The love of Yahweh and Allah's love for people have already been discussed. It has also been shown that Allah expects Muslims to hate non-Muslims, but there are clearer instructions in the respective holy books, of what dispositions are expected by Yahweh and Allah towards other people.
The Bible
Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is love and it is important to Him that people live in peace with all people, and love their neighbours, including strangers.
Romans 12:18: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (NKJ)
Hebrews 12:14: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” (NKJ)
1 Corinthians 13 contains an inspired lesson about the excellence of love. It is an unequivocal instruction to love. It is in agreement with Yahweh's law of love that has already been discussed, and it ends with the following words:
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (NIV)
Yes, the God of the Bible is serious about love, and that includes love for strangers, people from other cultures who act and think in different ways to what you are familiar with. This is more proof that when Yahweh commanded the destruction of whole nations, it was not because of His lack of love for them but because there was no other option. He loved them and would not have them killed if there was any possibility that anyone would repent. In Ezekiel 18:32, the God of the Bible says:
"For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" (NIV)
It must be understood that God did not destroy people because they did not serve Him but because they were a threat to His plan of redemption for humankind through the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, Yahweh expects man to love his neighbour as himself, including strangers, as can also be seen in the following three verses:
Leviticus 19:18: “but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:” (NKJ)
Leviticus 19:34: “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself;” (NKJ)
Deuteronomy 10:19: “Therefore love the stranger,” (NKJ)
How is a true Christian recognisable? The Lord Jesus Christ Himself answers this question in John 13:35:
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
This means that should you see people, known as Christians who hate, fight and kill one another, know that they are not true Christians.
The Quran
If Allah hates people who do not worship him and expects his followers to do the same, it is difficult to believe that Islam means peace, and that Allah and the God of the Bible are the same being.
Allah’s instructions concerning the attitudes of his followers towards non-Muslims (unbelievers) are clearly evident in the Quran.
Surah 3:28: “Let not the believers (Muslims) take disbelievers (non-Muslims) for their friends...” (Pickthall, 1997:38).
Surah 5:51: “O ye who believe! Take not Jews and Christians for friends. They are friends to one another. He among you who take them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (Pickthall, 1997:79).
In their book, The Facts on Islam, Ankerberg and Weldon (1991:8) quote the above verse (Surah 5:51) from another English translation of the Quran as follows:
“O, true believers, take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends. They cannot be trusted. They are defiled-filth.”
How does this equate with peaceful, and what does Allah mean, in the following citations, when he instructs Muslims to be 'hard' against unbelievers (non-Muslims)?
Surah 48:29: “Muhammad is the Apostle of God (Allah); and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.” (Ali, 2000:471)
Pickthall (1997:372) renders it as follows:
“Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves.”
Allah is serious about enmity against non-Muslims. The following is not a recommendation but a command that is punishable if disobeyed:
Surah 4:138-139: “Bear unto the hypocrites the tidings that for them there is a painful doom. Those who choose disbelievers (non-Muslims) for their friends” (Pickthall, 1997:68).
Allah clearly describes a Muslim who befriends a non-Muslim as a hypocrite, and warns that a painful doom awaits him.
Surah 18:102: “Do the disbelievers reckon that they can choose my bondsmen as protecting friends...? We have prepared hell as a welcome for the disbelievers.” (Pickthall, 1997:208)
If a painful doom awaits Muslims with non-Muslim friends and Allah calls them ‘hypocrites’, it explains why there is no real social interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims. A Muslim cannot have any non-Muslim friends without disobeying Allah.
Is this Peace-loving?