Kill the Infidel?

From the same article I quoted from yesterday....a very telling discussion of the term..."infidel"

I, as a Muslim, have never called a non-Muslim an "Infidel", so this word was actually foreign to my vocabulary, until I have heard it mentioned several time by Christian and Zionist so-called "experts" on Islam. As a matter of fact, I took the liberty of going through several widely used translations of the Quran to find this oft-spoken "infidel" term. The translations of the Quran of which I researched included: M. Khan, Yusuf Ali, Shakir, and Pickthal, only to find out that in all of these translations, I did not find this word "infidel" in any of them! The Arabic word "Kaafir, Kafir, Kufar" was translated as Disbelievers or Unbelievers.

What's more interesting, after digging deeper, we discovered this term was being used centuries before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The term infidel comes from the Latin word infidelis, which means "unbelieving" or "unfaithful."

During the Middle Ages ( A.D.c. 450–c. 1500), the Catholic Church (Christians) used the term to describe Muslims (followers of Islam, the religion founded by the prophet Muhammad; c. A.D.570–632).

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary states the following on the term "infidel":

Main Entry: in·fi·del
Pronunciation: 'in-f&-d & l, -f&-"del
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English infidele, from Middle French, from Late Latin infidelis unbelieving, from Latin, unfaithful, from in- + fidelis faithful -- more at FIDELITY
1: one who is not a Christian or who opposes Christianity
2 a: an unbeliever with respect to a particular religion b : one who acknowledges no religious belief
3: a disbeliever in something specified or understood
- infidel adjective

To coin a Grandma Payne phrase...."doesn't that just take the cake?!"  This much bandied about word....virtually always negatively associated with Islam....actually had its roots in Christianity.  It was first used as a slur by Christians...against Muslims!!!  Well, well, well.  Another phrase Grandma used comes to mind...."turn around is fair play."

But is that the only explanation? What if...what if...the Quran, like the Bible, is a SPIRITUAL BOOK...and what if...what if...there is a SPIRITUAL explanation for the term. 

More on this spiritual view of the Quran in my next post and followed soon after by a look at who is the infidel?