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Religion of peace?

Is Islam a religion of peace?

  • Yes

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • No

    Votes: 4 44.4%

  • Not Sure

    Votes: 3 33.3%
  • Total voters
    9
C

conserv.pat15

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Is Islam a religion of peace? This is a key question to many problems. Are the moderates right or are the terrorists right about Islam? Are the terrorists twisting the Koran?
 
conserv.pat15 said:
Is Islam a religion of peace? This is a key question to many problems. Are the moderates right or are the terrorists right about Islam? Are the terrorists twisting the Koran?
Click to expand...

What do you mean by "right" about Islam? The extremists definitely have the upper hand, so from a sociological standpoint (the only fair standpoint to use), I would say that it is not a religion of peace.

If we're going to get into theology to determine what "real" Islam is...then the Qu'ran is a very violent book. By this definition, Islam is certainly not a religion of peace...but then, neither are most other religions. For example, the Bible/Torah certainly have their share of blood as well.
 
Kandahar said:
What do you mean by "right" about Islam? The extremists definitely have the upper hand, so from a sociological standpoint (the only fair standpoint to use), I would say that it is not a religion of peace.

If we're going to get into theology to determine what "real" Islam is...then the Qu'ran is a very violent book. By this definition, Islam is certainly not a religion of peace...but then, neither are most other religions. For example, the Bible certainly has its share of blood as well.
Click to expand...

What I am trying to figure out is which interpretation is correct: the moderates' interpretation or the terrorists' interpretation?

What does the Koran teach? Does it teach violence or are violent quotes taken out of context by the terrorists?

I honestly want to learn more about this religion.
 
conserv.pat15 said:
What I am trying to figure out is which interpretation is correct: the moderates' interpretation or the terrorists' interpretation?

What does the Koran teach? Does it teach violence or are violent quotes taken out of context by the terrorists?

I honestly want to learn more about this religion.
Click to expand...

I would say that the Qu'ran itself teaches violence. But then, it was written 1400 years ago.
 
Kandahar said:
I would say that the Qu'ran itself teaches violence. But then, it was written 1400 years ago.
Click to expand...

If it teaches violence, then how can we trust any Muslims?

This is why I want to learn more about this religion. If the religion teaches violence, then are moderate Muslims not following their religion?
 
conserv.pat15 said:
What I am trying to figure out is which interpretation is correct: the moderates' interpretation or the terrorists' interpretation?

What does the Koran teach? Does it teach violence or are violent quotes taken out of context by the terrorists?

I honestly want to learn more about this religion.
Click to expand...
Step in the right direction.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that Muslims believe that the Qu'ran cannot be 'translated' directly. It's 'interpreted'
I think most Muslims interpret it peacefully.
The media (and extremists for that matter) have twisted Islam to fit their agenda.
The extremists do not represent the majority of Muslims.

Are there any Muslims on board to explain?

Peace
 
conserv.pat15 said:
If it teaches violence, then how can we trust any Muslims?
Click to expand...

Because not all Muslims are literalists, just like not all Christians are literalists. The Old Testament certainly teaches violence too, but I assume you don't have the same distrust of Christians.

With that said, Islam certainly does have an alarmingly high proportion of literalists.

conserv.pat15 said:
This is why I want to learn more about this religion. If the religion teaches violence, then are moderate Muslims not following their religion?
Click to expand...

That's more of a theological question. If you look at it from a literalist perspective, then no, they're not following their religion. But then, ancient scriptures are inherently self-contradictory. Is it even POSSIBLE for a Muslim/Christian/Jew to follow what their religion actually teaches? Probably not. And if it is, they'd probably find themselves in an insane asylum or in prison very quickly. ;)
 
Pull My Finger said:
Step in the right direction.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that Muslims believe that the Qu'ran cannot be 'translated' directly. It's 'interpreted'
I think most Muslims interpret it peacefully.
The media (and extremists for that matter) have twisted Islam to fit their agenda.
The extremists do not represent the majority of Muslims.

Are there any Muslims on board to explain?

Peace
Click to expand...

We need an expert in Islam to explain some things. There are many violent things written in the Koran and I want quotes explained.
 
Kandahar said:
Because not all Muslims are literalists, just like not all Christians are literalists. The Old Testament certainly teaches violence too, but I assume you don't have the same distrust of Christians.

With that said, Islam certainly does have an alarmingly high proportion of literalists.
Click to expand...

Well, Christianity is mainly the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus, but I don't want this thread to turn into a Christianity thread.



That's more of a theological question. If you look at it from a literalist perspective, then no, they're not following their religion. But then, ancient scriptures are inherently self-contradictory. Is it even POSSIBLE for a Muslim/Christian/Jew to follow what their religion actually teaches? Probably not. And if it is, they'd probably find themselves in an insane asylum or in prison very quickly. ;)
Click to expand...

The main question is this: Are moderate Muslims not following their religion or are the terrorists twisting their religion?
 
conserv.pat15 said:
Well, Christianity is mainly the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus, but I don't want this thread to turn into a Christianity thread.
Click to expand...

That's true, but most Christians generally consider the Old Testament to be just as divine or divinely inspired as the New Testament.

conserv.pat15 said:
The main question is this: Are moderate Muslims not following their religion or are the terrorists twisting their religion?
Click to expand...

Probably a little of both. Although Mohammed's beliefs were probably a lot closer to Osama bin Laden's than Ayaan Hirsi Ali's.
 
Kandahar said:
What do you mean by "right" about Islam? The extremists definitely have the upper hand, so from a sociological standpoint (the only fair standpoint to use), I would say that it is not a religion of peace.

If we're going to get into theology to determine what "real" Islam is...then the Qu'ran is a very violent book. By this definition, Islam is certainly not a religion of peace...but then, neither are most other religions. For example, the Bible/Torah certainly have their share of blood as well.
Click to expand...

OHHHH WOW!!!! I didn't think it could be done, but you did it! This post was the first reply!!!

:allhail

~~~
On topic: I voted Not sure, because I'm really not.
 
Well there are approximately 1.3 billion Muslims on the planet today, comparatively speaking very few of them are involved in the violence and mayhem we see caused by the extremists.
 
conserv.pat15 said:
Well, Christianity is mainly the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus, but I don't want this thread to turn into a Christianity thread.
Click to expand...

Too late, the thread's already been killed. A very very fast death too!
 
there is no such thing as a "religion of peace". all there is, is its followers.
 
star2589 said:
there is no such thing as a "religion of peace". all there is, is its followers.
Click to expand...

I agree. Scripture is too open to interpretation to say definitively that a religion "promotes war" or is a "religion of peace" in the theological sense. Which is why I think that the actions of its adherents are far more important than the religious text itself, when trying to determine the attitude of the religion.

Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc - as they are practiced today - are mostly peaceful, with some violent exceptions. Islam is mostly violent or acquiescent toward violence, with some peaceful exceptions. I think that THAT is the reason it should be considered a violent religion...not because of what the Qu'ran says or doesn't say.
 
Defining whether Islam is a religion of peace is not something that can be done on a universal basis. All religious texts are open to interpretation as evidenced by the various sects and denominations in all the major religions.

At it's very essence, no religion is either violent or peaceful; what each sect, denomination, or follower takes from that religion is what dictates the actions done in that religion's name. If Islam were a violent religion, for example, then all of it's followers would be presenting a violent attitude and performing acts of violence. Since all are not, it is not the religion itself that is at fault.
 
I voted not sure, because as of right now the extremists seem to have the upper hand but with the secular summit of Islam I think that could change. Whether it will or not remains to be seen.
 
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