Yet another Hindu couple has been forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan, this time in the city of Nawabshah in the province of Sindh. According to the international news sites ‘Devdiscourse’ and ‘ANI’, local media have reported that Imam Hamid Qadri solicited the forced conversion in a mosque on Friday; with the leader of the organisation representing the Barelvi movement, Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, present to witness. Barelvi is a Sunni, Sufi movement that adheres strictly to devotion to Allah and the teachings of Muhammad.
The general consensus is that in Pakistan, the forced conversion of young girls and women occurs around 1,000 times every year, and these girls and women are regularly partnered with Muslims in marriage. Considering the fearfulness that surrounds a forced conversion, it is highly likely that the numbers are substantially greater than this. According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a Catholic organization, most forced conversion victims are Hindu, with Christians also frequently targeted.
The main issue behind this phenomenon is whether forced conversion is permissible according to Islam or not. Popular mainstream Islamic sites, as well as outspoken Muslim activists such as Reza Aslan and Mehdi Hasan, both of whom have refused to debate Robert Spencer, tend to appeal to the Qur’an’s Surah 2:256, which states, ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’. This verse is often used to argue that forced conversion is anti-Islamic, but this is a flawed claim.
In the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, who is recognised by many as the greatest Qur’an commentator, he states: ‘This verse [2:256] is abrogated by the verse of fighting…Therefore, all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the Jizya they should be fought till they are killed. This is the meaning of compulsion.’ Ibn Kathir concludes here that if one is to be faithful to Islam and the Qur’an, one must follow verses such as Surahs 9:123, 9:29, 9:5 and 9:73.
The Islamic Prophet Muhammad himself also carried out forced conversions. The most prominent example is in Sahih Muslim 4589, where a man called Thumama ibn Uthal, of the Arab tribe Banu Hanifa, was first brought to the Prophet and then tied to the pillars of the mosque, despite offering money to the Prophet and asking for kindness. Muhammad came back repeatedly until on the third day, Thumama recited the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith. This would most certainly be an example of the man whom Muslims consider to be the most perfect man, the pattern of conduct for all mankind, compelling another man to accept Islam. Of course, later on, Thumama said he wasn’t really Muslim, but submitted to Muhammad, supporting Ibn Kathir’s premise that no compulsion tells us that only Allah can compel anyone to become Muslim, not that someone like Muhammad shouldn’t try to subjugate them.
It logically follows from this evidence that if the Qur’an commands Muslims to fight disbelievers close to them and let them find harshness in the Muslims (9:123), and to fight those who believe not in Allah… until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (9:29), and to kill the Mushrikin (idolaters, polytheists) wherever they find them (9:5), and to strive hard and be harsh against disbelievers (9:73), and the idea is promoted by a commentator like Ibn Kathir that the Prophet Muhammad forcing conversions himself, that the correct action for a faithful Muslim to undertake is to follow those commands and force unbelievers to convert to Islam. This issue, however, is virtually always ignored and never addressed in discussions about Islam in the West.
mortimer says
Ramadan is the Month of JIHAD, BATTLES, MARTYRDOM and VICTORIES …
-The month of Ramadan is a month of HOLY WAR and DEATH for Allah. It is a month for FIGHTING the enemies of Allah and God’s messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators.” – Qaedat Al-Jihad terror organization
-former Mufti of Egypt ‘Ali Gum’a wrote that Ramadan “is, and has been throughout Muslim history, the month in which Allah helps the Muslims to prevail over their enemies and grants them mighty victories.”
-The commandment of jihad, which is of SUPREME importance at all times, assumes even GREATER importance during this holy month and gains precedence over all other commandments.
-There is a close CONNECTION between fasting and JIHAD, for the former is jihad of the soul, aimed at restraining it from sinning, while the second is JIHAD AGAINST THE ENEMIES, aimed at preventing them from spreading “corruption” in the world. Moreover, fasting is a powerful means to PREPARE the soul FOR JIHAD, i.e., to school oneself in obedience, devotion, resilience and endurance, which are the virtues of the jihad fighter that allow him to vanquish his enemies. On Ramadan Allah grants fighters special strength, despite – or rather by virtue of – their fasting.
-Those who gain MARTYRDOM during the month of Ramadan are DOUBLY REWARDED in Paradise.
-During Ramadan, the Muslims are especially beholden to protect the sanctity of the Muslim holy places and keep the infidels from “desecrating” or threatening them.
…………………………………………………………………….
Special Dispatch No. 6085
https://www.memri.org/reports/ramadan-%E2%80%93-month-spirituality-devotion-jihad-and-martyrdom
owensgate says
Sorry, but I don’t think “Forcibly Convert” is a thing. One might be forced to go to mosque, stick their butt up in the air, and all, but just WHAT kind of force can put a different paradigm into a mind, short of a “kephalectomy”; then they would have my dead body, not my obedience. I could be forced into a mosque, but I’d be praising Jesus all the way in, and out again. Jesus HEARS prayers, “allah” cannot.
gravenimage says
owensgate, perhaps you’d prefer “coerced conversion”? Yes, you can always die, and watch your loved ones murdered–this is at the very least coercion.
By the way, Muslims agree with you–no matter the murderous threats, they hold that none of this can be characterized as forced conversion.
peter says
This incident brings to my memory what Idi Amin did in Uganda . He forced 4 white Englishmen to carry him in a chair and a fifth German to hold an umbrella after saying that they voluntarily did it and showing a piece of paoer with their signature on it !
Templer says
You are so wrong it’s defo a thing your such a leftey and no nothing off islam Allah is satin mo is a pedo santic learn about Islam
gravenimage says
Templer, owensgate is not a lefty. He’s making the point that no one can really be forced to convert–which is technically true. But I consider torture and threats of death pretty close.
DHazard says
One can recite the Shahada and be faking it. Allah doesn’t care. He just wants people to be miserable.
gravenimage says
Ramadan in Pakistan: Yet another Hindu couple forcibly converted to Islam
…………
And if they try to go back to practicing Hinduism, Muslims can then murder them for leaving the creed they were forced to convert to.
God, I hate Islam.
James Lincoln says
gravenimage says,
“God, I hate Islam.”
+10
Templer says
A true god would never forced conversion islam forced conversion Becouse its off satin and can only destroy which is what Islam does satin be satin do
Goofy says
Two reactions:.
On the positive side how would any person with a brain convert to Islam based on its merits as a “religion”? That leaves the Muhammedans with no alternative to using force!
How is it possible for the pope of the Roman Catholic church to sign agreements with this demonic and criminal cult and how is it possible for his church to claim that Allah has anything in common with God of Abraham, worshipped by the Jews and the Christians, who are particularly targeted by the Muhammedans?