Disagree to Agree

Islamic fascists and haters of Islam have one very disturbing thing in common. They both like to quote the Qur'an out of context and, yes, use these quotes to further/justify bigotry............................................................................................For example, this common verse is frequently cited by both sides. It states that those of the Muslim faith should "slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them."..........................................................................................Of course, what they fail to include (and, yes, my friends, that part alone does in fact sound very bad) is what precedes it; "Proclaim a woeful punishment to the unbelievers, EXCEPT (my emphasis) for those idolaters who have honored their treaties with you. With these keep faith, until their treaties have run their term. God loves the righteous." Nor in fact do they include what follows; "If an idolater seeks asylum with you, give him protection so that he may hear the Word of God, and then convey to him safety."........................................................................................The bottom-line, folks, is that, yes, violent passages do exist in the Qur'an (some of which may be questionable). But, I ask you, are they any worse than what we could find in our own Christian bible? And do we really need the extremists (on both sides) to decipher them for us? I would personally say no to both of these questions...........................................................................................P.S. As for Muhammad himself, can we legitimately say that he was as peaceful a prophet as, say, Jesus or Buddha? My guess would be probably not. But, neither, folks, was he anywhere near the war-monger that those on the far-right consistently claim. That is simply THEM "going off".