Is Islam a Peaceful Religion?

[daisydots]

Jermosh:

Yes you did hear me correctly. Terrorism is the act of changing political governing agendas by sending indiscriminate small attacks on a small amount civilians with little technoligy or effort and is run by political activist civilian group. Desimating a town is a act of war, it envolves a army of some sort.

Your 2nd example can be reversed to what Christians did to the new world, or even europe. Millions were killed by Christian groups trying to get gold for “God and State”. Mind explaining the differance?

Yes you will never find a shread of peaceful islam in the middle east. Go to Morroco, Turkey, Indonesia and you will.

Peace to you, too, Jermosh. It certainly was baptised Catholic Christians, for the most part, who went to the New World when it was first discovered. Their aspirations were political and economic - that was the thinking of the time - and the devout among them probably did think that what they did was for the glory of God. I personally believe that the extinction of people who practice human sacrifices is a good thing! Having said that, there are thousands of documents of the time that prove how much the CATHOLIC CHURCH was dismayed, and tried her best (remember, communication was not the instant event that it is today), to prevent inhumane treatment, enslavement, etc, of the indigenous tribes. The Church and the missionaries she sent out were ignored, alas, and many priests were killed as they tried to bring the Gospel into these new lands in peaceful ways. *If you know of villages or towns in the NW where the people were forcefully converted to Christianity by individual army leaders, I would be glad of the info. (Names and dates please). However, it would not have been CHURCH POLICY, and that for me is the most important difference between Islam and Catholicism. *

The peace you mention in Turkey is a false peace, for although Christians are not openly killed for their faith today, and the Turkish law states they have freedom of religion, in practice there is constant pressure on them to leave Turkey or to convert to Islam. This is achieved at local Govt level by refusing permission to repair old churches, church halls and church schools, and refusing permission to build new ones and by descrimation at work. I do not know about the situation in Morocco and Algeria so I cannot comment on those countries. Info about the situation of Christians in Turkey is available through ***Aid to the Church In Need, ***a Catholic internationally known charity. God bless you.

 

[BulldogCath]

That was excellent, I agree with you, you really hit it on the head and with history and life experiences to boot. North Africa, if you read any book on the history of the Mass, was actually one of the most loyal Christian groups, loyal to Rome, and was eventually decimated over time by the Moslems. All we hear about is the Crusades, but they were a last resort as it was to the point Catholics were being killed and enslaved by the Moslems when we were visiting the holy land.

We need to get off this guilt trip like we were so bad, we have been treated a lot worse through history by the Jews and Moslems in particular

daisydots:

Have I understood you correctly? Are you saying that to decimate a town/nation is not terrorism??? The people of Italy lived for centuries in terror of the waves of Saracens (their name for Muslims) who would periodically come over from North Africa!

North Africa was once Catholic, and its peoples were gradually islamicised through terror: that is, a) they converted because threatened with death by invading Arab armies unless they converted or b) those who refused conversion were killed and their children taken on as slaves or **c) **they fled to other countries in order to save themselves and their Faith or **d) **they converted through despair under the more “moderate” invaders, who allowed them to practice Christianity so long as new churches were not built and existing churches could not be repaired, and they were not able to obtain work other than menial jobs, (except with rare exceptions; I have read that Suleman the Great employed a few Christians in responsible positions). Today, in Turkey, the old psychological torture of not allowing new churches to be built nor existing ones repaired continues, and in Saudi Arabia no churches have been built since Islam arrived there.

I have read more than once that converted Muslims say the original Arabic is more explicitly violent towards non-Muslims and that scholars deliberately change the meanings in order to deceive others - though the scholars do not see their actions as deception, but self-defense, for the Koran clearly states that Muslims do not lie when they “lie” to a non-Muslim for no sin has been committed. When I read this phrase with my own eyes, I realised I could never fully trust a muslim, never, not even one who seemed to be good. When, from the mouth of the second in command of the UN on the TV, I heard of the scandalously low sums of money offered by the muslim nations to the peoples devastated by the tsunami, I was not surprised.

I lived in Saudi for eleven years, I have read the Koran and books that try to explain Islam from many points of view. As far as I am concerned, if a religion is from God, it will consistently teach brotherly love, charity, etc., etc. The Koran is not consistent. Muslims will permit a Christian to criticise the Koran, supposedly God’s Word, but will kill the same Christian for criticising Mohammed, a mere man! Is that consistency? Why would God have sent the Angel Gabriel to Mary to announce the birth of the Messiah through her, and then send the same angel to Mohammed 700 years later with a totally different version of Christ’s life? More inconsistency.

If the Koran is the third and last testament, as Muslims insist, it ought to quote the Old and New Testaments just as they are, but it changes them completely in the few passages where they are mentioned. In so doing, does it not therefore imply that the previous books are untrue? Hardly a peace-bearing attitude.

 

[Cubsfan]

BulldogCath:

…

But, it must and should be said, that the Moslems have a very good reason for hating the West and our undying support of Israel. Here we are a country that is at war for terrorism, and we support Israel, who after WWII with the flag of Zionism, were terrorists themselves, killing and bombing the British and Palestinians, and then, with American , British and French support, allowed them to throw out the Palestinians off the land they held since the year 70AD. How can you not expect them to be hateful? And for what reason, to support Israel where the Christian population has dwindled and where radical Orthodox jews call for the death of all non-Jews?

The problem of Islam predates the founding of the Modern State of Isreal by about 1400 years. The mission of Islam is to convert the world to Islam. The mission of the Catholic Church is to preach the gospel to the whole world. The inability to convert people through missionary work forces the muslim to use force. Therein lies the true problem.

 

[Argh]

Maybe this has been said before, but I couldnt stand reading more after a while.

Here’s my (name removed by moderator)ut:

1. Despite what many Muslims claim, the Quran is also an interpretation of God’s word. Just as the Bible is (I’m gonna get yelled at probly for that). Muhammad the prophet was illiterate, he never wrote a word of the Quran and in fact (I believe) forbade early Muslims from writing anything he said down in fear of misinterpretation. The Quran was actually compiled long, long after Muhammad’s death by various people with various “political” ambitions (like the Bible).
2. You NEVER hear about the many imams out there desperately fighting (ha, pun) against militant Islam. During the trial of one of the Bali bombers, a group of clerics (I believe from around the world) came in and denounced the bomber as a defamer of Islam. Why? It sells, fear sells, and sells very well.
3. The word “Kaffir” is INCREDIBLY vulgar and banned from use in S. Africa.
4. Of the dozen or so foreign Muslims I’ve met and conversed with at college, none of them hate America (obviously) but they all tell me there are as many ignorant and prejudice Muslims in their native countries as there are ignorant and prejudice Americans here. I remember a couple co-workers at my part-time job talking about how America should just nuke the entire Middle East. You wonder why many Muslims think America is out to kill them…
5. Muhammad the prophet tried to improve womens status in society. Apparently no one knows the rest of the passage about polygamy saying but if you cant love more than one wife, dont have another. I believe the Holy Father (hope he pulls through) somewhat recently stated that men and women were created differently and really arent equal in every and all respects. This is generally what Muslims believe. How strictly they enforce it varies widely from Taliban to no headscarf wearing at all.

-Sorry if I seem pretentious.

 

[wcknight]

After the Inquisition, the Crusades, and Ireland, one may also want to ask is Christianity a peaceful religion ?

Yes, I know people use religion all the time to forward their own agenda. One has to get down to the nitty gritty to really find out what they are “supposed to be” teaching, just as one needs to find out what Christians are supposed to be teaching.

Christ certainly did not tell his followers to massacre the muslims in the Holy Land, or to guillotine all heretics in the Inquisition.

IF you read some of the accounts (even the Christians authored accounts) of the Crusades, the Muslims acted more Christian-like than the Christians did. Not that I am promoting Islam, but there is enough bad blood to go around all sides of the debate. Christ’s Peace - Wes

 

[Cubsfan]

wcknight:

After the Inquisition, the Crusades, and Ireland, one may also want to ask is Christianity a peaceful religion ?

Yes, I know people use religion all the time to forward their own agenda. One has to get down to the nitty gritty to really find out what they are “supposed to be” teaching, just as one needs to find out what Christians are supposed to be teaching.

Christ certainly did not tell his followers to massacre the muslims in the Holy Land, or to guillotine all heretics in the Inquisition.

IF you read some of the accounts (even the Christians authored accounts) of the Crusades, the Muslims acted more Christian-like than the Christians did. Not that I am promoting Islam, but there is enough bad blood to go around all sides of the debate. Christ’s Peace - Wes

1. The Crusades where a defensive war against to open the holy places in Jerusalem up to Christian pilgrims. These wars were a response to the violent attacks on christian pilgrims as they travelled through Asia Minor on their way to Jerusalem.
2. Yes it is was wrong for the Crusaders to use excessive force or punish the innocent, however, let us not judge the actions of those living in the past through the lens of the present. The attrocities of the Moors in Spain and elsewhere through the islamic empire against Christians was well known. In Spain the “enlightned” moorish princes used to have christians beheaded and their heads stacked into pyramid shaped piles. If the Crusaders acted brutally it might be in response to these sorts of brutalities.

Many Christians might not be peacful, but the religion itself is. All one has to do is to look at the teachings of Christ. The same cannot be said of Islam and the teachings of Mahound.

 

[katolik]

Question: Is Islam a peaceful religion?

Answer: As long as crucifing nonMuslims is considered peaceful, I will say they are peaceful.

In what way can you interpret this as being peaceful?
From the Quran chapter/surah 5

surah 5 33. The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;
34. Except for those who repent before they fall into your power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
35. O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive with might and main in his cause: that ye may prosper.
36. As to those who reject Faith,- if they had everything on earth, and twice repeated, to give as ransom for the penalty of the Day of Judgment, it would never be accepted of them, theirs would be a grievous penalty.

 

[Feanaro]

No Islam is not a peaceful religion. Yes there are peaceful muslims but the religion itself does not preach peace but conversion to islam by any means necessary. This has been demonstrated in prior posts through various quotes from the quran, but also through history and indeed in the present time.

I know there will be tons of people who will say, what about the crusades, spanish inquisition, etc…aren’t Catholics just as guilty of violence? However, if we truly study history we will find that these events have been greatly exaggerated by the Church’s enemies to paint a bad image of the Church. This is not to say that evil acts were not commited. However, they were commited in spite of Church teaching not because of it. The same can’t be said for Islam. In Islam it is the religion that is the main problem.

Here is an excellent article from Catholic Answers:
http://www.catholic.com/library/endless_jihad.asp

And here is a site I found that also gives another picture of Islam from a Jewish perspective.

WARNING: This site is not for kids and the faint of heart as it has some pretty graphic images on it, but sometimes we need to be shocked for reality to sink in!

http://www.masada2000.org/

Check out the various lessons in the left column especially this one: http://www.masada2000.org/islam.html

We must pray for the conversion of the Muslim people to Christ and the renewal of the Church in Europe and North America or I fear what will happen in the near future.

 

[Zooey]

nicole german:

So how about this link

quran.org.uk/ieb_quran_who.htm

God bless

An excellent article…Thank you for drawing our attention to it!!

 

[dcmac]

No, Mohammedanism is not a peaceful religion. It is also not a religion of the Book; rather it is a religion of the sword.

Mohammedanism is based in perverse error. Spread through wicked brutality both historically and contemporarily. And glorifies evil beyond belief.

If one is a Christian he can not say that a religion whose “Book” asserts that not only did Jesus Christ not die, but that the ‘Great Traitor’ - Judas - was the one crucified, then one can not honestly be a Christian. You can not proclaim Jesus Christ as God Crucified and Risen on the one hand and then to support as valid/equal a religion that wholeheartedly asserts the opposite.

As for your assertion ‘Argh’ that “Muhammad the prophet tried to improve womens status in society…” that is horrifically in error. Mohammed was in fact a pedophile who justified his lustful exploitation of a minor through “marriage”. One can not logically find that a man who treats a minor in this manner is in favor of, “improving womens status in society…”

Mohammedanism uses false teachings as its source; a pedophile as its great prophet; force of arms for its growth. Indeed Mohammedanism is a very bad blight on the whole of humanity.

Also, for the one who tried to report to us that the Mohammedans of Morocco, Indonesia, and Turkey were of a peaceful lot, I need only remind him/her of the horrors perpetuated on the Catholic Christians of East Timor in the Name of Allah and Mohammed for the last several decades, the rampant Radicalism that is due to overthrow the Monarchy of Morocco and has contributed much man power and money to the Mohammedan Terrorist organizations in Europe (not to mention their close connection with the Mohammedan Terrorists of Algeria), and the educational, employment, and cultural oppression of the Jewish and Orthodox Christian community of Ancient Byzantium - modern day Turkey. If these three countries represent the ‘best’ of Mohammedanism… well that speaks volumes doesn’t it?

That being said, I do believe that the majority of Mohammedans do not desire to see an utter destruction of the West. Further, I do believe that there is an honest intention of heart for God. Though they clearly do not know God in the True way, or in a clear way for that matter. Never the less they are certainly willing believers, if only in a horribly incorrect manner.

Your brother in Christ and by the Grace of God a future Maronite Catholic priest,
Donnchadh

P.S. While I do not actively seek out martyrdom, I would never the less welcome it, for the Glory of God and His Church. The martyred holy family of NJ is a wake up call for the “comfortable Christians” of America and the West and a comfort for the rest of Christendom, namely Middle East, Africa and Asia, who see this treatment of their brother Christians all the time.