What is wrong with calling Islam religion of peace?

[J2hapydna]

I am very hesitant to call any religion or ideology, or state or ethnic group, an "X of peace". (whatever X stands for). Or indeed an X of war. Or of justice. Or of anything really.

I honestly could not tell you what a useful definition of "religion of peace" would be. A religion that can only be interpreted in one way, and that one way is peaceful? Well, that *might* perhaps go for Jainism, but starting with buddhism, and way more with the monotheistic religions, this is just obviously not the case, people have fought wars in the name of their respective religion. So we could divide between "true" interpretations and false ones. But then, if we don't just *define* that true === peacful beforehand, how would we know which one is true? Is postmodern christianity truer than medieval christianity? Was Islam in its golden age truer than what is taught today? I could not tell you.

Worldviews are necessarily full of flaws. They have their glorious parts, their not so great ones, and they also contain absolutely abysmal, idiotic, cruel or simply weird bits. (That's precisely why I don't advocate believing in a worldview. It is always better to evaluate every single claim and try to find out what one really thinks is true, not what feels good.) So you cannot have a "religion of peace". Just religions that are comparatively more peaceful, or less cruel, than others.

Well said

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Is there a Muslim argument that doesn't rest on 'The West started it'?

There are but those arguments lay the blame on the Jews instead

 

[Rival]

There are but those arguments lay the blame on the Jews instead

Oy vey!

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Is the West responsible for Muhammad's raids, wars and massacres? For the Wars of Apostasy? Are we also responsible for the Sunni-Shia violence?

Give it another decade or two and they'll be blaming us for all that and for Noah's Flood.

 

[LuisDantas]

How? Please
Regards

Claiming that everyone has a natural instinct towards monotheism is very much at odds with observable facts from Anthropology. IIRC, those include that animism is far more frequent a natural trend than monotheism or even polytheism, and that about 10% of people are natural atheists.

 

[J2hapydna]

It amazes me when Muslims like to claim that the Meccans were intolerant monsters even though they put up with Muhammad deriding and slandering the Meccans and their forefathers beliefs' for ten years. What amazes me even more is Muslims complaining about these events when to this very day Muslims use this exact same excuse for persecuting & acting like ******** to ex-Muslims & any others who challenge or even mock aspects of Islam and display the exact sort of intolerance they claimed the Meccans once displayed to Muhammad. In fact it's now glaringly obvious you can be murdered in non-Muslim countries for doing this too!

Excellent observation

 

[LuisDantas]

20 million Muslims march against ISIS
ISIS is not Islamic. It is Satanic. If someone claimed to be a Christian and believed that Christ's values and Manson's were identical , would you call them a Christian? Of course not! ISIS hates Allah, Mohammed and the Koran!

ISIS is not well-accepted by most Muslims, and many of those who repudiate it claim that it is not Islamic at all.

To jump from that to say that it is "not Islamic" is perhaps understandable, but it does not help either the cause of truth nor that of good faith mutual understanding.

 

[LuisDantas]

I thought they believed in unlimited of gods, like god of cannabis, god of cocaine, god of mushrooms , etc..

I hope you realize how crude and disrespectful such a claim is.

You really could use better awareness of religions.

 

[LuisDantas]

In Russia we say "If you want peace, prepare for war."

I say that those who make a point of finding trouble are likely to succeed.

 

[J2hapydna]

If I understand the Qu'ran, there are imprecations toward peace but also calls to assault Jews, Christians and others until they are Muslim or pay the extortionist jizya (protection tax). We would have to say, "Islam is a religion of peace and of war/jihad until the whole world is Muslim (in submission)."

The interpretation of these verses in my opinion depends on how one chooses to understand the Quran. Islam is a Din or tradition - as such, an amalgamation of several closely related religions. It isn't a single religion.

As a westerner it might be hard to understand for you, but notice that Islam doesn't have a Pope; and has different sects such as Shia and Sunni that have different Hadith books. So islam is made of lots of religions. For example, The Ethiopian, Indian Sir Syedan deist and Shia Ismaili doesn't believe in the same Islamic history and laws as the orthodox Sunni or Hasan Ashari Shia etc

 

[LuisDantas]

Hindu people themselves I believe. They said they believed in unlimited of gods.

Maybe you misunderstood the doctrine of Advaita, that in rough terms claims that there is no essential difference between that which is divine and everything else?

 

[J2hapydna]

Did you know that the Catholic Crusaders also killed Orthodox Christians? I guess that means Catholics aren't Christians.

Good one

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Claiming that everyone has a natural instinct towards monotheism is very much at odds with observable facts from Anthropology. IIRC, those include that animism is far more frequent a natural trend than monotheism or even polytheism, and that about 10% of people are natural atheists.

Quite so. It also weakens the Muslim argument that Islam was the first religion practised by man. But with every new discovery made about Stone Age humans which lends support to the prevalence of shamanism & animism in Stone Age societies and contradicts the claim that monotheism came first, the date for when that 'first Islam' was practised is pushed further and further back into the mists of prehistory; indeed it's pushed further & further back on to other species of human.

 

[sovietchild]

I hope you realize how crude and disrespectful such a claim is.

You really could use better awareness of religions.

How is that disrespectful?

LMGTFY

 

[J2hapydna]

In the UK we say 'Violence only begets more violence'.

I think peaceful people around the world say this and agree with you. In the Quran, the story of the sons of Adam amply demonstrates an understanding of this principle by its author

 

[maremf]

Salm and Salam are the root words for the “Islam” which mean peace and tranquility. The importance of peace and tranquility has been pointed to in the Quran numerous times.

The Quran says: “But if the enemy shows a tendency to peace, do thou (also) show a tendency to peace…”

What is wrong with calling Islam religion of peace?

Perhaps because there is only peace if you convert to Islam (according to the Quran)

 

[icehorse]

Did you notice no one made reply to your questions? There are wealthy and powerful people who are constantly fomenting war in the world. They wish to keep us fighting against each other for religious, political or any other reasons they can use. Unfortunately, many, many people have fallen into this trap, being emotionally manipulated to violence.

My brothers and sisters, please wake up and work together, unite against this evil cabal who work against your best interests. Work for peace; work for the traditional moral values of your peoples they are trying to break down. Have faith in the God who has created all of us.

Here's a reply. Long before "the West" even existed, Muslims were bloody conquerers and in-fighters.

 

[sayak83]

Was my statement wrong?

Yes. Completely.

 

[Akivah]

Where did the attack originated from? Didn't western societies came to middle eastern for oil? Didn't they destroy country after country?

So your premise is that Muslims are a violent people, but it isn't their fault?

 

[sayak83]

The interpretation of these verses in my opinion depends on how one chooses to understand the Quran. Islam is a Din or tradition - as such, an amalgamation of several closely related religions. It isn't a single religion.

As a westerner it might be hard to understand for you, but notice that Islam doesn't have a Pope; and has different sects such as Shia and Sunni that have different Hadith books. So islam is made of lots of religions. For example, The Ethiopian, Indian Sir Syedan deist and Shia Ismaili doesn't believe in the same Islamic history and laws as the orthodox Sunni or Hasan Ashari Shia etc

Oh, everyone understands that. Christianity itself also does not have a pope, only one sect in it does. But the OP is created by a Muslim claiming that Islam as a whole is a religion of peace. This is simply not true for many large sects of Islam, and not true for major interpretive branches of Islam. How can Islam be considered a religion of peace when it does advocate both violence and war under many circumstances and the God it worships in turn often use violence in His acts? There are religions of peace....jainisim, buddhism, Amish etc. who completely and totally eschew violence and forbids it's practitioners from violence under any circumstance ( some even against animals). So , sorry, your religion does not qualify.