Waterrock,
-just a note on your contrast of 9:123 with 2:256 ("no compulsion in religion"). The highly influential Qutb understood 2:256, in light of Sura 9 etc., to mean that, among other things, Islamic law (and all the external conditions of an Islamic society) could still be imposed on the non-Muslims, without this technically constituting compulsion in religion. His is reasoning is questionable, of course, because the conditions of dhimmitude do punish non-Muslims and reward Muslims, and have a devastating psychological impact. These conditions impose coercion/compulsion to convert to Islam.
-just a note on your contrast of 9:123 with 2:256 ("no compulsion in religion"). The highly influential Qutb understood 2:256, in light of Sura 9 etc., to mean that, among other things, Islamic law (and all the external conditions of an Islamic society) could still be imposed on the non-Muslims, without this technically constituting compulsion in religion. His is reasoning is questionable, of course, because the conditions of dhimmitude do punish non-Muslims and reward Muslims, and have a devastating psychological impact. These conditions impose coercion/compulsion to convert to Islam.
