When the doctrine of abrogation is applied to the dichotomous peace/violence content of the earlier/later Quranic verses, the non-Muslim can easily and immediately grasp 95% of the Islam pertinent to the non-Muslim
The Quranic doctrine of abrogation provides a rational explanation for Islam’s mysterious duality, its simultaneous nature as a religion of domination/partnership, violence/passivity, supremacism/egalitarianism, and violent jihad/spiritual jihad.
In fact, the doctrine of abrogation provides the only option for understanding Islam, at least the portion of Islam posing a threat to the non-Islamic world. Understanding abrogation permits a non-Muslim to understand how the transformation of Islam’s prophet from gentle religious leader in Mecca to conquering warlord in Medina followed the change in his earlier peaceful divine revelations to his later violent divine revelations*, the shift from “there is no compulsion in religion” in Mecca to “slay the unbelievers wherever you find them” in Medina. Abrogation is the linchpin to understanding Islamic violence, terror, and conquest.
It is impossible to understand Islam if you don’t understand abrogation. Period.
Abrogation is the Islamic doctrine proclaiming some newer verses in the Quran replace or erase some older verses. The Quranic basis for abrogation is found in Chapter (Surah) 2, Verse 106 of the Quran: “Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?” (Hilali and Khan English translation).
The newest verses of the Quran are the violent verses* – the verses compelling all Muslims to commit violent jihad against all unbelievers, until all unbelievers are dead, subjugated, or converted. These verses are a problem for the majority of earth’s citizens who are not Muslims.
The presence of the later violent Quranic verses combined with abrogation’s nullification of most of the related earlier peaceful verses, is a process approved by a large number of Islamic scholars and clerics. Admittedly, it is important to know as well that not all Islamic scholars agree with abrogation. Consequently, some Islamic clerics instruct believers to comply with both the peaceful/violent verses simultaneously whereas other clerics instruct believers to follow exclusively the slaughter/subjugate/enslave imperatives of the newer verses. Combining knowledge of abrogation with knowledge that earlier verses in the Quran are peaceful while later verses are violent allows understanding the hitherto inexplicable paradox wherein a minority of Muslims commit horrific acts in the name of Islam, yet the majority of Muslims do not, in the name of Islam.
Consider, the world is home to 1.4 billion Muslims. Some of them, and their imams, interpret the Quran, the literal word of God, to command them to kill, subjugate, or convert all unbelievers, everywhere and without exception, and sooner rather than later. What percentage of 1.4 billion Muslims believe this? Who knows? Polling data tells us about 10-15% actually believe this is what the Quran tells them to do even though most avoid doing it. But some Muslims do act upon these violent beliefs.
And some is too many. With 1.4 billion Muslims, even if only one in one thousand become terrorists or actively support terror, we still end up with 1.4 million active terror operators. So it doesn’t really matter how many Muslims ignore or disbelieve abrogation and its implications for the primacy of the Quran’s violent admonitions. There are more than enough Muslims who take the violent verses very seriously to pose a credible threat to humanity. It only required 19 hijackers to bring down the Twin Towers and destroy part of the Pentagon.
There are plenty of politicians, leaders, pastors, imams, Muslims, Methodists, governments, and Presidents, who nevertheless profess on every occasion “Islam is a religion of peace” or the atrocity of the moment has “nothing to do with Islam.” Whenever you hear such pabulum understand such notions to be irrelevant. The 1.4 million Muslim terrorists (and their supporters) aren’t paying attention.
Back at the ranch, if you’re ever forced to really get into the weeds with a well-meaning Islam apologist, don’t hesitate to play the abrogation card:
“Are you familiar with the Quranic doctrine of abrogation (Quran Surah 2:106)?
If so, and if there is an Islamic doctrine of abrogation based upon Quranic verse (2:106), isn’t it logical many believers and clerics endorse it, even if a lot of them don’t; in fact, isn’t it quite true many Islamic clerics and scholars are already on record endorsing abrogation - for centuries?
And if so, isn’t it true that a lot of believers and clerics therefore endorse compliance with the more recent, violent, Quranic verses*, commanding Muslims to convert, subjugate or kill unbelievers, here and now?
And if so, isn’t it true this easily explains most of the Islamic terrorism in the world, even though the vast majority of Muslims aren’t terrorists?”
It is crucial to understand the doctrine of abrogation is endorsed by a substantial number of Islamic scholars and clerics, perhaps a majority – a number sufficient, at minimum, to extinguish the usual snorts of derision heard whenever Islam is discussed rationally. It is crucial to understand that when the doctrine of abrogation is applied to the dichotomous peace/violence content of the earlier/later Quranic verses, the non-Muslim can easily and immediately grasp 95% of the Islam pertinent to the non-Muslim.
Truly, abrogation is the best explanation for the current state of Islamic conflagration.
*Verses: 2:191-193, 2:216, 3:151, 4:74, 4:76, 4:95, 5:33, 8:12, 8:39, 8:67, 8:65, 9:5, 9:20, 9:29, 9:73, 9:123, 17:16, 33:60-62, 48:17, 48:29, 61:4, 61:9, among others.
The Quranic doctrine of abrogation provides a rational explanation for Islam’s mysterious duality, its simultaneous nature as a religion of domination/partnership, violence/passivity, supremacism/egalitarianism, and violent jihad/spiritual jihad.
In fact, the doctrine of abrogation provides the only option for understanding Islam, at least the portion of Islam posing a threat to the non-Islamic world. Understanding abrogation permits a non-Muslim to understand how the transformation of Islam’s prophet from gentle religious leader in Mecca to conquering warlord in Medina followed the change in his earlier peaceful divine revelations to his later violent divine revelations*, the shift from “there is no compulsion in religion” in Mecca to “slay the unbelievers wherever you find them” in Medina. Abrogation is the linchpin to understanding Islamic violence, terror, and conquest. 
