By Sword or By Conversion? Introduction “Islam is an evil religion.” “Islam promotes violence.” These are some common mentalities used against Islam by the rightwing media. Such bias is based on the historical stereotype that the Arabs forced the non-Arabs into the Islamic faith. In the recent past, it was not uncommon to see books with drawings of an Arab riding his horse with sword in the one hand, & the Qur’ãn in the other. So let us see how Islam spread throughout the world: by sword or by conversion? The Qur’ãni c Perspect ive Let us first look at the issue of “conversion by force” from the Qur’ãnic perspective. 1. The Qur’an is very clear on this issue of entering into the Islamic fold: “There is no compulsion in religion; verily the guidance has become clear from the error. So whosoever rejects the idol and believes in God, he has laid hold onto the most firm rope which will not break; God is All-hearing, All-knowing.” (2:256) There can be no force in accepting Islam; Islam wants sincere believers, not hypocrites. By forced conversion, you only increase the number of hypocrites, not the number of true believers. 2. The Prophet of Islam has also been mentioned as a reminder, not as a person who forces Islam upon others. “Therefore, you remind (them), for you are only a reminder; you are not a watcher over them.” (88:21-22) In many other verses, the Prophet is described as “a bearer of good news” and as “a warner of God’s punishment.” (2:119; 34:28) His role was only to remind the people of their natural instinct of believing in God. As the first verse explained, force is not needed because the right way is clearly distinct from the crooked way.