[ovenco]

Islam is the only religion to provide a complete set of rules for life. Warfare is a part of life at a global level so Islam has provided laws regarding it, too. Why do these non-Muslims take issue with these verses? Other religions remain silent on the "hows" of warfare so their followers make up their own rules and commit innumerable injustices because they do not have divine and objective laws like we do. All these Christians and non-Christians say that their religions are peaceful, etc. etc. yet Christians are one of the most blood-thirsty people on this planet. The number of people that Muslims have killed pales in comparison to how many Christians have killed. This is because there are no religious laws dictating warfare so people give in to their own vices and make up their own laws.

To see the application of these laws, read the seerah as well as Muslim history, especially during the khilafaat of the khulafa rashidoon. Those were the best practitioners of the laws of Allah so it is from them that we learn how these verses are applied. You'll also learn when certain verses were revealed that called for attacking the Mushrikeen after the conquest of Makkah, they were in response to the actions of the Mushrikeen.

Islam has both offensive and defensive jihad, with defensive jihad being fardh 'ayn and offensive jihad being fardh kifayah (correct me if I'm wrong), so yes, fighting in the cause of Allah is made blessed and rewarding for us. Yes, we are to fight, but that does not entail that we become merciless and kill those that do not fight back (the Qur'an clearly states this as well), as these non-Muslims would like to portray us as. After all, if it weren't for Muslims following the laws of Allah , there probably would not be a Jew alive on this planet since Jews not only lived, but thrived, under Islamic law.