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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There have been several journal articles recently about "Mecca vs. Medina Muslims." The argument goes that both peace and war can be found in the Quran. The first verses were dictated when Muhammad was in Mecca, his Muslim followers were a minority, and the approach was generally conciliatory. Later verses were dictated when Mohammad was in Medina, his forces were stronger, they were fighting the Qureshi and others, so the tone is more aggressive.

The point is that both facets are the "real" Islam. This is because both war and peace are found in the Quran.

A further point is that Muslims take the Quran literally, i.e. God dictated it directly to Mohammad via an angel. Thus, in theory, all passages have comparable validity.

(Atheist trolls/derailers please go away. The grownups are trying to talk.)[/quote]

The point there is too that if you see Islam as a way of life, then you need to understand the orders and stories in its holy book in context. The guidance in the Quran is for specific instances. You can extrapolate those to apply to other parts of life, but you cannot ignore the context entirely. Hateful sociopaths can twist it to justify their cruel deeds. That does not mean that has anything to do with the actual meaning/purpose of the words.[/quote]

You're responding to me (nice to have a person who actually wants to think and discuss!)

I wouldn't emphasize the order/context thing, because the warlike, so-called "Medina" type verses were revealed later in Mohammed's life. So by that analysis they'd supercede the earlier, more peaceful verses.

The point of the analysis I was quoting is that it's *all* Islam. The peaceful verses are there in the Quran, and they are God's own words, which means they should be taken literally. The warlike verses that others have pasted here are also in the Quran, and they are also God's own words, to be taken literally. Context can be helpful, for example knowing that such-and-such verse was revealed at the time the Muslims were fighting so-and-so. I personally admire the contextual approach as opening up the door for personal interpretation in a way that a literal "this is what the words say on their face" approach can never do. But at the end of the day, groups like ISIS are fine with stripping the 650 AD context  and going with the idea that God's words, as they exist in the holy book, are eternal. Obviously ISIS emphasizes the violent verses and ignores the peaceful/compassionate ones. [/quote]

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