Until the advent of materialism and 19th c. dogma, Western Civilisation was superior to anything Islam had developed. Islam has not aided in the development of the modern world; in fact civilisation has only been created in spite of Islam. Proof of this resides in the 'modern' world and the unending political-economic and spiritual poverty of Muslim states and regions. Squatting on richer civilisations is not 'progress'. Islam is pagan, totalitarian, and irrational.
Running totals from Sura 2 to 15:
Total number of verses from Sura 2 to 15: 1894
Total number of verses which preach violence against non-Moslems: 402
Violent verses as a % of total from Sura 2 to 15: 21.2%
Sura 2 to 15 as a % of the Koran: 39%
[meaning still lots more violence to go....]
Sura 15 is particularly notable for its confused banality [reviewed here]. It is another expression of intolerance to Jews [and by extension later to Christians] who rejected Islam and decided to hide in the 'Rocky Tract' and the forests, avoiding Moslems and the Muhammad cult. The chapter has three parts to it. The largest commentary centers on Iblis the Koranic name for the devil. Jews and Christians are always linked with Shaitun or Iblis. Satan led the Jews and Christians astray from the 'real truth' of the Allah moon idol; and for that they will be eternally cursed by Allah, which of course makes it easier for Moslems to kill them. 15:34 and 35:
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(Allah) said: "Then, get out from here, for verily, you (iblis) are Rajim (an outcast or a cursed one)." [Tafsir At-Tabari] |
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"And verily, the curse shall be upon you till the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)." |
The curse of Allah upon Iblis is of course a curse on his associates which includes the Jews and Christians as outlined in the following verses:
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"Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghawin (Mushrikun and those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evil-doers, etc.). |
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"And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all. |
Hell is thus the abode of the Iblis-followers.
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"It (Hell) has seven gates, for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned. |
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So As-Saihah (torment - awful cry, etc.) overtook them at the time of sunrise; |
The second part of this chapter is a disjointed outline of Abraham and his nephew Lut or Lot, and the flight from Sodom and Gomorrah. Moslems of course rewrite history and intone that Lot who lived 2500 years before Muhammad was actually a Moslem prophet. The Koran appropriates the book of Genesis and Lot's flight from Sodom and Gomorrah [where it is alleged he had sex with his daughters] towards the hinterland of Judea. The allegory used here in Muhammad's cult document is that the Allah destroyed the two cities for rejecting the 'true sharia'; and that Lut was saved because he was a chosen messenger of the Allah deity.
In Genesis the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the allegory of someone turning to a pillar of salt [Lot's wife] reads as:
Genesis 19:23 ¶ The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
In the Koran it is the power of Allah overturning the urbanized evil, no mention is made of Lut's wife turning into salt:
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So As-Saihah (torment - awful cry, etc.) overtook them at the time of sunrise; |
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And We turned (the towns of Sodom in Palestine) upside down and rained down on them stones of baked clay. |
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Surely! In this are signs, for those who see (or understand or learn the lessons from the Signs of Allah). |
The third section of this chapter follows from the destruction of the two cities. Hiding in the Rocky Tracts and in the hinterland forests were Jews who had rejected the signs of Allah. These acolytes of Iblis were however also destroyed:
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And the dwellers in the wood [i.e. the people of Madyan (Midian) to whom Prophet Shu'aib was sent by Allah), were also Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.). |
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And verily, the dwellers of Al-Hijr (the rocky tract) denied the Messengers. |
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But As-Saihah (torment - awful cry etc.) overtook them in the early morning (of the fourth day of their promised punishment days). |
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As We have sent down on the dividers, (Quraish pagans or Jews and Christians). |
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Therefore proclaim openly (Allah's Message Islamic Monotheism) that which you are commanded, and turn away from Al-Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, and disbelievers, etc. - see V.2:105). |
No one can hide from the Allah. He will destroy nations, cities and those living in caves who do not follow the Koran. He is the only free-will force in the Universe:
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Thus do We let it (polytheism and disbelief) enter into the hearts of the Mujrimun [criminals, polytheists, pagans, etc. (because of their mockery at the Messengers)]. |
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And certainly We! We it is Who give life, and cause death and We are the Inheritors. |
This chapter is like most Koranic Suras a rather disturbing read. We have the appropriate of Hebrew allegories and story telling around the destruction probably by an earthquake of Sodom and Gomorrah. This natural event was apparently caused by Allah. Then we have the linkage of Jews [and Christians] with Satan. This makes destroying them even if they hide in Rocky Tracts, a necessity. Lastly, we have the oft-cited refrain that only Allah rules, only Allah controls, only Allah knows, because only Allah has free-will. None of these 3 themes constitutes a religion, nor an accurate historical record.