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Is Islam a religion of peace , or is it inherently violent ?

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  • Is Islam a religion of peace , or is it inherently violent ?

    For a very long time now ( at least seventeen years , which is my entire lifespan ) , the liberals in the USA , in India ( where I live ) and the makers of textbooks have repeatedly claimed that Islam is essentially a religion of peace .

    It is my belief that history textbooks should not have any bias , and that all important events should be chronicled impartially and with accordance with the facts known at the time . This is why I find repulsive the censorship by the liberal textbook-makers of anything that does not fit with the spin they give to the textbook .

    Again and again , with the same old phrases , have I heard the assertion that Islam is a religion of peace . And have not recieved a shred of proof to support this claim . When I enquired about how many were killed during the Crusades , I found the statistics wanting . This , in the same textbook which cites the statistics and even methods used by the Nazis for executing prisoners .

    When we studied the Vijaynagar empire of Central India , we were told of its great prosperity and strength . It's decline was attributed to decay and the erosion of its greatest institutions . I learnt the real cause on Wikipedia - that an army of THREE neighbouring Muslim states ( much bigger in terms of land area ) defeated the Vijaynagaran army on the plain of Talikota , and that they proceeded to completely loot , raze , and depopulate the city over a period of time . This , to a city which compared favourably with the best cities in Europe at the time . The only thing that remain are huge ruins , covering hundreds of acres . Not even a village to mark the final place of death of what was arguably the world's greatest city at the time .

    The multiple instances of Muslim intolerance and barbarism when engaged in conquest came home to me only when I read a book by a rather prominent Muslim historian , M.J. Akbar ( called "The Shade of Swords" , which explores jihad through the ages ) .



    I have no objection to teachings which are essentially tolerant , but deliberately ignoring the facts of history is unethical and deserves condemnation .











    Back to the point , who here thinks that Islam is essentially a peaceful religion ( please do not base this on the bahaviour of your Muslim friends , the tempering influence of Western civilisation cannot be ignored , and the Muslims who chose to historically leave their homelands were nto the average ) , or an inherently violent one , please state why you think so and what should be done about the glossing over of historical Muslim atrocities in the education system .

  • #2
    I'd say it is inherently religious.
    Blah

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    • #3
      for a religion thats 1400 years old, and has stretched over lands from Morocco to Indonesia, and Bosnia to Nigeria, ANY generalization is likely to be wrong.
      "A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber

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      • #4
        Here I use the Quran as the ultimate reference , not only history . So if a thing is in the Quran , it is taken to be a part of Islam . The orthodox Quran , that is .

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        • #5
          all religions get manipulated by secular goals. Many of the highest religious leaders of all major religions have at one time or another been corrupt, awful people.

          For example, several Popes during the early to middle ages were essentially warmongering Kings bent on conquering and destruction of rival nation states.
          Haven't been here for ages....

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          • #6
            Originally posted by aneeshm
            Here I use the Quran as the ultimate reference , not only history . So if a thing is in the Quran , it is taken to be a part of Islam . The orthodox Quran , that is .
            as someone who follows a text based tradition (Judaism, in my case) i dont think you can judge a religion by sitting and down and reading its core text, without taking into account how that text has been interpretated at different times and places. Ive seen too many people read the Hebrew bible, and then attacked a "Judaism" they found there, that bears no resemblance to any Judaism Ive ever seen. Religions are living entities, even when based on texts, and NO text has meaning without interpretation. And theres no reason to privilege so-called "literal" interpretations.
            "A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber

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            • #7
              Islam is a peaceful religion overall. But several interpretations of Islam are not at all peaceful.
              I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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              • #8
                All religions are inherently violent.

                Religions

                Islam
                urgh.NSFW

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Azazel
                  All religions are inherently violent.

                  Religions

                  Islam
                  good point. They tend to be exclusive and demonize, sometimes literally, "the opposition".

                  I find it interesting hearing one religious group attacking another for being a cult. How do they define a "cult" again????
                  Haven't been here for ages....

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                  • #10
                    The history books aren't talking about that, atleast in the US, because they are too focused on the US itself. World history is sorely lacking in US lesson plans(some of it, sanitized however, is in the book itself).

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                    • #11
                      IMO, anytime religion is used as a basis for government the power that is obtained by the ruling class is so great that it corupts. Thus, while the religion in of itself can peaceful it's application as a means to control will be faced with scrutiny from those it is meant to govern.
                      Monkey!!!

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Azazel
                        All religions are inherently violent.

                        Religions

                        Islam
                        One could say that people are inherently violent. People



                        -Arrian
                        grog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!

                        The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.

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                        • #13
                          Where did you see me saying that violence is always bad?
                          urgh.NSFW

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                          • #14
                            Let me rephrase the question a little - is Islam principally violent ?

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                            • #15
                              is Islam principally violent ?
                              Yes, but so is christianity. Some of the crap they want me to do ppl is nuts!
                              Monkey!!!

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