Is Islam violent and intolerant?

Tom123 wrote: peacemaker wrote: Assalamu Alaikum and hi everyone, Islam is not violent nor is it intolerant: "On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land." Qur'an 5:32  Couple of points as a reminder here, in general, and in particular relevant to this section: Discussions - Islam for non-Muslims Non-Muslims can ask questions about Islam, discussion for the purpose of learning is allowed but not debate. http://www.islamicity.com/forum/default.asp "There is no limit on questions one may ask or repeatedly ask to clarify a point about Islamic faith as long as the purpose is to seek knowledge about Islam. This is the place where only those who believe in Islamic faith and have proper knowledge on the subject should take part to answer, and those who can not positively contribute here should not take part." http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7684& ; ; ; ;PN=1 And then the guidelines in general: http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4589& ; ; ; ;PN=1 http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10453&am p;am p;am p;PN=1    Sorry, peacemaker. You are completely correct, I apologize for breaking the rules.    Cristo Vive!      - Tomasz

Hi Tom123, it was a general reminder, and it was not aimed at anyone, in particular. I appreciate your receptiveness.

May Allah guide us all.

Peace

Assalamu Alaikum and hi everyone,

Islam is not violent nor is it intolerant:

"On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land."

Qur'an 5:32 

Couple of points as a reminder here, in general, and in particular relevant to this section:

Discussions - Islam for non-Muslims
Non-Muslims can ask questions about Islam, discussion for the purpose of learning is allowed but not debate.

http://www.islamicity.com/forum/default.asp

http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4589& ; ;PN=1

http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10453&am p;PN=1

Rezz wrote: I don't wish to insult anyone, I'm here to try to learn. This Website describes Islam as "a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness". However, I have just finished reading a book, which appears to demonstrate that Islam is fundamentally an intolerant and violent ideology. The book relies on and quotes only accepted Islamic texts such as the Qu'ran, Hadith and Sunna. It also argues (convincingly in my opinion) that Muhammad was a warlord and bandit who preached violence, ordered the assassinations of his enemies, and used his "divine revelations" for his personal self-aggrandizement. I have checked the Islamic sources quoted in the book in own Qu'ran and on the Internet and found them to be accurate. Further more, I recently had a discussion with a highly religious Muslim on flight from Moscow to the Middle East and was concerned with some of his views concerning the killing of apostates, cartoonists, Israelis, Salman Rushdie, infidels etc. I've also looked at some of the posts on these discussion forums and concluded that many seem to point more towards a belief in violence, cruelty and hate, than in "peace, mercy, and forgiveness". I look at the violent actions of so many Muslims in the world today and wonder whether their actions are the result of their religion. Are there any books I can read that can convince me that Islam really is "a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness"?

Hi Rezz,

   Islam is not a violent religion. Muhammad did indeed use violence against his enemies, but keep in mind that they too used violence against him and Muslims. The Arab pagans and Jewish tribes who early Muslims fought were trying to wipe out the Muslims. It's not like they were innocent victims of 'terrorism', they had a lot of blood on their hands. Muhammad usually showed mercy to his enemies, and I've never heard of his fighters slaughtering women or children. The pagan Arabs he was fighting were sacrificing children on their altars and they did kill civilians.  

    Terrorists are people who murder civilians. Neither Muhammad or his soldiers did that. In one incident they did kill all male POWs of a Jewish tribe after a battle, after a verdict was passed by their own tribal leaders. I do believe this was wrong, but this was not an example of terrorism. The men who were killed were captured fighters. Aside from this incident, I have not heard of Muhammad ordering killings of unarmed people. In his place, his enemies would have almost certainly killed the women and children as well. In most cases, Muhammad allowed captured POWs to live. His enemies did not. From what I know about Muhammad, I do believe he certainly fought a �clean war� against his enemies, who were trying to kill his people- civilians as well as soldiers.

    Muhammad did certainly believe in God and genuinely wanted to serve Him. Although he was mistaken about certain things (the nature of Jesus, denial of His crucifixion, etc) he also did say many correct things about God (that there is only one God, that adultery is wrong etc) and was a much more ethical person than others in his time.

 Although he was not a terrorist, I do not believe that Muhammad�s answer to his enemies was the correct one. Jesus teaches that violence is wrong and He commanded His followers to love their enemies. Neither He nor His disciples raised swords against the people who mocked, arrested, beat and eventually murdered them. In spite of this, the Christian faith spread across the Roman Empire. The heretical �just war� theory was not adopted until the 4^th century. Many church leaders really went astray and for the next few centuries churches used Christianity as an excuse to conquer, invade, plunder, torture and murder millions of people. Look at what happened during the Crusades, the Inquisition, the genocide in the Americas. Some still advocate warfare and bloodshed, like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. But you cannot argue that these people were following the Bible. Jesus made it very clear that we are to love our enemies, help the poor, and work for justice and peace. Although God did allow violence in the Old Testament, He made it clear through Jesus that this is not the case anymore. So-called �christians� who spill innocent blood (or anyone�s blood for that matter) are not followers of Christ and do not represent Christianity. Likewise is the case with so-called �muslims� who strap bombs to themselves and murder civilians or destroy villages and murder innocent men, women and children. The perpetrators of the genocide in East Timor or the 9-11 attacks were not following Islam.

 Islam is not a terrorist religion. When it comes to violence, Muslims are allowed to defend themselves when attacked but are to only kill people who are trying to kill them. That is not terrorism, that is warfare in self-defence and limited to only taking the fight to the enemy. Islam allows violence in self defence only. Christianity on the other hand does not allow for violence at all, but instead commands love for enemies and forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Christ died praying for the people who were crucifying Him, and His apostles too chose not to hate or hurt anyone, even as they were being persecuted. This is one of the many reasons why I choose Him and Him alone as my Saviour and Lord.

   Cristo Vive!

       - Tomasz