The Quran differentiates between monotheists and those who are not monotheists. Christian, Jew, and Muslim are all "people of a revelation" who are destined for heaven if they follow these beliefs to doing good work. I am in a growing minority who interpret various Ayat and Hadith as providing the insight that Islam is an action-focused religion, with belief being secondary to good acts...
The majority view is that all "people of a revelation" are to be treated as brothers. Those who fall outside this group are unbelievers, and the main difference is that a Muslim is enjoined from alliances with unbelievers that negatively affect other believers.
The only time killing is allowed in the Quran is when self-defense of yourself or your homeland calls for it. There are stories in the Quran of battles where, in the face of invading armies, believers were instructed to battle fiercely with no quarter against the unbelievers who were attacking them. Often those ayats are taken out of context (by Muslims and non-Muslims) as a sign that Islam calls for violence. It absolutely doesn't. In fact, Muslims are urged to forgive those who have harmed them out of kindness, even when they would bear no moral fault from retaliating.
Without a specific ayat (verse) to refer to, I'm not sure how to further answer your question.