War on Islam

The War on Islam is a term used to describe a perceived concerted effort to harm, weaken, or annihilate the societal system of Islam through various means—military, economic, social, and cultural. This concept encompasses actions such as invading and interfering in Islamic countries under the pretext of the War on Terror, or utilizing the media to create negative stereotypes about Islam. Proponents of this theory argue that such actions are part of a deliberate agenda to suppress Islamic influence globally. Critics, however, contend that this perspective oversimplifies complex geopolitical dynamics and may foster unwarranted conspiracy theories. The discourse surrounding the "War on Islam" remains a contentious and polarizing topic in contemporary global politics.

Quotes from Quran

"If good befalls you, it grieves them, but if a misfortune overtakes you, they rejoice at it."
- Quran, Surah Al-Imran (3:120), translated by Sahih International.

"O you who have believed, do not take as intimates those other than yourselves, for they will not spare you [any] ruin. They wish you would have hardship."
- Quran, Surah Al-Imran (3:118), translated by Sahih International.

"And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children, whose cry is: 'Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"
- Quran, Surah An-Nisa (4:75), translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

"And [remember, O Muḥammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you."
- Quran, Surah Al-Anfal (8:30), translated by Sahih International.

"And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion."
- Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:120), translated by Sahih International.

"O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another."
- Quran, Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:51), translated by Sahih International.

"Indeed, those who disbelieve and avert [people] from the way of Allah and oppose the Messenger after guidance has become clear to them—never will they harm Allah at all, and He will render worthless their deeds."
- Quran, Surah Sura Muhammad (47:32), translated by Sahih International.

"Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, while those who disbelieve fight in the cause of false deities. So fight the allies of Satan. Indeed, the plot of Satan has ever been weak."
- Quran, Surah An-Nisa (4:76), translated by Sahih International.

"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.
- Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:190), translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

"And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith."
- Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:191), translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

"And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression."
- Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:193), translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

"They ask thee concerning fighting in the prohibited month. Say: 'Fighting therein is a grave (offense); but graver is it in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members.' Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter."
- Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:217), translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

Quotes from Hadith

"Narrated Thawban ibn Bajdad: The Prophet said, 'There will come a time when the nations will invite one another to attack you, just as diners invite one another to share their dish.' Someone asked, 'Will that be because we will be few in number that day?' He replied, 'No, you will be numerous that day, but you will be like the scum of a flood. Allah will remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and cast weakness into your hearts.' Someone asked, 'What is this weakness?' He said, 'Love of the world and dislike of death.'"
- Sunan Abu Dawud 4297, Sahih (Al-Albani)

"Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, 'The believer is not stung from the same hole twice.'"
- Sahih al-Bukhari 6133, Sahih Muslim 2998, Sahih

"Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: The Prophet said, 'You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, span by span and cubit by cubit, so much so that even if they entered a hole of a lizard, you would follow them.' We said, 'O Allah's Messenger! (Do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?' He said, 'Whom else?'"
- Sahih al-Bukhari 7320, Sahih Muslim 2669, Sahih

"Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, 'The Hour will not be established until tribes of my Ummah unite with the idolaters, and until they worship idols. And there will be among my Ummah thirty great liars, each of them claiming to be a prophet, whereas I am the last of the prophets; there will be no prophet after me.'"
- Sunan Abu Dawud 4252, Jami at-Tirmidhi 2219

"Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, 'Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began. So glad tidings to the strangers.' It was asked, 'Who are the strangers?' He said, 'Those who correct the people when they become corrupt.'"
- Sahih Muslim 145, Sahih

"Narrated Thawban: The Prophet said, 'You will be fought and conquered, and some of you will be taken as captives.' We asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, will that be while we are few?' He said, 'Rather, you will be many, but you will be like the foam of the sea, and Allah will remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies, and He will cast wahn into your hearts.' We asked, 'What is wahn?' He said, 'Love of this world and dislike of death.'"
- Sunan Abu Dawud 4297, Sahih

"Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: Someone asked, 'O Messenger of Allah! Who is the best among the people?' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied, 'A believer who strives in the cause of Allah with his life and property.'"
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2786, Sahih

"Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty.'"
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2787, Sahih

"Narrated Abu Musa al-Ash'ari: A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked, 'A man fights for war booty; another fights for fame and a third fights for showing off; which of them fights in Allah's Cause?' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'He who fights that Allah's Word (i.e., Islam) should be superior, fights in Allah's Cause.'"
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2810, Sahih

"It was narrated that Abu Huraira said: 'No man who weeps for fear of Allah will be touched by the Fire until the milk goes back into the udders. And the dust (of Jihad) in the cause of Allah and the smoke of Hell, will never be combined in the nostrils of a Muslim.'"
- Sunan an-Nasa'i, Hadith 3107, Sahih (Darussalam)

Other Quotes

"The new perception is that the United States has entered a war with Islam itself. Terrorism (Wikipedia: Terrorism, Wiktionary: Terrorism is a tactic. You cannot eradicate it by declaring a war against it."
- Parvez Ahmed, chairman of the national board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), at the National Press Club, July 17, 2007.

"The Western ways of thought... [have] an enmity toward all religion, and in particular with greater hostility toward Islam. This enmity toward Islam is especially pronounced and many times is the result of a well-thought-out scheme the object of which is first to shake the foundations of Islamic beliefs and then gradually to demolish the structure of Muslim society."
- Sayyid Qutb, in his book Milestones (1964).

"[Europeans] have known the power of Islam themselves for it once ruled part of Europe, and they know that true Islam is opposed to their activities... They have resorted to malicious propaganda... The agents of imperialism are busy in every corner of the Islamic world drawing our youth away from us with their evil propaganda. They are destroying Islam!"
- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, as quoted in Islam and Revolution (1981) .

"All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and Muslims. What bears no doubt in this fierce Judeo-Christian campaign against the Muslim world... is that the Muslims must prepare all possible might to repel the enemy."
- Osama bin Laden, in his 1998 fatwa (Wikipedia: Fatwa, Wiktionary: fatwa) .

"The claim that Islam is a religion of peace is a nicety invented by Western politicians so as either not to offend their Muslim populations or simply lie to themselves that everything might yet turn out fine. In fact, since its beginning Islam has been pretty violent."
- Douglas Murray, in his book Islamophilia (2013).

"We are not going to win this war, because there's nothing for us to win. What we need to do is make sure the right voices in the Muslim world get heard: those moderate voices that so outnumber the voices of extremism and militancy."
- Anonymous interviewee, as quoted in The War Within Islam(2006).

"The majority of faithful followers of Islam do not identify or approve of extremist groups that commit atrocious acts in the name of Islam."
- From Discrimination against Muslims in the United States (2024).

"Islam does not permit the killing of civilians."
- From Peace & Violence by the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research (2024).

"From its origins, the Islamic community faced rebellion and civil wars, violence and terrorism, epitomized by groups like the Kharijites and Assassins."
- John L. Esposito, in Jihad: Holy or Unholy War (2006).