Editor,
This letter is in response to Tom Woodard's letter in last Tuesday's Daily Lobo. In his letter, Woodard brought up some of his interpretations of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
One must remember that the misinterpretation of Holy Scriptures has led to the deaths of many in the past and present. The Crusades, for example, were the source of the murders of thousands of people in the name of God. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the London bombings are examples of current misinterpretations of the Holy Scriptures where the murder of thousands was done in the name of God.
The lunatics of the world have always interpreted the scriptures to suit their twisted agendas and force mass murder on the peaceful people of the world. We should always avoid interpreting the Quran in our terms, as Woodard did in his letter. He is not an Islamic scholar and neither am I, but the following is how the actual scholars explain the verses he cites.
The key point in Woodard's interpretation is that Islam imposes a tax on the non-Muslims living in their territory and the territories they have conquered. The imposed tax part of it is true, and sounds cruel at first until one looks at the logistics of the ruling. One must keep in mind that these imposed taxes are nothing compared to the Zakah, a tax that is obligatory on all Muslims. The imposed tax on non-Muslims at the time it was administered was equivalent to one dinar a year - when compared to the 2.5 percent of income tax a Muslim must pay, the imposed tax becomes almost insignificant. These different taxes that the Muslims and non-Muslims must pay go to the different operational needs of the state, and it is similar to the tax of any country in the modern world.
The money that the non-Muslims paid went to their protection, because while living in that territory they are protected from any attacks that could happen to them. No other country or organization could come and attack the tax-paying non-Muslims without first having to take down the Muslim state protecting them. In addition, the non-Muslims who pay the tax are exempt from having to serve in war.
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From this we learn that one cannot take a small ruling out of context and use it to say a religion is barbaric and hateful. One must understand the reasons behind the rulings, the time in which the rulings were introduced and the exact logic and details of the ruling before saying it is cruel or unjust.
Regarding Woodard's last demand for an apology, I believe Muslims should condemn the atrocities committed by the lunatic few, but should not apologize for them, because to do so will be a direct acknowledgement that the terrorists who committed them actually follow our doctrine.
Amjad Musleh
UNM student
