Page 421 - Bigotry: The Dark Danger

Adnan Oktar
(Harun Yahya)

These verses are addressing a community that has emerged from
within the People of the Book; however, this community has wor-
shiped false gods. They are deviators who have insisted on commit-
ting unlawful deeds and have mocked the faith. The term "People of
the Book" is used solely to identify the society from which these two-
faced people have emerged, not to suggest that the People of the Book

as a whole are guilty of such things (surely they are beyond that).

We can see the entire description when we look at the verses
before verse 60 of Surat al-Ma'ida. Verse 57 says, "Do not take as
friends [patrons] any of those given the Book before you or the dis-
believers who make a mockery and a game out of your religion." The
term "before you" means before the Muslims, and the words "given
the Book" mean Christians and Jews, and the verse refers to people

who are disbelievers and who make a mockery of the religion from
among Christians and Jews. Let us reiterate that this is not a general
reference to the entirety of Jews and Christians, but to an irreligious,
aggressive and mocking community that has emerged from among

them. Such a community is a grave threat and scourge, not only for
Muslims, but also for Jews and Christians. It should also be noted that
such a group can emerge from among the Muslims just as it can
emerge from among the People of the Book.

In order that the word "disbeliever" that appears in the verses
cited here and below should not be misunderstood, the subject needs
to be made clear: Someone may believe in a religion or may not. He is

free to choose, and this is a matter he will decide on according to his
own conscience. A believer will never seek to impose his beliefs on
someone who does not believe in that religion. Such compulsion is
explicitly forbidden in the Qur'an. Indeed, as we have seen in preced-
ing sections, a Muslim has a responsibility to protect an unbeliever,
even at the cost of his own life.

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