Maybe that consensus is broader than it should be.
Muhammad said: “I have been made victorious through terror” (Bukhari 4:52.220).
The Qur’an says: “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies…” (8:60)
“When your Lord was revealing to the angels, ‘I am with you; so confirm the believers. I shall cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers; so strike the necks, and strike every finger of them!” (Qur’an 8:12)
“We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allah of which He had not sent down authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers.” (Qur’an 3:151)
“And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from where they drove you out; persecution is worse than slaughter. But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, kill them — such is the recompense of unbelievers, but if they give over, surely Allah is all-forgiving, all-compassionate. Fight them until there is no persecution and the religion is Allah’s; then if they give over, there shall be no enmity save for evildoers.” (Qur’an 2:191-193)
“They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore do not take friends from among them, until they emigrate in the way of Allah; then, if they turn their backs, seize them and kill them wherever you find them; do not take for yourselves any one of them as friend or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)
“This is the recompense of those who fight against Allah and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth to do corruption there: they shall be killed, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall be struck off on opposite sides; or they shall be exiled from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement.” (Qur’an 5:33)
“Fight them, till there is no persecution and religion is all for Allah; then if they give over, surely Allah sees the things they do.” (Qur’an 8:39)
“Then, when the sacred months are over, kill the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.” (Qur’an 9:5)
“Fight those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not practice the religion of truth, even if they are of the People of the Book — until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Qur’an 9:29)
“Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions against the gift of Paradise; they fight in the way of Allah; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise binding upon Allah in the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Koran; and who fulfils his covenant truer than Allah? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him; that is the mighty triumph.” (Qur’an 9:111)
“O believers, fight the unbelievers who are near to you; and let them find in you a harshness; and know that Allah is with the godfearing.” (Qur’an 9:123)
“When you meet the unbelievers, strike their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom, till the war lays down its loads. So it shall be; and if Allah had willed, He would have avenged Himself upon them; but that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will not send their works astray.” (Qur’an 47:4)
“Violence and the responsibility of theology,” translated from “Gewalt und die Verantwortung der Theologie,” ORF, November 5, 2020 (thanks to E.):
There is a fairly broad consensus that Islamist violence and terror like the attack in Vienna on Monday have nothing to do with the religion of Islam itself. But experts also see Islamic theology as having an obligation to delegitimize violence in the name of God.
Immediately after the attack, Muslim associations, above all the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGÖ), expressed their horror and dismay and distanced themselves from the perpetrator, who is likely to have acted in connection with the terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS). Among others, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, condemned the terrorist attack in Vienna as a “heinous crime”. Islam is a religion of mercy, jihadism is anti-Islamic, one can read again and again.
The sociologist Kenan Güngör said in an interview with the ORF religious magazine “Orientation” that he “believes that all Muslims know that it was an attack on them, too”. Public resentment towards Muslim people will increase. What he would like would be the confession: “(…) we stand for an open and liberal society. Standing up is different from distancing yourself.” But that shouldn’t just be “lip service”.
A critical internal discourse is required, said Güngör. The question is: “What kind of breeding ground do we have in parts of the Muslim community that at least favor or legitimize extremist ideas?”
But how do you deal with people who use the Koran and other Islamic sources as legitimation for acts of violence? For years, experts have been pointing out how important it is to see the Koranic passages that call for violence against people of different faiths in a historical context.
Read sources in historical context
The young Muslim community of the seventh century had to defend itself in Medina after it was attacked, said Gernot Galib Stanfel, cultural advisor for the Islamic religious community of St. Pölten, in an interview with religion.ORF.at at the end of 2015 – more on this in “Allahu akbar”: Battle cry or peace greeting?
In the history of Islam and in the sources of world religion, however, there is a lot of violence – just as Güngor recalls, as is the case with Christianity. But Christianity went through a “strong secularization and humanization”. There are also sources in Islam that “reject violence”. He sees “a very quiet segment of Muslims” who felt uncomfortable with all this, and found it “interesting that they never stand up and bravely speak up”.
Critical culture “not very well developed”
One problem is that “when it comes to Islam, the culture of criticism is generally not very well developed.” Critical discussion does not take place sufficiently. According to the sociologist, this has to happen “in the interests of the Muslims, sustainability”. And “it would be important for Muslims themselves to take such steps”.
Debate: how big is the shock?
The Viennese theologian Jan-Heiner Tück would like more reflection on the sources and legitimation of terrorism. The Islamist-motivated terrorist attack with four deaths and 23 injuries should “not leave the interreligious dialogue unaffected”, Tück said in a statement to Kathpress the day after the attack.
“Address hard, uncomfortable questions”
It is time to finally remove the theological basis from jihadism and to make it clear from the Koran and other normative texts of Islamic tradition that violence in the name of God is an act of blasphemy. Tück: “The good connections that exist between the churches and the Islamic Faith Community in Austria are a good basis for tackling tough, uncomfortable questions beyond friendly dialogues.”
In addition, it would be “desirable if Islamic authorities, in addition to expressing solidarity with the victims, would once again make it clear that the killing of innocent people is a crime.” Murder in the name of God is “not an act of worship, but blasphemy,” said Tück.
“Semantic Dynamite” of the IS
The theologian, who teaches dogmatics at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna, referred in this context to the “archaic theology of violence” that stands in the background of the “Islamic State” and its sharp distinction between believers and unbelievers, and forms a kind of “semantic dynamite” “that makes militant jihadism so dangerous”.
This fact must be openly addressed and discussed against the background of the Koran “and other normative sources” of Islam – and without conjuring up a conflict between Christians and Muslims, said Tück, who at the same time recalled that Austria in particular, since the Islamic Law of 1912, is a pioneer in matters of integration.
The most important question to be clarified in the interreligious dialogue is how Islam itself “can theologically clearly and unequivocally condemn such acts of terrorism in the name of Allah”. The assertion that Islam is a religion of mercy is important, but “is hardly sufficient here”.