Was Islam spread by the sword?
No.
Islam did not spread by sword. In fact sword is a hindrance in the way of spread of Islam. Quran provides both commandments and the gist of wisdom of the same; this peculiarity is not retained in book of any other revealed religion.Islam flourishes most in peace with its strong reasonable and rational arguments.
For example:
Peaceful Spread of Islam in
Czech Republic: [2]
http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=mosques&find_loc=Breclav
The
Czech Republic is a
nation state in
Central Europe bordered by
Germany to the west,
Austria to the south,
Slovakia to the east and
Poland to the northeast.
[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic
Most of the Muslims are from
Bosnia-Herzegovina (early 1990s) and former countries of
Soviet Union (mostly from
Caucasus region, from the late 1990s until the present). A significant and influential part are the
middle-class people of
Egyptian,
Syrian and other
Middle Eastern ancestries (typically those who studied in Czechoslovakia and decided to stay).A few hundred Muslims are
Czech converts.
[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_the_Czech_Republic
Life as a Muslim in Prague Talah Nadeem
How is life in Prague for a Muslim? I have been asked this question a lot since I moved here. “Life is good”- that’s the simplest and most generic answer I can give. It’s a rather complex “good” though, because to be honest, in the current political climate of the world, being a Muslim is not easy.
I’m a moderate Muslim - I don’t drink or do drugs or have pre-marital sex, I’ve never tried to impose my beliefs on anyone, I’m a fun-loving individual, and on top of that I’m a proud Mancunian (i.e. from Manchester).
For me integration is the key. Just because you can’t drink or “fraternize” with a girl doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time. This is exactly the stage in which Muslims in Prague struggle: when I tell Czechs that I don’t drink, I automatically get looked down on and almost treated as a pariah. Unfortunately, this is the case for most Muslims. A barrier is created and most Muslims seclude themselves, which is rather sad. I’m lucky that the friends I have made here have never pressured me to try anything that’s prohibited by my religion, nor have they pushed me out of my comfort zone.
It’s every Muslim’s responsibility to deplore the radical elements within our religion and to show our compassion as human beings.
I’d like to use this platform to tell the people of Prague and Czechs that the acts committed in our name by so-called Muslims horrify us just as much as they horrify you. However, the distrust of Muslims here has led to us being demonized. A prime example of this is an event held in Prague every year calling for the removal of Muslims from the Czech Republic. Unfortunately scores of individuals turn up to these events to show support, regretfully these rallies are hijacked by fascist and neo-Nazi groups preaching racial intolerance and hatred, with many innocent people being attacked or verbally abused. This is unnerving, to say the least, but it just shows that every society has its “bad eggs”.
(Only some passages from the article have been given).For more, please access the following link.
http://www.pritomnost.cz/en/society/925-life-as-a-muslim-in-prague
Country/region:
Czech Republic
Muslim population 2010 Pew Report
[1]:10,500*
Muslim percentage (%) of total population 2010 Pew Report
[1] :< 0.1
Percentage (%) of World Muslim population 2010 Pew Report
[1] :< 0.1
Muslim Population Other Sources : -
*According to the 2010 census, there are 19,097
Muslims in the
Czech Republic (less than 0.1% of country's population), compared to 495 in 1991.
[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
*One should note increase of Muslims from 495 in 1991 to 19,097 in 2010.
Islam spread peacefully in
Czech Republic.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Regards
