Originally published in the Fayetteville Observer
The actions of ISIS are fundamentally, unequivocally unIslamic. The violence that these barbarians are perpetrating against minority sects of Shiite Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and Kurds sickens me.
I want to make it 100percent clear that these actions are nothing but a perversion of the true teachings of Islam. As the Christian city of Qaraqosh is run down and Christians are forced to flee and the Yazidi people are stranded on Mount Sinjar in dire circumstances, nothing but pain and sorrow fills the hearts of Muslims worldwide. The Quran has made it blatantly clear that, “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:257) and the ISIS militants’ use of terror to force conversion is criminal. The Holy Quran further states, “For you your religion, and for me my religion” (109:7). Forcing Christians or any faith to convert by gun point is completely and absolutely against the teachings of the Holy Quran.
