Re: Whose land? [updated]

O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. [al-Ma'idah 5:51.11]

Actually, this is clearly a case of misinterpretation. A more correct interpretation of the word that is being translated as "friend" here is "guardian". Mostly, this is a warning not to trust Jews and Christians to act as protectors of the faith.

As for the other quotes, yeah, it can be pretty grim. I think you'd find that some of that would be tempered with other quotes that demand that Christians and Jews be tolerated, as long as they pay their taxes, but for Johncullisonists, we're largely screwed. In some cases, however, translational errors are present (a jihad, for example, is a struggle, many of which are internal), so some of your quotes are clearly out of context as a result.

But as long as we're attacking religious beliefs, why not bring up some Talmudic quotes against Christians and gentiles? Or how about Christians' actions during the Crusades, against each other in Europe, etc.? And the Old Testament is replete with the holocausts committed by Jews. Simple fact: None of the monotheistic religions is innocent. It is the pinnacle of hypocrisy for Christians and Jews to fault Muslims for their beliefs regarding war.