the Qur'an and peace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Edited by abuayisha - 17 March 2013 at 7:32pm

Caring heart you are going too far now. If you are really happy about your religion and content you sure would not be here to create m mischief. But please do know that what you are trying is not working ad in here we don't like hypocrites like your self.

These are just a few examples found at "searchtruth.com":


And make not Allah's (name) an excuse in your oaths against doing good, or acting rightly, or making peace between persons; for Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth all things.
( سورة البقرة , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #224)

Except those who join a group between whom and you there is a treaty (of peace), or those who approach you with hearts restraining them from fighting you as well as fighting their own people. If Allah had pleased, He could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you: Therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and (instead) send you (Guarantees of) peace, then Allah Hath opened no way for you (to war against them).
( سورة النساء , An-Nisa, Chapter #4, Verse #90)

Wherewith Allah guideth all who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leadeth them out of darkness, by His will, unto the light,- guideth them to a path that is straight.
( سورة المائدة , Al-Maeda, Chapter #5, Verse #16)

When those come to thee who believe in Our signs, Say: "peace be on you: Your Lord hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) mercy: verily, if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented, and amend (his conduct), lo! He is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
( سورة الأنعام , Al-Anaam, Chapter #6, Verse #54)

etc

etc

Every educated Muslim knows that the Quran contains both messages of peace and messages of violence. The same applies to the Sunnah. The Bible also contains messages of peace and violence.

Messages of violence lead to acts such as the Boston Marathon bombing. Caringheart posted a valid question.

In my opinion, we need to take a deeper look at the root causes of terrorist acts such as the Boston Marathon bombing, and when we do this we are facing an inconvenient truth, which Irshad Manji calls 'the trouble with Islam today'. In the modern Western world, almost all liberals, but also many conservatives, reject this inconvenient truth out of fear of political incorrectness. By doing so we confuse multiculturalism with blind multiculturalism. I've created a list of key messages presented in Irshad Manji's two books to make it clear of what I think is going wrong. She is a Muslim journalist and wrote her two books with the help of Islamic scholars. Here are her messages:

- the trouble with Islam today is that literalism is going mainstream, worldwide
- mainstream Islam is in urgent need of reform
- in mainstream Islam peace has to replace conformity as priority number one
- Islamic identity purists fear individuality
- the Muslim world needs education, not indoctrination
- only free societies allow for the reinvention of the self and the evolution of faiths
- we need pluralism of nonviolent ideas everywhere
- introspection is necessary when things go wrong
- Islamism is the political part of Islam that advocates cruelty and discrimination
- most mainstream Muslims don't dare to differ with their theocrats
- peace-loving mainstream Muslims have to snap out of denial and find the courage to speak out
- peace-loving mainstream Muslims must demand a sharia-free and fatwa-free world
- most mainstream Muslims were more offended by the Danish cartoons than by the riots and killings that occurred afterwards and this should be seen as a scandal
- the perceived consistency of holy texts is an illusion
- there is no such thing as perfect scripture
- the stubborn streak of anti-Semitism in Islam is a fact that has to be acknowledged
- the Quran needs an interpretation that works in the 21st century
- men don't have a monopoly of interpreting the Quran
- the Quran has three times as many verses urging Muslims to think than verses promoting blind worship
- tribal customs should not be confused with faith
- Islam has not conquered Arab culture, Arab culture has conquered Islam
- cultures are man-made and there is nothing sacred about culture; only good cultural practices should survive
- adherence to 7th-century Islam is destroying the Muslims' capacity for growth
- human rights violating cultures posing as sacred religions don't deserve rights
- the goal of Islamism is replacing democracy with a totalitarian system
- people who want to defend democracy should fear both militant and non-militant Islamism
- many non-Muslims in the West don't criticize Islamic ideas and Islamic cultures, because they are afraid of appearing intolerant towards Muslims
- the term Islamophobia was invented to silence valid criticism; fear of Islamism is real and justified and it is not a mental illness
- family loyalty and the idea of honor is one of the main obstacles in Muslim communities
- moderate Muslims can ardently assure non-Muslims that Islam goes hand in glove with freedom, but until moderates behave as if it does, non-Muslims have a right to challenge this view

Here's a longer quote from Manji's book "Allah, Liberty and Love" from page 191. The key to ending Islamic terrorism are mainstream Muslims - and the role of non-Muslims is to challenge mainstream Muslims if necessary. If mainstream Muslims don't change their attitude and mindset, the list of terrorists acts such as New York, Washington, London, Madrid, Beslan and now Boston will continue to grow. There will be more crimes like these, committed by people either linked to global terrorist networks or changed by self radicalization with the use of the Internet watching YouTube videos created by preachers of hatred. Here is the quote:

"Moderate Muslims blanch at the thought of exploring their religion's role in terrorist strife. They deplore violence committed in Islam's name, but reflexively recite that Islam has nothing to do with it. In their denial, moderate Muslims cede responsibility for interpretation, effectively terrorists-in-waiting: 'You guys get to walk away with the show. We're not going to come back at you with bold and competing reinterpretations. Because if we did, we'd be accepting that religion has something to do with the violence. Since Islam is perfect, we can't go there.'
Islam is what Muslims make it. Just as Christians and Jews have reinterpreted the troubling passages of their scriptures for new centuries, Muslims have to do likewise. That's not rewriting the Quran. It's updating interpretations of existing words. Islamo-tribalists may decree their interpretations as the only true ones, but their arrogance breaches the Quran's unambiguous reminder that God alone has the full truth, and it dupes too many of us into believing that just one approach can hold water. For both reasons, reinterpretation is a noble endeavor. All the more when certain verses are cited to service killing sprees.

We need people like Irshad Manji to create a more peaceful future in a globalized world. We need to help her spread the message, like MCLA did, which is part of the Massachusetts State University system. Manji seeks to empower non-Muslims to support Islamic reform in ways that bring out the best in all, see

http://www.mcla.edu/news/internationalbestsellingauthorirshadmanjitospeakatmcla_880/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irshad_Manji

Arresting terrorists is only a first step. We also need to become more creative to make future terror acts less likely, both by improving security and by engaging in an intelligent debate even if it makes some of us uncomfortable.



Edited by Matt Browne - 20 April 2013 at 3:51am