Islam's claim to be peaceful

[Andrew Odinson]

I've heard many times Muslims claim that Islam is a peaceful religion but as an outside viewer i don't see the truth of this claim. One of the major qualifications for a religion to be consider peaceful to me is it's ability to live along side other religions and function within a society. Islams has a history of placing itself above other religions and reacting violently towards those that differ from them. A current example can be seen in the recent call for the demolition of Egypt’s Great Pyramids by prominent Muslim clerics since they are pagan symbols. Two years ago we see the same violence in southeastern Bangladesh as a crowd of 25,000 Muslims destroyed five Buddhist temples. A year before this another crowd destroyed yet more 'offending' religious statues in West Java. On the society presepective, we can see that whereever Islams tires to intergrate into society it often tends to lead to high tensions. Both Britian and France have had major problems with radical Islamic groups. It seems that Islam is unable to coexist among side other religions and this often leads to attacks. Part of this is the absurd claim that Islam is the perfect religion or holds some kind of ultimate truth. It seems ridiculous to me that Islam can claim to be a peaceful religion when it cannot offer respect to any other religion. what are your views on this matter?

 

[chinu]

@ Islam's claim to be peaceful

Just a question.

Q: Why Islam need to claim to be peaceful ? why they are known as un-peaceful ?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Of course it's not peaceful. Individual Muslims can certainly be peaceful, but Islam itself isn't. As I said in another thread, no belief system that claims to be "the truth" can be peaceful since it inherently fosters divisions. Plus, as a proselytizing religion, it seeks to wipe out all other ways of life. It's the same with Christianity. They're imperialist religions and can't live peacefully alongside others unless there's some heavy editing out of the exclusivist aspects or the law reins them in, as it did with Christianity in the West due to Enlightenment-inspired revolutions. Sadly, such revolutions haven't occurred in Islamic societies.

 

[psychoslice]

I feel that Islam needs to work hard at proving they are a peaceful religion, because it certainly hasn't worked yet.

 

[Sunstone]

Of course it's not peaceful. Individual Muslims can certainly be peaceful, but Islam itself isn't. As I said in another thread, no belief system that claims to be "the truth" can be peaceful since it inherently fosters divisions. Plus, as a proselytizing religion, it seeks to wipe out all other ways of life. It's the same with Christianity. They're imperialist religions and can't live peacefully alongside others unless there's some heavy editing out of the exclusivist aspects.

Pretty much this.

 

[Sunstone]

It seems that, historically, the less separation there is between a government and a religion, the less peaceful the religion -- or at least, the less peaceful its clergy.

 

[YmirGF]

It seems that, historically, the less separation there is between a government and a religion, the less peaceful the religion -- or at least, the less peaceful its clergy.

Of course. That's because they hold all the cards. They don't have to care about how people feel or what people think. They tell the people what to think and woe betide the hide of he who questions their thinking...

 

[SkylarHunter]

Of course it's not peaceful. Individual Muslims can certainly be peaceful, but Islam itself isn't. .

Completely agree. I live in France where there are many Muslims who live their lives peacefully and many others who given the chance would either covert or kill all of us.
While people from other religions preach and teach but don't force anyone and are generally respectful and friendly, the radical Muslims see anyone who oppose to them as enemies of Islam and therefore a target.
We are having a lot of problems with those groups and it doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon. They refuse to be educated and to evolve as human beings.

 

[Pastek]

and many others who given the chance would either covert or kill all of us.

Who exactly ? I also live in France and never seen someone forcing people to convert or he would kill him.

 

[Revoltingest]

Of course it's not peaceful. Individual Muslims can certainly be peaceful, but Islam itself isn't.....

A religion is what its adherents practice.
So Islam is both peaceful & violent.
It just depends which flavor of Islam is being discussed.

 

[allright]

In the aftermath of 911 a Pakistan official said "People should stop saying Islam isnt a peaceful religion. It could cause people to get violent"

 

[steeltoes]

Christianity has a far bloodier history than Islam in my view. Jewish communities lived within Arab states rather peacefully until 1947, that's when things changed.

 

[Akivah]

Christianity has a far bloodier history than Islam in my view. Jewish communities lived within Arab states rather peacefully until 1947, that's when things changed.

That's false. Islam committed its share of atrocities against Jews since Islam's inception.

 

[Truthisnotyourenemy]

How can Islam ever be seen as peaceful when it's founder claims killing is required from muslims:




Muslim (1:30)
"The Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah."

Sahih Muslim 41:6985, Sahih Bukhari 4:56:791
"The last hour (judgement day) would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad tree would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews."

 

[Tumah]

How can Islam ever be seen as peaceful when it's founder claims killing is required from muslims:




Muslim (1:30)
"The Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah."

Sahih Muslim 41:6985, Sahih Bukhari 4:56:791
"The last hour (judgement day) would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad tree would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews."

That's...that's real!?!

 

[ametist]

it is more the perceivers ability to observe a thing as peaceful or not.
It is rather meaningless to put forward yourself as peaceful. If I were islam-whatever that means- i would leave it to you to find out that i am peaceful or not and would ok your idea. On the other hand, if you say to me 'you are not peaceful' and i dont agree, that would already make me unpeaceful. Did islam ever did this to you? When you said to islam 'you are not peaceful' did it object? or rather you want someone to object when you have that claim or approve you on its unpeacefulness? why? if everyone were to agree that islam not peaceful would that give you peace?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

A religion is what its adherents practice.
So Islam is both peaceful & violent.
It just depends which flavor of Islam is being discussed.

I'm talking about the religion itself, not the people. I still say that any religion that claims to be the ultimate truth and to be perfect can never be peaceful.

 

[Pastek]

Sahih Muslim 41:6985, Sahih Bukhari 4:56:791
"The last hour (judgement day) would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad tree would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews."

That's...that's real!?!

It's an authentic hadith, this is a prophecy about Palestine. The Gharqad (in arabic)is called Nitaria retusa:

غرقد كليل - ويكيبيديا، الموسوعة الØ*رة

 

[Tumah]

It's an authentic hadith, this is a prophecy about Palestine. The Gharqad (in arabic)is called Nitaria retusa:

غرقد كليل - ويكيبيديا، الموسوعة الØ*رة

It looks like a prophecy about Jews, not about Israel.

 

[Pastek]

It looks like a prophecy about Jews, not about Israel.

It make sense, just see what's happening in Palestine and also it may be before or when the Antichrist will come. As you know we believe there will be a false Messiah.

I've found that :

This narration is describing a specific miraculous event which will occur near the end of time. It is not a narration from which is derived a legal ruling. In other words, this narration is a description, not a prescription. For this reason, the scholars recorded this narration in the books of tribulations near the end of time and portents of the Hour; and they did not record it in the books of legal punishment.

This miraculous event of the speaking rocks and trees will take place near the end of the world when the False Messiah (Anti-Christ) will appear and many people will follow him, including a small army of Jews.

Explanation of the Hadith of the Rock, the Gharqad Tree, and the Jews: Did Prophet Muhammad Command Muslims to kill all Jews? | altahrir, news of Islam, Muslims, Arab Spring and special Palestine

I've just seen one website because i don't have time right now but you can find many who talk about this event (fight between muslims and jews) as a sign of the Hour :


34. A major war between the Muslims (including Jews and Christians who truly believe in Jesus after his return) led by the Imam Mahdi, and the Jews plus other non-Muslims led by the Antichrist.

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