Is Islam a peaceful religion?

[farside]

[SIZE=2] [color=blue]Booty[/color] and the [color=red]Swords[/color] of Muhammad [/SIZE]
source

[SIZE=2] As part of his preparation to spread the peaceful religion of Islam throughout the world, Muhammad kept a well-stocked arsenal. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2][color=red]Sword [/color]Dhu al-Faqar [/SIZE]
“Dhu al-Faqar is the name of this sword, taken as [color=blue] Booty[/color] by the prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Badr. It is reported that the prophet Muhammad gave the sword to Ali b. Abi Talib, and that Ali returned from the Battle of Uhud covered with blood from his hands to his shoulders, having Dhu al-Faqar with him. . . .”

[SIZE=2][color=red]Sword[/color] al-Rasub [/SIZE]
“The al-Rasub sword is one of the nine swords of the prophet Muhammad. It is said that the weapons of the house of the prophet Muhammad were kept among his family just like the Ark was kept with the Israelites.”

[SIZE=2] [color=red]Sword[/color] Qal'I [/SIZE]
“This sword is known as "Qal'i" or "Qul'ay." The name may be related to a place in Syria or a place in India near China. Other scholars state that the adjective "qal'i" refers to "tin" or "white lead" which was mined in different locations. This sword is one of the three swords which the prophet Muhammad acquired as [color=blue] booty [/color]from the Banu Qaynaqa. . . . .”

[SIZE=2][color=red]Sword[/color] al-Mikhdham [/SIZE]
“The sword called is reported to have passed from the prophet Muhammad to Ali b. Abi Talib, and from him to his sons. Some report that the sword was taken as [color=blue] booty[/color] by Ali b. Abi Talib from a raid he led in Syria.”

[SIZE=2][color=red] Sword[/color] Hatf [/SIZE]
“Hatf is a sword which the prophet Muhammad took as [color=blue] booty [/color] from the Banu Qaynaqa. It is said that King David took his sword al-Battar from Goliath as [color=blue]booty[/color] when he defeated him, but he was less than 20 years old. . . .”

[SIZE=2] [color=red]Sword[/color] al-'Adb [/SIZE]
“al-'Adb, the name of this sword, means "cutting" or "sharp." This sword was sent to the prophet Muhammad by one of his companions just before the Battle of Badr. He used this sword at the Battle of Uhud and his followers used it to demonstrate their fealty to him.”

[SIZE=2][color=red]Sword[/color] al-Ma'thur [/SIZE]
“al-Ma'thur, also known as "Ma'thur al-Fijar" is the sword which was owned by the prophet Muhammad before he received his first revelations in Mecca. It was willed to him by his father. The prophet Muhammad migrated with the sword from Mecca to Medina, and the sword remained with him until it was transferred, along with other war equipment, to Ali b. Abi Talib.”

[SIZE=2] [color=red]Sword[/color] al-Qadib [/SIZE]
“al-Qadib is a thin-bladed sword which, it was said, resembled a rod. It was a sword of defense or companionship for the traveller but not used to battle. Written on the side of the sword in silver is the inscription: "There is no god but God, Muhammad the apostle of God--Muhammad b. Abdallah b. Abd al-Muttalib." There is no indication in any historical source that this sword was used or in any battle. It stayed in the house of the prophet Muhammad and was only used later by the Fatimid caliphs.”

[SIZE=2][color=red] Sword[/color] al-Battar [/SIZE]
“The al-Battar sword was taken by the prophet Muhammad as [color=blue]booty [/color] from the Banu Qaynaqa. It is called the "sword of the prophets" and is inscribed in Arabic with the names of David, Solomon, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Zechariah, John, Jesus, and Muhammad. It also has a drawing of King David when cut off the head of Goliath to whom this sword had belonged originally. . . .”

[SIZE=2] Kind Regards,
Farside [/SIZE]

[bishop]

and the bible talks about stoning adultering women to death.. like nono said, all religions can be interpreted a variety of ways.

*guns don't kill people, people kill people.*

islam is the same way.. the practioner can either use it for peace, or for war. christianity has done the same in its past.

and on a bit of a tangent, christian evangelicals have a perverted fascination with the apocalypse.. i think they want war just as bad as the islamists do. they certainly don't care about innocent civilians when american bombs are landing on them.

[Nono]

farside, watch thine non-relativistic step there or thou shalt get thy hinder parts smitten but good, yeah verily

[farside]

[SIZE=2]War, Muhammad, and Jihad [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2] From Sahih Bukhari Vol. 4, No. 386, we read [/SIZE]

Narrated Jubair bin Haiya:
[color=blue]'Umar sent the Muslims to the great countries to fight the pagans. [/color]When Al-Hurmuzan embraced Islam, 'Umar said to him. "I would like to consult you regarding these countries which I intend to invade." Al-Hurmuzan said, "Yes, the example of these countries and their inhabitants who are the enemies. of the Muslims, is like a bird with a head, two wings and two legs; If one of its wings got broken, it would get up over its two legs, with one wing and the head; and if the other wing got broken, it would get up with two legs and a head, but if its head got destroyed, then the two legs, two wings and the head would become useless. The head stands for Khosrau, and one wing stands for Caesar and the other wing stands for Faris. So, order the Muslims to go towards Khosrau." So, 'Umar sent us (to Khosrau) appointing An-Numan bin Muqrin as our commander. When we reached the land of the enemy, the representative of Khosrau came out with forty-thousand warriors, and an interpreter got up saying, "Let one of you talk to me!" Al-Mughira replied, "Ask whatever you wish." The other asked, "Who are you?" Al-Mughira replied, "We are some people from the Arabs; we led a hard, miserable, disastrous life: we used to suck the hides and the date stones from hunger; we used to wear clothes made up of fur of camels and hair of goats, and to worship trees and stones. While we were in this state, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earths, Elevated is His Remembrance and Majestic is His Highness, sent to us from among ourselves a Prophet whose father and mother are known to us. [color=red] Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya (i.e. tribute); and our Prophet has informed us that our Lord says:-- "Whoever amongst us is killed (i.e. martyred), shall go to Paradise to lead such a luxurious life as he has never seen, and whoever amongst us remain alive, shall become your master." [/color] [color=purple] [Origin of Jihad] [/color] . . . . source

Farside’s Commentary: The violence in Islam began with its founder, Muhammad.

[SIZE=2]Kind Regards,
Farside[/SIZE]

[PatrickHenry]

Originally posted by bishop,
christian evangelicals...don't care about innocent civilians when american bombs are landing on them.

Some don't, some do: http://www.sojo.net/
Blanket statements are not very nuanced debate there bishop.

[Melvyn]

I want to thank everyone who has answered my question, "Is Islam a Peaceful Religion". You have given me much to think about. A theme that runs through many of your answers is that the religion, any religion can be peaceful or warlike depending on the inclinations of the practitioner.

I must admit I have only scanned the Old Testament, New Testament and the English version of the Quran which is availabel at the University of Virginia electronic text center. The old testment as we all know is a text of obedience. The righteous are rewarded, the unrighteous are dispensed with. Except where God plays with Job, a righteous man.

The new testament speaks of God as love. Forgiveness is available for the asking and people are asked to find goodness in their hearts through God. Yet, the nation states which arose, dominated by the church managed to justify the crusades and the inquisition, to say nothing of chasing persecuting into a world wide diaspora

But correct me if I am wrong, I don't see where it is said that the duty of individuals is to fight against the unbeliever. I remember that among the tenets of Islam were the requirement to pray five times a day, the requirement of charity and the requirement to defend against the unbeliever. It may be true that the political leaders of Jewish and Christian organizations and states have at times corrupted there religions for power. It may be true that at times different views of Christianity led to violence. In recent times we saw this in Ireland.

But it seems to me that the fundamental ideas if Islam include a militancy that needs to be dealt with. I have heard some moderate Muslims say the concept of Jihad refers to a struggle within. I hope that is the case, but 9/11 did happen.

Melvyn Polatchek

[Nono]

"Farside’s Commentary: The violence in Islam began with its founder, Muhammad."

And Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple. (And good riddance&#33

Check this out: http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/071804C.shtml

Melvyn: "It seems to me that the fundamental ideas if Islam include a militancy that needs to be dealt with. I have heard some moderate Muslims say the concept of Jihad refers to a struggle within. I hope that is the case, but 9/11 did happen."

And so did a lot of other things under the pretext of jihad, or Christian love for that matter ("Now we're just going to save all these poor, lost, dark-skinned souls here...").

As I said earlier, the Middle East is a tough neighbourhood, and it was no less so in the 7th century. Mohammad has to be viewed in the context of his time. It was a violent and nasty society. And Islam marked a huge moral step forward.

One of the problems with the fundamentalists is that they would like to return to that time rather than getting the spirit of the thing and moving forward.

That said, it has been suggested that one of the things that prompted the Arabs -- meaning the hard-ass sons of the desert in the Arabia of the day -- to embrace Islam in the first place was precisely this militancy, since it fitted in nicely with their aggressive and expansionist tendencies. This may be true. They certainly proceeded to launched a huge, massively aggressive wave of invasion that was finally turned back at Poitiers, in northwestern France -- something to bear in mind the next time one hears complaints about the Crusades (not that these aren't justified...).

And round and round we go.

[Melvyn]

So the history is one of violence and expansionism. Was it inherent in the religion, which means there are words in the Quran that could only mean "make war against all others and conquer them", or has the violence occurred because of their political leadership which was, for whatever reason, interested in conquest?

Is it possible for Muslims who want to make peace to declare that Jihad never meant war. Can they say it with a straight face and build a peace movement? Or are they and we doomed to war?

Mel

[farside]

[SIZE=2] Muhammad, The Executioner [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2] Let us read from Sahih Bukhari Vol. 8 No. 795 source

<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>Narrated Anas: [color=blue]The Prophet cut off the hands and feet of the men belonging to the tribe of &#39;Uraina and did not cauterise (their bleeding limbs) till they died.[/color] [/SIZE]</span>


[SIZE=2]Farside’s commentary: The violence in Islam began with its founder, Muhammad. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Kind Regards,
Farside[/SIZE]

[bishop]

Originally posted by PatrickHenry,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (PatrickHenry,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-bishop,
christian evangelicals...don&#39;t care about innocent civilians when american bombs are landing on them.

Some don&#39;t, some do: http://www.sojo.net/
Blanket statements are not very nuanced debate there bishop. [/b][/quote]


there are always exceptions to the rule.. however, the vast majority of evangelicals are extremely pro-bush and pro-war.

http://chuckcurrie.blogs.com/chuck_currie/...ious_voter.html

A separate survey on U.S. evangelicals released Tuesday found that 74 percent of white evangelicals said they favored Bush, while 23 percent said they would vote for Kerry.

now, if the minority evangelicals had influence of the sort that the pro-bush ones did, then that&#39;d be a different story.

[bishop]

farside... are you trying to debate, or simply slander an entire religion? give us some discourse rather than quotes.

[Nono]

Melvyn: "So the history is one of violence and expansionism. Was it inherent in the religion, which means there are words in the Quran that could only mean &#39;make war against all others and conquer them&#39;, or has the violence occurred because of their political leadership which was, for whatever reason, interested in conquest?"

Naw, the words can be interpreted any way people want to -- which is what people always do anyway.
The Muslim world would do well to develop a real political leadership (or should I say civil society?) that isn&#39;t merely subsidiary to the clergy, because the clergy and lack of alternative legitimacy is where the real problem lies.

Don&#39;t forget: Christian history is one of violence and expansionism too.

"Is it possible for Muslims who want to make peace to declare that Jihad never meant war. Can they say it with a straight face and build a peace movement? Or are they and we doomed to war?"

The proof that it&#39;s possible is that lots of them already do precisely that. And with a perfectly straight face. We&#39;d be better off encouraging that trend than demonizing their religion.