How Do the Curse Psalms Compare to the Quran?

Usually one is referring here to the curse psalms in the Psalms of David. In Christian tradition, these are interpreted as referring to spiritual enemies, especially demons, and only insofar as they are spiritual enemies. Thus the destruction that is desired for one’s enemies in these psalms is in fact only the destruction of their evil inclinations, not of their person. The enemies referred to can also be the unruly passions of the human heart that the devil seeks to manipulate.

The current Liturgy of the Hours omits these cursing psalms, but the oriental liturgies and the monastic form of the Roman office retain them. In the Islamic tradition, one finds both a literal interpretation and an allegorical one, depending on the sect and circumstances, of texts that express a violent antipathy for non-Muslims. Thus it would be false to take the most severe Muslim interpretations as representative of the whole religion.