Anna Kuta's "Response to: Five Shariah insights for students at UR,"posted Nov. 5, 2011, is a misleading and inflammatory description of Islamic law. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I take strong exception to the author's baseless claims that Islam requires us to impose its belief system using violent tactics against non-Muslims. To contextualize the actual verses she quoted, it should be known that Muslims were a persecuted minority in Arabia during Prophet Muhammad's era and faced a constant threat of annihilation.
The author claims that in Qu'ran 8:39 the goal of Islam is to take over the world. The actual verse has permitted Muslims to fight in self-defense only; the preceding verse 8:38 makes it clear that if those imposing a war of aggression against Muslims cease and desist then Muslims must also lay down their arms. There is nothing objectionable against such a teaching. Kuta quotes Qu'ran 47:4 and claims that Muslims must decapitate Jews and Christians. Again, this is false, as the context of the battle is not against Jews or Christians but against the pagans of Mecca who had driven out persecuted Muslims from the city - this is mentioned a few verses later in 47:13 - and were then imposing aggression against them. Kuta should have refrained from making similarly false allegations against the Qu'ran that only serve to stoke bigotry against Muslims in the US.
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