Salam

I've been hearing the claim that a moderate muslim is a bad muslim all the time in this board. But I never heard any argument that supports the claim.

I would like to hear an argument supporting this claim using quotations from the Quran only.

I agree that a good muslim in the eyes of non-muslim people is a bad muslim in the eyes of a sunni/shia people, I think that's because the mainstream Islam relies too much on the hadith and sunna . That's why I want to see quotes from the Quran.

Roger Pearse

An interesting question. Why not research it yourself?

Sigma

There is nothing wrong with moderate Muslims.

The main problem is that this generation of Muslims we hear about worship the Koran and not God. They're major misunderstanding is that the Koran is a subsidiary to God and should not be the centerpiece of their belief.

Sheshbazzar

Ho Boy! Are moderate Christians bad Christians?
Are moderate Hindu's bad Hindu's?
Are moderate Atheist's bad Atheist's?
People are people, no matter what tags they apply to themselves, or others apply to them, in every group are to be found the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Xianthe

The passage above may be construed as suggesting moderation is unacceptable for a true Muslim and that therefore a moderate Muslim is a 'bad Muslim.' My interpretation is that toleration of non-believers is a deviation from the faith but that is just my interpretation.

Huon

This verse is clarified by the following verse :

Now, everybody can interpret these verses in many ways :

1 - Certainly, whoever desires a religion other than Islam will go to Hell.
2A - Allah will do what is necessary for that, no need to help Him.
or
2B - It will be a good action to help God, by killing the kuffār (plural of kāfir).

In a religious context kāfir means a non-Muslim, and it is often used to mean "unbeliever" or "infidel". For example, the novelist Salman Rushdie was declared a kāfir in a Fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini.

Salam

Thank you Xianthe.

In this verse, the definition of an enemy is not the non-believers.

The enemy is :

1- They deny what has come to you of the truth.
2- And they drive out the Apostle and his followers because they believe in Allah, their Lord.

Indeed, anyone who loves and supports an enemy will be considered a traitor in any part of this world.

The enemy here are suppose to be the pagans of Mecca who drove out the muslims from their homes and took all what they left behind. Not all of the unbelievers.

Salam

I don't see how anyone can reach the interpretation 2B. Could you please show me how did you reach this conclusion.

We are discussing the material in the Quran, not how some Muslims act.

Xianthe

Thank you Salam. I have read the Qu'ran several times and have five different translations I believe. Unfortunately, none has a commentary so I am always left to interpret what I read without any understanding of the context. As for a recent voice of moderation in Islam you may want to check out this excerpt from MEMRI: http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD181308. It opens with the following:

Huon

Unfortunately, the Quran can be interpreted by a quiet and sincere muslim (I have met some), or by a fanatic. (The same remark applies to other religions, as well).

On another side, it is not easy to discuss the material in the Quran, since there are several schools of interpretation. Which school is authorized by Allah ?

Same with the "Christians", catholics, protestants of some sort, etc...

My opinion is this : if he/she lives in an unsettled period, a "moderate" believer will be considered as an heretic, or a traitor, or a hypocrite, by another "excited" believer, who will boast that he is the true interpreter of the faith.

The Europeans have had such an experience between 1500 and 1650. The "moderate" Catholics and the "moderate" Protestants had to shut up, or flee, if they wanted to save their lifes. Many thousands people died.

And the Muslims are living now in an unsettled period.