No Compulsion in Religion?

Otranto 1480: Tell them there is "no compulsion in religion".

Hat tip to Al


Every time I go to one of those inter-faith meetings or hear some imam give a presentation on Islam to non-Muslims, I hear the phrase "Let there be no compulsion in religion". I heard it just last week at UC Irvine when the Ahmadiya Muslims from the Chino, California (Ahmadiya)  mosque came to speak to students. This is the standard response when anyone questions them about Islamic intolerance toward other religions or the question of apostasy.

http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow-262-3441.htm

Just before Pope Benedict XVI left the papacy, he authorized the canonization of some 800 people who were murdered by Turkish forces who had conquered the Italian town of Otranto in 1480.

http://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2013/02/09/pope-benedict-xvi-to-canonise-813-martyrs-of-otranto-and-religious-mother-laura-and-mother-lupita-in-october-2013/

http://theblackcordelias.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/august-14-puglian-catholics-martyred-by-ottomans-in-1480/

Some 800 captive men were offered to be spared if they would convert from Christianity to Islam. When they refused, they were beheaded. Their skulls form the altar at the cathedral in Otranto today.

The phrase, "Let there be no compulsion in religion", was not coined in recent years. It goes back to the time of the Prophet and the Koran as is illustrated in the first link above. Unfortunately, there has been compulsion in religion (not just within Islam), but also in the history of the Catholic church-witness the Inquisition.

Atrocities like these need to be open to honest discussion between the faiths. Most reasonable people are willing to put medieval history behind us. The Catholic Church no longer burns people at the stake for things like heresy. Can Islam say the same? The answer, unfortunately is no because the penalty for apostasy in Islamic jurisprudence is death-no matter how many American imams will deny it. Even the so-called "moderates" here in the West envision the day when the world will become one big Islamic caliphate under shariah law. When that day comes, non-Muslims will be given the three choices: convert to Islam, live under a codified dhimmi status (protected, but as a second-class citizen who pays a special jizya tax) or die. (But there is no compulsion, you see.)  Of course, in countries where Muslims are a tiny minority, this issue is buried because it is not yet possible.  Yet look at those countries where Islam is the majority. See how non-Muslim minorities are being treated from the Copts in Egypt to the Baha'i in Iran to even the Ahmadiya Muslims themselves in places like Pakistan.

Any open and honest discussion with our Muslim friends must include this issue.