In a 2005 study published in Middle East Quarterly, historian Timothy Furnish quotes the famous passage at Sura 47:4: When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks. For centuries, Furnish observes, leading Islamic scholars have interpreted this verse literally, and examples abound throughout Islamic history. Yet Western leaders keep insisting that the beheading of infidels is unrelated to the jihadists religious outlook.