Print This Article

Barbarity in the Koran

By ABBAS ABDELNOUR

The Koran, so-called holy book for Moslems, crammed with bellicose incitement and degrading moral precepts, makes Islam a dubious creed. Its practice is unacceptable compared to the requirements of our time. The horror may appear when a Moslem decides to behave in conformity with certain Koranic precepts. This also seems more serious because the impact of critical analysis of its teachings is devastating at the level of belief as well as at the level of religious practices. Beyond inconsistency, contradictions and peculiarities observed, this book is crowded with purposes that are uncivilized and unworthy of man, of the Prophet Muhammad, and even of God Himself. Without pretending to be exhaustive, some samples will be sufficiently indicative.

A.   The Koran denigrates self-confidence

By carefully reading the Koran, one can denote and discover that its great enemy is self-confidence or faith in human being. This is an unforgivable crime of vanity and presumption.

« They complain: ‘Had we had any say in the matter, we should not have been slain here.’ Say to them: ‘Had you stayed in your homes, those of you who were destined to be slain would have gone to their graves nevertheless’. » (K 3, 154)

So the fighters did not kill the polytheists and the incredulous in the war against them, but God himself alone exterminated them. Even the Prophet did not throw arrows, but the thrower was God himself.

« It was not you, but God, who slew them. It was not you who smote them: God smote them. » (K 8, 17)

Moreover, neither you readers nor I have any power to exercise ideas that cross our minds or on the sentiments in our hearts.

« Know that God stands between man and his heart. » (K 8, 24)

« God is well advised and subtle! » (K 4, 18)

These samples clearly show the portrait of a tyrannical, iniquitous and aggressive God. Other examples illustrate aspects of this barbarity in the Koran. They are as revolting and abominable as the previous.

B.      The Koran despises man’s dignity

This book does not consider the polytheist as a human being. It relegates him far below human dignity. It manifests a cruel vision towards him, which is very humiliating and far from any balanced and cultural sense of man.

« Believers, know that the polytheists are unclean. Let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year is ended. » (K 9, 28)

I wish the Koran did not qualify the polytheist as « unclean ». I think that its author, supposedly higher and nobler, should not integrate this vile word in a text considered as sacred, and should not attribute it to anyone, not even to his enemies. Personally, I am ashamed to use this term and to pronounce this word. I categorically refuse its presence in my writings. How could I apply it to a human being, like me, who has the right to use and enjoy his freedom of thought, even if we have different or controversial opinions? It is equally difficult for me to admit that God, called the Merciful and the Compassionate, could pronounce such a word and bring it down from heaven to a Koran where we should use and recite it in our prayers and cultural practices. It is unconceivable that we should have dared attribute to God such an aberration and such contempt regarding a large portion of mankind. This is at least discourteous.

It would have been better to replace this word by another more meaningful one, and less insulting, so that it will fit, at least to the inimitable character attributed to the Koran, this compendium considered above men’s intelligence. Does the Koran, or rather its author, like with such a vile expression, to imagine the others and realize the noble project of our renaissance? Can He conceive the future of our relations with others by using such an abominable notion, only because they express a concept different from ours regarding conviction, religious practice and doctrines? Alas, I can see here the implementation of an Arab proverb that says: « Interest is illness. » Effectively, even God in the Koran is not exempt from it. That is distressing!

C.      The Koran destroys individual freedom

The destruction of individual freedom is part of the cruel precepts diffused in the Koran.

« It is not for believers – men or women – to chose their own affairs if God and His messenger decree otherwise. » (K 33, 36)

So the Koran asphyxiates personal development by depriving individuals of any initiative. Human beings are subjugated by the force in Islam. « Believers, submit all of you to God. » (K 2, 208) He is submitted to slavery to God and His messenger. « But when believers are called to God and His messenger that he may pass judgment upon them, their only reply is: ‘We hear and obey’. » (K 24, 51) So the believer has to become a simple robot. He has no choice. His liberty is confiscated and even plundered. He is constrained to blind obedience to a totalitarian ideology.

D.   The Koran calls Moslems to fight non-Moslems

The war against non-Moslems is equally part of the Koranic barbarity. This fatal ideology falls upon the miscreants who are the Jews, the Christians, and also the apostates. It orders Moslems to terrorize non-Moslems for the sake of God. Here is a list of these aberrant injunctions found in the Holy book of Islam:

- « Slay them wherever you find them. » (K 2, 191)

- « They would have seen you incredulous as they themselves are, so that you may be all alike. Do not befriend them until they have fled their homes in the cause of God. If they desert you, seize them and put them to death wherever you find them. » (K 4, 89)

- « Slay the polytheists wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in a bush everywhere for them. » (K 9, 5)

- « Strike terror into the enemy of God and your enemy. » (K 8, 60)

- « Fight (kill) them (the non Moslems). God will chastise them by your hands and humble them. » (K 9, 14)

- « I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads; strike off the very tips of their fingers! ... It is not you, but God, who slew them. » (K 8, 12 & 17)

- « Believers, make war on the miscreants who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Know that God is with those who fear! » (K 9, 123)

- “When you fight the unbelievers strike off their heads and, when you have laid them, bind your captives firmly. Then grant them their freedom or take a ransom from them.” (K 47, 4)

There is also a more cruel Koranic verse that prescribes the mutilation of the enemy.

« Those that make war against God and His messenger and spread disorder in the land shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut on alternate sides, or be banished from the land. They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly punished in the hereafter: except those that repent before you reduce them. » (K 5, 33)

That were myriad of instructions given by the god of the Koran, - that one considered as Merciful and Compassionate – to his adepts!

Who can pretend to attribute to « God » the prescription of such punishments making him appear like a monster?   

E.    The Koran establishes a slavery status for woman

An obscurantist and humiliating vision of woman is established in the different teachings embodied in this book.

a)      The Koran despises the woman in considering her, in a degrading manner, a simple field of labor. That means a parcel of land at the service of man who disposes of it, as he likes. « Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please. » (K 2, 223) [Because she owes blind obedience to her husband, a woman must always be available. She does not have the right to refuse the desire of her husband, « even on the back of a camel » or « near a burned ovenware », according to a hadith of Muhammad] 

b)      This contempt is equally evident in a disastrous polygamy established in the Koran. It considers man as a sensual being and as a slave of his sexual urges. Each time he throws a lustful look on women, this Koran gives him the right to marry her. The Arabic expression nikah translated into western languages by the term marriage means literally fornication in Arabic. « Marry (literally “fornicate”) women as you please: by two, three, four… or those your right hands may owe… » (K 4, 3) Was the author of such teaching, whether he is a god, a man like Muhammad or anyone else, completely indifferent towards the great disasters that such polygamy, or rather, such debauchery, may engender? Did he think of this poor spouse who feels condemned to live in permanent anxiety, distress and fear of seeing one, two or three concubines settling in her house and sharing everything with her? What is the nature of this legislator who by establishing this polygamy did not think of anything than the protection and even development of the libidinous instincts and the carnal delights of man? Did he think of those children born in this polygamist household and permanently condemned to live and to grow in conditions of conflict and in beastly surroundings?

c) Beyond this polygamy and its disastrous consequences, the Koran gives to man the right to rebuke or even to beat his wife, and also to abandon his home. “Admonish those you fear disobedience; forsake them in beds apart and beat them…” (K 4, 34) Is resorting to violence in order to punish a woman a divine or heavenly teaching? I ask you, “doctors in Islamic sharia”. Who among you will accept the implementation of such brutality against his mother? In what barbarity is the Koran embarking us? Which society, other than the Moslem one, can still tolerate a law bestowed on man to allow him the use of violence against his wife? In what psychological turmoil does one find the Moslem woman who permanently lives in fear of being beaten by her husband?

d)  The abusive repudiation of women is also part of the Koranic barbarity. This book considers it as a discretionary right belonging only to man. It is sufficient for him to say to his wife “Anti tâliq” (you are repudiated) three times, and the dissolution of matrimonial ties will immediately follow.

“Divorce may be pronounced twice, and then a woman must be retained in honor or allowed to go with kindness… If a man divorces his wife, [by pronouncing the formula ‘I divorce you’ for the third time] he cannot remarry her until she was wedded another man and been divorced by him…Such are the bounds of God. He makes them plain to men who hear…” (K 2, 229-230)

Our talkative exegetes who explain these verses think that man has the right to divorce his wife without giving any justification. He has equally the right to let her return to his home after the first and the second divorce. However, if he divorces her for the third time, he cannot remarry her before she marries another man called “al-mohallil” (the releaser) who will then divorce her.

Was this “divine” legislator so ignorant? Was he not able to foresee other means more human and more distinguished to legislate in this matter?

e) The Koran legitimates a barbaric superiority of man over woman and justifies it according to a divine precept. “Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other…” (K 4, 34) At the same time, it stipulates the inferiority of a woman to a man if she has to give testimony in court. Her testimony has not the same value as that of a man. “Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses.” (K 2, 282) So clearly the Koran humiliates the woman and questions her mental ability. The value of testimony made by one woman regardless of her social status, is equivalent to half of that made by a man, whether he is illiterate or a famous scholar.

f) This Koranic humiliation of woman also concerns the question of inheritance. When sharing goods among children, a boy inherits twice as much as his sister. “A male shall inherit twice as much as a female. If there be more than two girls, they shall have two-thirds of the inheritance; but if there be one only, she will inherit the half.” (K 4, 11 & 176)

 A society which does attribute to a woman neither honor nor equality nor consideration, but rather inferiority, discrimination, hate and humiliation, will not be able to attain modernity and join the civilized world.

F.   Barbarity towards God

1) The Koran considers God at the service of Muhammad

Barbarian purposes regarding God and the prophet Muhammad appear to be shocking and disconcerting. Verse 56 in chapter 33 stipulates in an extremely peculiar way that “God (Allah) and his angels pray on the Prophet”. In addition, God orders His believers to do alike: “Pray on him (Muhammad) and greet him with a worthy salutation.”

How can we imagine that Allah, the great God, the Most-powerful, deigns pray on Muhammad and be assigned to his service, whereas the latter declares himself to be an ordinary mortal: “I am a man like you and nothing else?” (K 18, 110) He considered himself “a servant of God.” (K 2, 23) Consequently the prayers attributed to God and His angels are opposed to the whole rationalistic concept praised by Islam.

It is even worse. The Koran humbles this same god and considers him as a simple individual who needs to swear in order to prove that Muhammad is his messenger: “Ya’ sîn. I swear by the Wise Koran that you (Muhammad) are sent upon a straight path.” (K 35, 1-3) The same god is swearing by the life of Muhammad to confirm his sayings: “I swear by your life,[ Muhammad], they were reeling in their frenzy.” (K 15, 72)

2) The Koran deifies Muhammad

This barbaric nature of God in the Koran cannot be dissociated from another Koranic barbarity that deifies Muhammad and considers him above this same god. In chapter 49 verse 3, the Koran associates first Muhammad to God, before it incites the believers to pay him their homage and devotions, and in chapter 48, verse 8 to 10, to worship him.

In addition, the barbarity of the Koran reaches its paroxysm with the exorbitant privileges it grants to Muhammad as an individual. Without submitting him to respect Koranic precepts, it allows him to behave as he pleases, particularly in the sexual field and in his relations with women. The Koranic polygamy is limited to four spouses, but Muhammad has the right to be super polygamist. He can marry as many women as he likes and favor this or that spouse in his harem. Furthermore, he can desire and enjoy any slave girl or any captive, as he is allowed to marry any woman who offers herself to him:

“Prophet, We have made lawful for you the wives to whom you have granted dowries and the slave-girls whom God has given you as booty; the daughters of your paternal and maternal uncles and of your paternal and maternal aunts who fled with you; and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet and whom the Prophet wishes to take in marriage. This privilege is yours alone, being granted to no other believer.

“We well know the duties We have imposed on the faithful concerning their wives and what their right hands have acquired (slave-girls and war captives). [We grant you this privilege] so that none may blame you.” (K 33, 50)

G.    Barbarity of the Koran spreads to other fields as well

The Koran is not limited to these abominable teachings. Unfortunately, other more serious, incorrect and crude injunctions are included in this book. Here are some examples:

1) Amputation of thieves’ hands. “As for the man or woman who is guilty of theft, cut off their hands to punish them for their crimes. What is the punishment enjoined by God. God is mighty and wise.” (K 5, 38) Is this precept a part of lex talionis? Is it a teaching worthy of a god called merciful and compassionate, or of a god who is vengeful, aggressive and bloody?

2) War prisoners must be killed. “A prophet may not take captives without committing great massacres in the land.” (K 8, 67) Does God really wish for such genocide to choose genocidal prophets?

3) Flagellation of adulteress and adulterer, or rather stoning them until death in the presence of several witnesses. “The adulterer and the adulteress shall each be given a hundred lashes. Let no pity for them cause you to disobey God, if you truly believe in God and in the Last Day; and let their punishment be witnessed by a number of believers.” (K 24, 2) Is this a proof of mercy or of barbarity?

4) Collective punishments recorded in the Koran are contradictory to the concept of God, renowned for his equity and justice. The Koran is also against all laws and traditions that forbid them. However, according to the Koran, God would have committed genocides: “There is no community but We shall destroy or afflict with cruel torments. That is decreed in the Scriptures.” (K 17, 58)

5) The cruelty of the Koranic god resulting from collective punishments is manifest in several verses. If a people reject the messenger of God or his message, God destroys them. “Your Lord does never abolish cities before sending them a messenger to recite for men our verses. We destroy the cities only if their inhabitants are iniquitous.” (K 28, 59)

The same cruelty as well as the spirit of vengeance of the Koranic god spring up in other verses. Here are some illustrations:

- “We destroyed generations before your time on account of the wrongs they did.” (K 10, 13)

- “We are sending them the she-camel, that we may put them to the proof. Observe them closely and have patience. Tell them that they must share their drink with her and that for every draught they must attend in person. They called their friend, who took a knife and slew her. How grievous was my scourge, ands how clear my warning! A single cry was heard, and they became like the dry twigs of the sheep-fold builder.” (K 54, 28-31)

- “They said: ‘Whatever miracles you work to enchant us, we will not believe in you.’ So we plagued them with floods and locusts, with lice and frogs and blood: clear miracles, yet they scorned them all, for they were a criminal nation…. So we took vengeance on them and drowned them in the sea, for they had denied Our signs and paid no heed to them.” (K 7, 132-136)

- “Have you not considered how God dealt with the Army of the elephant? Did He not confound their stratagem and send against them flocks of birds, which pelted them with clay-stones, so that they became like the withered stalks of plants, which cattle have devoured? (K 105, 1-5)

It is equally worth mentioning that chapter 33 of the Koran alone contains a mine of frightening proposals that became a basic source for Islamic laws and teachings. They can be compiled as following: as following: - Revocation and forbidden of adoption (v. 4, 5 and 40) – Negation of individual freedom (v. 6 and 13) – Confinement of women (v. 33) – Setting the curtains for speaking to women (v. 53) – Unlimited polygamy (v.50) – Discretionary authority upon the Prophet’s women (v. 28) – Posthumous jealousy of Muhammad (v. 53) – Incest’s justification (v.33) – Extermination of Jews Banû Qorayza (v.26) – Elimination, deportation of Jews from Khaïbar and confiscation of their goods (v. 27) – Painful punishment for unbelievers (v.8) – The curse of God against unbelievers (v. 61, 64 and 65), that means those dare express a critical or skeptical position towards the Qoran.

In short, the first Moslems had accepted without opposition and protest all these teachings and precepts carried out in more grievous acts. They considered all that as a revelation coming down from heaven. One has only to prostrate before these divine orders. How could we therefore start the new century as well as the new millennium without evacuating all this heavy water, these rags, these burdens, notably in rehabilitating all this barbarity found in the Koran? Did it not equally consecrate all these aberrations in us, with the complicity of heavens and earth? Indeed, a defeatist mentality has immobilized the doctrine in its time, and the movement of that period that was the pride of Arabs has broken down. So we have submerged, and, subsequently, the time has also submerged with us. Unfortunately, the past will never return! The hands of time will never turn backwards! What is lost is lost

top

For information or comments, write to Feedback@IslamReview.com