Shi'a Pundit

Devoted to the viewpoint of Islam of Muhammad SAW and Amir ul-Mumineen, Ali ibn Abi Talib SA, in the Shi'a Fatimi Ismaili Dawoodi Bohra tradition.

swordpoint conversion.

I want to briefly discuss to false memes about Islam - the first is the "swordpoint conversion" one which accuses the Prophet SAW of forcing the world to convert to Islam by force. This is blatant historical polemic. Muhammad SAW in his lifetime only converted Arabia, his ethnic homeland. And that was by the message, not the sword. The image of the Prophet SAW forcing anyone to accept Islam at swordpoint is deeply offensive given that the very concept is antithetical to the spirit of Islam itself:

Ayat 2:256 - "There is no compulsion in religion"



Ayat 109:6, "To you be your Faith, and to me mine."



(click the image to hear a recitation in RM format, courtesy of islam.org)

But it has been a very useful meme in antimuslim polemic.

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About Shi'a Pundit

Shi'a Pundit was launched in 2002 during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The blog focuses on issues pertaining to Shi'a Islam in the west and in the Islamic world. The author is a member of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. Bohras adhere to the Shi'a Fatimi tradition of Islam, headed by the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS).

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