Monday, November 10, 2008

Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

If this site is correct, the answer has to be no. See also this.

7 comments:

Jim Jordan said...

While Islam certainly doesn't deserve to be called a religion of peace, the website you linked to is a little slim on source data, which gives it a propaganda feel. Nothing beats getting a Qur'an and Hadiths and reading them yourself.

Victor Reppert said...

How hermeneutics goes for Muslims is the big question for me.

Mike Darus said...

I think not so peaceful.
From a Muslim Q & A Site:

Killing non Muslims

I've read that in Islam it is a greater sin to kill a Muslim than a non-Muslim. However, on death a Muslim will be in Paradise whereas the non-Muslim will be in Hell.To kill a non-Muslim is to deny them forever the chance of becoming a Muslim, and condemns them to Hell. Is this not then a greater sin?


Praise be to Allaah.

Killing a non-Muslim when he is a mu’aahid (one of those who have a peace treaty with the Muslims) is a sin, one of the major sins. Al-Bukhaari narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever kills a mu’aahid will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, even though its fragrance may detected from a distance of forty days.’” But with regard to non-Muslims who are at war with the Muslims and do not have a peace treaty with the Muslims or are not living under Muslim rule, then Muslims are commanded to kill them, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you” [al-Tawbah 9:123]

But this should be in the case of jihaad under the leadership of one of the leaders of the Muslims, or his deputy.



Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr .

http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/11406

Mike Darus said...

This fatwa is a little more to the point:
http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/21757

Peace when possible but push back when you are able.

Anonymous said...

Are we allowing criticism of religion based on moral intuitions? While I think it's clearly legitimate, I'm not sure Christians want to go that way. It might come back to bite you.

IlĂ­on said...

J.J.: "While Islam certainly doesn't deserve to be called a religion of peace, the website you linked to is a little slim on source data, which gives it a propaganda feel. Nothing beats getting a Qur'an and Hadiths and reading them yourself."

Oddly, in only a few minutes of looking at the site, I found links to direct quotations from the Q'u'r'a'n and Hadiths used to back-up their claims about Islam.


Some silly Anonymouse or other: "Are we allowing criticism of religion based on moral intuitions? While I think it's clearly legitimate, I'm not sure Christians want to go that way. It might come back to bite you."

*dramatic eye-roll*

Anonymous said...

Even if it's not, I don't see a great vantage point here to deem Christianity more legitimate than Islam on the basis of violence encouraged. Their presuppositions make Allah's will absolute and good, so to say that it's evil to kill non-muslims is already presupposing the falsity of Allah's good-will. They'd reply saying that we're using different bases of morals and thus presupposing ours to be somehow superior than theirs.