Friendships with non Muslims

[harris]

Therefore it is very clear that at personal level there is no harm in having friendship with any. But there are some ayats
such as from the surah above

O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.

O Ye who believe! Choose not for guardians such of those who received the Scripture before you, and of the disbelievers, as make a jest and sport of your religion. But keep your duty to Allah if ye are true believers.

If you take these in today's context the Arab kings, Pakistan and other Muslim countries with exception of few have taken non believers as their Guardians and Allies, the result is obvious by not following Allah's commands.

Salaam Raajah,
You said it! In fact this situation is so evident in the recent wikileaks expose when the Saudi king's plan to push US to go to war with Iran was exposed. One cable stated that King Abdullah told the Americans to cut off the head of the snake! Very romantic way to show their feelings for each other...  
                                                                                                                                                           
In public tho, they've always acted like the best of friends. if this isn't hypocrisy, wat is?   o o 0 0 



Peace to all.

[FAR]

I believe you're taking these verses too literally. In Muhammad's (pbuh) time taking a non-Muslim as a friend meant something ENTIRELY different than it does in this day and age. The tribes of the Arabian peninsula wanted our Prophet and his followers dead at that time they did not want another group to challenge their wealth, power, or right to authority. At that time when the religion of Islam was still being established in the land and people were leaving their families and their homes to follow the Prophet the atmosphere was much much different than we can even imagine. Taking a non-Muslim as a friend during that time could very well mean treason with the Jewish tribes and the other Arabian tribes working together to exterminate the Prophet and his Companions (pbut).

Why would God allow us Muslim men to take Jewish and Christian wives if we aren't even allowed to FRATERNIZE with people of other faiths my friend?

Or do you put the People of the Book in a different category as other 'disbelievers'?

Friendship is two way. The one who believes in allah and obeys as mentioned in the verses is a friend for another. If not then that person obviously becomes a friend of the devil. If a christian or jew doesn't obey allah etc etc, then of course they cannot be called a christian or a jew, or well as the quran mentions "people of the book", especially if they do not obey the book.

That is mentioned in quran 5:49

"And judge, between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations and beware of them, lest they tempt you away from some of what Allah has revealed to you. And if they turn away ? then know that Allah only intends to afflict them with some of their [own] sins. And indeed, many among the people are defiantly disobedient."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjwtmjbOKE&feature=channel