Maya Kaath
Mage
If I may be allowed a moment of snark No, you should ignore these parts, instead:
Hast thou observed him who belieth religion? That is he who repelleth the orphan, and urgeth not the feeding of the needy. Ah, woe unto worshippers who are heedless of their prayer; who would be seen (at worship) yet refuse small kindnesses! — Qur’an, Surih 107:1-7
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). -- Quran, Surih 49:13
O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do. — Surih 5:9
Lo! Those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans—whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right—surely their reward is with their Lord and there shall be no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve. — Quran, Surih 2:62
This is the way of thy Lord, leading straight: We have detailed the signs for those who receive admonition. For them will be a home of peace in the presence of their Lord: He will be their friend, because they practiced (righteousness). -- Quran, Surih 6:126-127
Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy hand- hold, that never breaks. And God heareth and knoweth all things. -- Quran, Surih 2:256
“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the Allah-fearing.” (Surih 2:177 )
Seriously. Don't ignore any of it. Rather, read it with an awareness of its historical context AND a real grasp of what certain words (infidel, for example) mean in that context. I recommend a print copy of Pickthall's translation of the Qur'an because he takes time to set the historical context of each surih, as well as giving a history of the faith of Muhammad in the introduction.
Part of the context in which the verses about war and fighting included the fact that the "pagan" tribes and the Jewish community at Yatthrib were trying to annihilate the nascent Muslim community, The Jews had at first been allies of the Muslims, but betrayed them and attempted to assassinate the Prophet. Amid all of the verses you'll see cited about fighting the infidel (literally, "unfaithful" indicating betrayal) you might miss this one quoted in its entirety:
“Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers.” — Quran, Surih 2:190-193
This, from an historical perspective, is far more civilized than the type of warfare being practiced by the groups the Muslims were fighting (or later Christian crusaders), in which the mandate was to wipe out the enemy utterly—men, women and children. Muhammad also raised the station of women from that of chattel to human beings equal with men in the eyes of God. He repeatedly calls upon men to "revere" women and speaks of them in the same breath repeatedly. When He gives His teachings on modesty, it is the men he speaks to first.
Those are some of the things you'll find in the Qur'an. What you will not find is anything about women being evil, or genital mutilation, or honor killings. Those are all ancient tribal practices that predate Islam. You will not read that women were veiled because of weakness, wrongness or evil on their part, but because they were being harassed in public by non-Muslim men. You'll find those references as you read through the Qur'an—if indeed, you do read it.
