Everyday we hear news of alleged islamic terrorist group in different part of the world attacking and killing civilians or Government agencies, you hear news of people been killed because they are non-muslims. The 9/11 attack on the US has led many non-Muslims to indict Islam as a violent religion. But recently, the Pew Research Center's 2013 poll showed that the majority of Muslims in most Muslim countries oppose terrorism.

But, Islamic doctrines and texts have in some cases been associated with violence and intolerance. Which is assumed to be the bases of the terror attacks. News recently emerged that Russia was banning key Islamic scriptures—including Sahih Bukhari—on the charge that they promote a "militant Islam" which "arouses ethnic, religious enmity."

Under christianity, the Hebrew Scriptures, more widely known as the "Old Testament" is also replete with violence and intolerance—all prompted by the Judeo-Christian God. But the difference between the violent passages in the Koran and those in the Old Testament is that, whereas the Old Testament is clearly describing historic episodes, the Koran also developed within a historical context but uses generic, open-ended language that transcends time and space, inciting believers to attack and slay nonbelievers today no less than yesterday.

In the old testament, God commands the Hebrews to fight and kill "Hittites," "Amorites," "Canaanites," "Perizzites," "Hivites," and "Jebusites"— this are all specific people rooted to a specific time and place; all specific peoples that have not existed for millennia. At no time did God give an open-ended command for the Hebrews, example, to fight and kill all unbelievers. The problem in islam however, is that rarely if ever does the
Koran specify who its antagonists are the way the Old Testament does. Instead, Muslims were commanded to fight the "People of the Book," which Islamic exegesis interprets as people with scriptures, namely, Christians and Jews -
"until they pay the jizya with willing submissiveness and feel themselves utterly subdued" ( verse 9:29) and to "slay the idolaters wherever you find them" (verse 9:5).

This violent commandments in islamic scripture are all open ended and generic in nature - "Fight them until there is no more chaos and [all] religion belongs to Allah" (Koran 8:39). The danger in it all, is that there are still "People of the Book" ( unbelievers) who have yet to "feel themselves utterly subdued" (especially all throughout the Americas, Europe, and Israel) and "idolaters" to be slain "wherever" one looks (especially Asia and sub-Saharan Africa).

Some other verses of the korean which have be held to incite violence includes:

Then when the Sacred Months (the Ist, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar) have passed, then
kill the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat(charity), then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (korean 9:5)

I will cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, so strike [them] upon the necks [behead them] and strike from them every fingertip (Koran 8:12).

Fight against those who
(1) believe not in Allah,
(2) nor in the Last Day,
(3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger
(4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with
willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. ( Koran 9:29)

Although, their are many Moslems who do not support the violence and killings in the name of Allah, but the truth be say that as long as the Koran proliferates and is read as God's literal word, most of its readers will continue to exist in a dichotomized world, themselves versus the rest. And a world of islamic extremist fighters will continue to exist.


NB: The above English version of the Koran verses was translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan, an islamic jurist in his book known as "The Noble
Qur'an"- koran English version .