Many Muslims and non-Muslims alike claim that Islam is a religion of peace and that violence perpetrated in the name of Islam is actually due to distortions or misunderstandings of the religion. Some supplementary evidence is given here.

The fight mentioned in few verses of Qur’an is referred to cases of defense against aggressors. However, even this was highly regulated as Muslims were forbidden to fight during four sacred months.

The Holy Qur’an says:

[9:13] Will you not fight a people who have broken their oaths, and who plotted to turn out the Messenger, and they were the first to commence hostilities against you? Do you fear them? Nay, Allah is most worthy that you should fear Him, if you are believers.

The historical fact is that Muslims in general adhered to the Quranic ideal of showing tolerance and compassion to Jews and Christians who lived in Muslim-ruled lands. The Holy Qur’an says:

[60:8] It may be that Allah will bring about love between you and those of them with whom you are now at enmity; and Allah is All-Powerful; and Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.

[60:9] Allah forbids you not, respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion, and who have not driven you forth from your homes, that you be kind to them and act equitably towards them; surely Allah loves those who are equitable.

It was in this spirit that the Prophet Muhammad dealt with the Christians of his time.

Any Muslim who fails to protect the life, property and honor of Christians is not only acting in contrast to Islamic tradition but is also violating the oath made by the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

This was stated by the Prophet himself in the Ashtiname or Covenant, a kind of charter that he signed which granted protection to the monks of Saint Catherine’s Monastery.

The Prophet said:

“Whosoever of my nation shall presume to break my promise and oath… destroys the promise of God… (and) becomes worthy of the curse, whether he be the King himself, or a poor man, or whatever person he may be.”

The Prophet had made many such covenants with Christians.

Another historical event worthy of mention is the surrender of Jerusalem to the Caliph Omar in AD637. The Caliph travelled to Jerusalem in order to accept the surrender of the city from the Patriarch Sophronius. Sophronius then invited Omar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Omar declined the invitation for fear that his praying there may set a precedent that may eventually lead to the conversion of the church to a mosque.

Exterior of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher: The site is venerated as Golgotha, where Jesus was put on cross

These early historical examples of the gracious treatment of Christians by Muslims were not exceptions, but the rule. They continued throughout Islamic history.

Spain under Muslim rule, Al-Andalus, particularly between the 8th and 11th centuries, was known as a golden age of Jewish history, when Jewish philosophy and culture made advances. At a time when Jews were persecuted elsewhere in Europe, Andalusia’s Jews flourished, even taking up high positions in government.

The Ottoman Empire (1299-1023) went beyond tolerance and accepted non-Muslim minorities, granting them protection and religious freedoms. By the 16th century, the Ottomans established control over large parts of Europe, ruling over large Christian populations. Sultan Mehmed developed a system in which each religious community, or millet, elected its own leader and enforced its own religious laws. Orthodox Christians constituted a millet; the Jews another.

A proper approach to the interpretation of Quranic texts, involving a correct contextual understanding of its meanings, and the study of Islamic history, will reveal that tolerance and acceptance of non-Muslim minorities were the norm.

While Muslim empires were not liberal according to the standards of modern democracies, they were certainly progressive in comparison to their contemporaries when it came to dealing with religious minorities. Deviations from the norm were treated as violations by most Muslim themselves. This was true of Al-Hakim and is certainly the case with ISIS today.

The problem lies not with Islam the religion, but with ideological interpretations of it. The purest of ideas in a text can be reinterpreted in line with evil interests. All ideologies, religious or secular, have been subjected to this.
Reference
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/opinion/more-opinion-stories/story/islams-tolerance-religious-minorities-20141111