Bush again referred to Qur’an 5:32, “which states that killing an innocent human being is like killing all of humanity, and saving the life of one person is like saving all of humanity,” indicating that he still hasn’t considered the implications of the fact that jihadists contend that no Americans or Israelis are innocent, and thus the verse doesn’t apply to their actions. Nor did the President apparently read on to Qur’an 5:33, which stipulates that “the punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter” — a mandate for mayhem that jihadists have skillfully deployed the world over, and an indication that Bush’s reading of 5:32 may be a trifle superficial. Bush has not confronted the deep roots that the jihad ideology has within both Islamic tradition and the contemporary Islamic world. This could lead and has led to policy misjudgments.
From the Muslim American Society website, with thanks to Scaramouche:
WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (MASNET & News Agencies) – President George W. Bush told Muslim leaders and diplomats at an Iftar dinner that “all responsible Islamic leaders” must denounce terrorists who claim to act according to Islam.
“I believe the time has come for all responsible Islamic leaders to denounce an ideology that exploits Islam for political ends and defiles your noble faith,” he said at the White House, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The remarks came as he hosted diplomats from Islamic nations and leaders of the U.S. Muslim community to dinner to mark Iftaar, the first day of the holy Muslim holiday Ramadan.
“Many Muslim scholars have already publicly condemned terrorism, often citing chapter 5, verse 32 of the Quran, which states that killing an innocent human being is like killing all of humanity, and saving the life of one person is like saving all of humanity,” Bush said.
“I appreciate those of you here who have joined these scholars in rejecting violent extremists,” he said….
“We must be very clear about the enemies we face: The killers who take the lives of innocent men, women and children, are followers of a violent ideology, very different from the religion of Islam,” said Bush.
“The killers who take the lives of innocent men, women and children are followers of a violent ideology very different from the religion of Islam,” he said. “These extremists distort the idea of jihad into the call for terrorist murder against anyone who does not share their radical vision, including Muslims from other traditions who they regard as heretics.”
“Their strategy will fail.”…
The group interrupted Bush’s brief remarks once, when he said a Quran has been added to the White House library for the first time in history, the news agency reports.
Good. I hope he reads the whole thing, and consults the mainstream tafasir (commentaries) to discover how traditional Islam has understood passages such as 9:5 and 9:29, and 8:39, which reads: “And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah.” Tafasir-i-Husaini, to take just one example, explains: “Fight them till all strife be at an end,” that is, until “no polytheists remain of the pagans or Jews or Christians.” (vol. i, p. 239). That is, until the “polytheistic” features of Judaism and Christianity are eradicated, which means, until the Jews and Christians have become Muslims.