NOVANEWS
Is Islam a religion of peace?


Let’s take a look at some Arabic texts and their English translations:
لِيَصْنَعُوا نَقْمَةً تَنْوِيهَاتُ اللهِ فِي أَفْوَاهِهِمْ، وَسَيْفٌ ذُو حَدَّيْنِ فِي يَدِهِمْ. لِيَبْتَهِجِ الأَتْقِيَاءُ بِمَجْدٍ. لِيُرَنِّمُوا عَلَى مَضَاجِعِهِمْ. لأَسْرِ مُلُوكِهِمْ بِقُيُودٍ، وَشُرَفَائِهِمْ بِكُبُول مِنْ حَدِيدٍ. فِي الأُمَمِ، وَتَأْدِيبَاتٍ فِي الشُّعُوبِ.
Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron
وَأَمَّا مُدُنُ هؤُلاَءِ الشُّعُوبِ الَّتِي يُعْطِيكَ الرَّبُّ إِلهُكَ نَصِيبًا فَلاَ تَسْتَبْقِ مِنْهَا نَسَمَةً مَّا،
But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive.
وَأَخَذْنَا كُلَّ مُدُنِهِ فِي ذلِكَ الْوَقْتِ، وَحَرَّمْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ مَدِينَةٍ: فَدَفَعَهُ الرَّبُّ إِلهُنَا أَمَامَنَا، فَضَرَبْنَاهُ وَبَنِيهِ وَجَمِيعَ قَوْمِهِ. لكِنَّ الْبَهَائِمَ نَهَبْنَاهَا لأَنْفُسِنَا، وَغَنِيمَةَ الْمُدُنِ الَّتِي أَخَذْنَا،الرِّجَالَ وَالنِّسَاءَ وَالأَطْفَالَ. لَمْ نُبْقِ شَارِدًا.
the Lord our God gave him over to us; and we struck him down, along with his offspring and all his people. At that time we captured all his towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed men, women, and children. We left not a single survivor. Only the livestock we kept as spoil for ourselves, as well as the plunder of the towns that we had captured.
الآنَ اذْهَبْ وَاضْرِبْ عَمَالِيقَ، وَحَرِّمُوا كُلَّ مَا لَهُ وَلاَ تَعْفُ عَنْهُمْ بَلِ اقْتُلْ رَجُلاً وَامْرَأَةً، طِفْلاً وَرَضِيعًا، بَقَرًا وَغَنَمًا، جَمَلاً وَحِمَارًا .
Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
طُوبَى لِمَنْ يُمْسِكُ أَطْفَالَكِ وَيَضْرِبُ بِهِمُ الصَّخْرَةَ
Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
إِذَا تَخَاصَمَ رَجُلاَنِ، رَجُلٌ وَأَخُوهُ، وَتَقَدَّمَتِ امْرَأَةُ أَحَدِهِمَا لِكَيْ تُخَلِّصَ رَجُلَهَا مِنْ يَدِ ضَارِبِهِ، وَمَدَّتْ يَدَهَا وَأَمْسَكَتْ فَاقْطَعْ يَدَهَا، وَلاَ تُشْفِقْ عَيْنُكَ. بِعَوْرَتِهِ،
If men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, you shall cut off her hand; show no pity.
وَإِنْ كَانَتْ يَدُكَ الْيُمْنَى تُعْثِرُكَ فَاقْطَعْهَا وَأَلْقِهَا عَنْكَ، لأَنَّهُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ أَنْ يَهْلِكَ أَحَدُ أَعْضَائِكَ وَلاَ يُلْقَى جَسَدُكَ كُلُّهُ فِي
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
لاَ تَظُنُّوا أَنِّي جِئْتُ لأُلْقِيَ سَلاَمًا عَلَى الأَرْضِ. مَا جِئْتُ لأُلْقِيَ سَلاَمًا بَلْ سَيْفًا.
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Arabic text is from the Van Dyke Arabic Bible. Copyright © 1998–2005, Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry. English text is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Quotations above are Ps 149.5–6, Deut 20.16, Deut 2.33–34, 1 Sam 15.3, Ps 137.9, Deut 25.11–12, Mat 5.30 and Mat 10.34. Header image is detail from “Richard I, the Lionheart and Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf,” by Gustave Doré.


