Is Islam A Religion of Peace?

[Piling]

The near-three-year-old civil war in Syria has killed more than 100,000 people. It has also caused a refugee crisis, resulting in the displacement of millions of people.

For many, the conflict appears like a religious war between the Sunnis and the Alawites, who are an offshoot of Shia Islam. Almost all Sunni countries support Sunni-dominated rebels, while Shiite-led nations and groups such as Iran, Iraq, and Hizbollah support and aid the Allawite regime of President Bashar al-Assad. External support has only intensified the conflict, resulting in more bloodshed and deaths of more civilians. Every side of the conflict argues that Allah or God is on their side.

The intensification of conflicts in the Muslim world has prompted many to ask a more fundamental question: Is Islam a religion of peace? Critics of Islam may say there’s no point in asking such a question: just look at all the killings and suicide attacks Muslims carry out across the globe. The answer is clear. Supporters of Islam may say it’s utterly offensive to blame an entire faith for the actions of a small group of Muslims? Can we blame Christianity as a religion for the conflicts of the medieval ages or more recently the genocide in Rwanda?

To debate whether Islam is a religion of peace, Rudaw's Namo Abdulla talks to:

Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Director of Interfaith & Community Alliances at Islamic Society of North America.
And Dr. David Wurmser, a Middle East expert who served as an advisor to former Vice President Dick Cheney.

http://rudaw.net/english/world/29122013 ... pHWDY.dpuf

[Anthea]

There is NO one true religion

All religions have good and bad points - the worst point being the indoctrination of it's followers

NO religion tells it's followers to kill and destroy

Those who kill are evil - has absolutely NOTHING to do with religion

Those who kill while screaming out praises to God or Allah are MAD

As "God created everything" does anyone think that destroying any of Gods creations would make God happy

[talsor]

Majority of humans have an IQ of a monkey or less , that is why the so called religions have survived for this long . To answer your question , No Islam is not a religion of peace , Christianity is not a religion or peace , Judaism is not a religion of peace . Personally ,I would go for Buddhism as the most peaceful religion .

[Shirko]

Majority of humans have an IQ of a monkey or less , that is why the so called religions have survived for this long . To answer your question , No Islam is not a religion of peace , Christianity is not a religion or peace , Judaism is not a religion of peace . Personally ,I would go for Buddhism as the most peaceful religion .

Yeah right, Athiest aren't that smart either, they have no beliefs. How can you look up to the sky, or observe nature, and not be able to see that there must be a higher being that is beyond our capability to understand. And religions are just a way to help people connect with the supreme being. Sure religious ca. Be abused, and many believers are just like sheep, but that is why they need guidenace in there lives.

Even Einstein was not an Athiest, he believed in a God:

"Einstein used many labels to describe his religious views, including "agnostic"[3] "religious nonbeliever"[4] and a "pantheistic"[5] believer in "Spinoza's God."[6]"

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_E ... ious_views

Heval Talsor, you must of had a bad day or something, because you are usually not this abrasive.

I'm not even that religious, I don't have proof. Some of it is just a feeling, some of it just hope and wishful thinking, but it something and that's always better than nothing. And did you ever even bother to pick up the Quran or the bibles?

[Londoner]

Majority of humans have an IQ of a monkey or less , that is why the so called religions have survived for this long . To answer your question , No Islam is not a religion of peace , Christianity is not a religion or peace , Judaism is not a religion of peace . Personally ,I would go for Buddhism as the most peaceful religion .

Buddhism is not a faith or religion. It is a principle to promote body and mind. It doesn't indoctrinate like religion. It makes you free to think free without fear. Consequently it creates a mind and body of iron. It was this body and mind of iron, which Americans couldn't defeat during Vietnam War. Vietnamese adhere to a form of Budhism.

This has nothing to do with IQ, this has something to do with chemicals in our brain. When these chemicals established within a cultural environment from childhood, they can not be eradicated easily especially when these chemicals have ideological, religious, roots.

[Shirko]

Majority of humans have an IQ of a monkey or less , that is why the so called religions have survived for this long . To answer your question , No Islam is not a religion of peace , Christianity is not a religion or peace , Judaism is not a religion of peace . Personally ,I would go for Buddhism as the most peaceful religion .

Buddhism is not a faith or religion. It is a principle to promote body and mind. It doesn't indoctrinate like religion. It makes you free to think free without fear. Consequently it creates a mind and body of iron. It was this body and mind of iron, which Americans couldn't defeat during Vietnam War. Vietnamese adhere to a form of Budhism.

This has nothing to do with IQ, this has something to do with chemicals in our brain. When these chemicals established within a cultural environment from childhood, they can not be eradicated easily especially when these chemicals have ideological, religious, roots.

We should learn all the various philosophies and religions, they are all good and beneficial.

And I agree with you regarding the Brain and cultural environment.

Some people just don't have an imagination, and anything is possible even time travel.

Whats so hard about believing in the story of the two giants who fell from the heavens, and who lived for many centuries to colonize earth . And the aliens made of light energy who travel through space and time to fullil specific tasks.

[Piling]

If we consider how various religions are dealing with pacifism, war and self-defense, we can see differences.

Judaism : In Ancient Testament, Law allows/praises war to defend Israeli Kingdom from any non-jewish invaders and Bible is full of great massacres. So in theory, Jews should have perpetrated the biggest number of genocides.

It was not the case : they were a persecuted or inferior minority in all the world (the current Israeli State is not ruled by Judaic laws but secular policy).

Christianity : Jesus was very clear concerning violence and war : it is absolutely forbidden, even for saving its own life. In the same way, there should not be Christian tribunals because he told to forgive all offenses and never complain to judges. There should not have been even a Christian state, because he told to not care of policy and political power.

But when Roman empire adopted Christianity, former persecuted Christians became the persecutors toward other cults. Saint Augustine forged the concept of 'Holy War' (war is allowed to defend Christianity), capital punishment was tolerated, and of course during history, Christian empires were at the origin of many persecutions and genocides, not because they were Christians but because they had the power.

Islam : it takes the median position between Judaism and Christianism : war is allowed for self defense and it adopts the concept of Holy War/ Jihad (which was invented not by a Muslim but by Christians as we have seen).

Was Islam more violent than Christianity ? Not at all, and it was even more tolerant concerning other religions but if Jews and Christians accepted an inferior status. And this is still a problem in Muslim societies.

Buddhism : Like Christ, Buddha prohibited all forms of violence, even against animals. It did not prevent many Buddhist societies to make war and accept capital punishment : Chinese people were mostly Buddhist (even if State was officially Confucianist), Japanese culture is half Buddhist half Shintoist and it was one of the big criminal State during the 2nd WW, and nowadays Burmese State is not particularly 'kind' with its Muslim minority…


So we can conclude that any opinion, religious or political, is a murdering tool in the hands of people who are persuaded to hold the truth against all others. If we look at 'secular faith' like Nazism and Marxism we can see that nazism was the worst belief, based on slavery, genocides and racism. At the contrary, Communism was, at its origin, a sort of laical Christianity, hoping in Brotherhood, sharing of goods and money, defense of poor people etc. It did not prevent that ideology to be one of the most murderous one during 20th century, not better than Nazism.

In the same way, the most archaic and intolerant religion or belief becomes harmless in an indifferent and democratic society in which it lost all power.

What we can observe everywhere is that religions are slowly vanishing except in extremist and hard winged circles. It does not mean that Atheism is the winner. At the contrary. People need more and more spirituality but out of religious institutions (Churches, temple or mosques), without priests/mollahs/lamas and without 'Sacred Book of Laws/Gods' Words' that are now archaic and reflect only Ancient Societies's mind.

Nowadays, Jihadism and Salafism shows an ugly movement inside Islam, but it is very marginal. The main reproach that we can make to Islam is its lack of tolerance concerning freedom of opinion and cults : It is difficult to live as an atheist in Muslim societies or to change its own religion.

At the contrary, in Western countries you can be what you want, not because Christians are tolerant but because Clerics have lost all political power. So a religion begins to be acceptable in a democratic society when it has no power, that is a fact.

So my conviction is that all religions are dying now, and new spiritualities are growing, but we know nothing about their future.

[Anthea]

We should learn all the various philosophies and religions, they are all good and beneficial.

And I agree with you regarding the Brain and cultural environment.

Some people just don't have an imagination, and anything is possible even time travel.

Whats so hard about believing in the story of the two giants who fell from the heavens, and who lived for many centuries to colonize earth . And the aliens made of light energy who travel through space and time to fullil specific tasks.

I had a mixed upbringing - I grew up with the knowledge that humans are not the only intelligent beings in the universe - I have been psychic since birth - my grandfather was a leader in the Spiritualist movement - my father was a Druid - and I studied to be a deaconess (sort of lady vicar) - I am a seer and witch - I believe all life to be sacred

I have also studied a great many religions and philosophies - over the years my friends have included Muslim clerics - Hindus - Buddhists - even an extremely powerful Jamaican Obeah man

I have learnt that there is NO right or wrong way to worship - the Zoroastrians put in in very simple terms:



Islam - Judaism - Christianity - all three are based on Zoroastrianism

“In pursuit of money, man descends to the level of the beast. Money is of the nature of manure. Piled up in one place, it pollutes the air. Spread it wide; scatter it over fields; it rewards you with a bumper harvest.”

“One, who earns leadership of the masses by working ceaselessly for people's welfare finally realizes that he has been rewarded with many added advantages. ”

[Piling]

Zoroastrism was a very unfair religion, with a cast system, as in Hinduism, and in which women were impure and inferior

Here we could read what is remained Sacred Book Avesta (most are fragments) :

http://www.avesta.org/mp/shayest.html

[Anthea]

Zoroastrism was a very unfair religion, with a cast system, as in Hinduism, and in which women were impure and inferior

Here we could read what is remained Sacred Book Avesta (most are fragments) :

http://www.avesta.org/mp/shayest.html

I have yet to find a religion which treats men and women equally

Unfortunately most religions were started by men - perhaps it is time for women to start a religion - people refer to MOTHER earth and MOTHER nature - all that is good and kind is deemed to be FEMALE

DO WHAT YOU WILL SAVE THAT IT HURT NONE

[Piling]

I have yet to find a religion which treats men and women equally

Until now it has never been existed because societies and cultures were ALL unequals : men vs women, free citizen vs slaves, dominant religion vs minorities etc.

Our world is changing slowly : 19th century was the time of 'all humans born free and with the same rights, and it is far to be achieved in 21st ; 20th the century of 'men and women are equals in rights' and it is far to be exact now…

Perhaps 21st century will be the time of 'Animals and Nature deserve respect, compassion and kind treatment as in Buddhism.

If we see what could be saved from old religions to a new era, I would say most of Jesus and Buddha lessons have a future concerning absolute non-violence, like Gandhi's life but both teaching have to admit that women can be religious guides also.

According to that new equality, Dalai Lama told recently that he sees no inconvenient if the next Dalai Lama would be a woman : "The next Dalai Lama will be my own reincarnation, so I would enjoy to reborn as a beautiful Lady !"

Religions which needs a strict obedience to rules and laws, like judaism and islam, are less easy to mix with modern life, but sufism has a great potential as a spiritual path. Because of Salafists many Westerners think that Islam is a religion of fanatics but Mewlana Rumi, for example, is admired as a real teacher of Love and Light.

Nowadays we see also a revival of ancient spiritualities like Shamanism and all the cults from Indigenous people. It can seem a paradoxe to come back to Primitive Cults but Ecology and Green Revolution and the need to protect Earth from human's destructions can explain it.

[Anthea]

Exactly what we need - more love and light - less guns and greed

A woman bakes a wonderful cake for her husband - her husband returns home and praises her for making such a wonderful cake - then smashes the cake up while shouting out how much he loves her and all that she has made - woman would know her husband to be mad

So it is with God - this is a beautiful planet filled will wonderful plants and creatures - the innocent children - to praise God while destroying what God has created is MADNESS - if there is a heaven and a hell (not my own belief) - then surely those who kill and destroy will be going to a much warmer place

If anyone believes that God/Allah wishes them to kill and destroy - then the God they worship is NOT the God of Love and Light - these people worship SATAN

[Piling]

In Islam, war against ennemies is called 'Jihad' but 'Little Jihad'.

Fighting against its own mistakes and sins is the Great Jihad. The meaning is "instead of focusing on your neighbor's faults, get rid yourself of the Satan who is in your heart and when you'll be perfect you could explain to people what is the best way for life, not before !"

Today violent Salafists (there is another branch which is against violence), Jihadist, Al Qaeda, Hizbullah etc., only practice the 'Little Jihad'. And as they are busy 24h/24h to attack others' beliefs, let's imagine how Satan should be well fed and healthy in their hearts !

[Shirko]

[Shirko]