Apostates Quotes
Although this verse illustrates the particular enmity that some orthodox Muslims have for Christians and Jews, philosophically the hostility it not unlike that some orthodox Christians had (and still have) for Jews. The theory was that among the more primitive people a certain “ignorance” was tolerable, but “People of the Book” were not ignorant but actually rejected the word of Muhammed or in the case of the Jews vis a vis the Christians, they rejected the word of Christ. The hate message is preached within some Christian circles about Jews and Muslims today, but the overt, visible, statement in the midst of the holiest of Scripture makes the Koranic version even more socially and ethically difficult in a pluralistic society.
Physiologically a very young girl is often capable of getting pregnant, but physiologically is not able to bear children without high risk to both children. A similar risk pattern exists with women over the age of 40. While there are a number of Islamic countries that do sanction pedophilia within marriage, there is nothing inherent in Islamic theology that justifies this. Modern Islamic nations like Turkey and other Muslim majority nations do not allow marriage at such a young age. Also, it was not to long ago, in historical time, that Christian nations also sanctioned marriage to very young girls.
The Governor opposed Jews being allowed into the colony at all, but was overruled by the Dutch West India Company. He feared that this would set a precedent and then Catholics and other “dissenters” would come to New York. He then prohibited them from worshipping as Jews {35223} but was again overruled. He was a very unpopular Governor who himself was a Calvinist fundamentalist having been the son of a Calvinist minister and studied for the ministry himself. The company set the standard of religious tolerance and enforced it. See {611104}. The governor predicted the consequence and the precedent did indeed allow Catholics to come to New York and both Jews and Catholics have been significant New York population groups ever since.
