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Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

  • Yes

    Votes: 15 11.4%
  • No

    Votes: 73 55.3%
  • Yes and no

    Votes: 28 21.2%
  • Something else

    Votes: 16 12.1%

  • Total voters
    132

radcen

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Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

Yes?
No?
Yes and no?
Something else?

Please give some thoughts behind your conclusion.

Bonus question: In your opinion, why did Bush II go out of his way to refer to it as such after 9/11? Do you think he actually believed it? Do you think he was trying to keep people (us and them) calm?
 
It's neither a religion of peace or violence. However, it arose in a culture of violence.
 
A long long time from now. In a galaxy far far away
 
Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

Yes?
No?
Yes and no?
Something else?

Please give some thoughts behind your conclusion.

Bonus question: In your opinion, why did Bush II go out of his way to refer to it as such after 9/11? Do you think he actually believed it? Do you think he was trying to keep people (us and them) calm?

Islam is a violent and militant religion by its very nature.

Whether more modern liberal movements can "tame" it or not remains to be seen. However, the basic character of the religion as it currently stands is pretty much undeniable.

It was born in violence to a violent man, it spread through violence, and it maintains its authority through violence. It pretty much always has.
 
It's as peaceful as any of its contemporaries like Hinduism, Judaism, or Christianity.

And the answer to your bonus question is that he didn't want to offend people that we weren't actually in a conflict with. It's the same reason that one of the first parts of the Patriot Act condemns violence against American Muslims. Not that it stopped a huge rise in said violence, even against people from India because violent white Christian (and maybe some Jewish but probably not) Americans didn't know the difference.
 
Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

Yes?
No?
Yes and no?
Something else?

Please give some thoughts behind your conclusion.

Bonus question: In your opinion, why did Bush II go out of his way to refer to it as such after 9/11? Do you think he actually believed it? Do you think he was trying to keep people (us and them) calm?

He was trying to avoid the term "crusade". It didn't want a billion people think he was going after them.
 
There only a few "religions of peace". Some sects of Buddhism, Jainism, a minority of Christianity - basically the peace Churches... these are about the only "religions of peace" out there. The problem with Islam is its your basic religion of law combined with a violent culture.
 
Depends on your opinion on the relation between peace, order, submission and just war.

Some say war starts the moment someone refuses to submit. Some say a just war for a just cause is better than peace, and war is better than oppression.

Islam is not necessarily violent, but many Muslims today are. Many Christians especially in the past were too. And Moses led the Jewish people on a war of ethnic cleansing and genocide, which is the most important myth for the Jewish people.

IMO, it's true that Islam, unlike Christianity in the beginning, was spread by the sword. However, it is arguable whether it ended even more violence than it started, by ending the many pre-Muslim Arab clan wars and the everyday violence, by uniting the Arabs under Islam and limiting their sectarian violence and establishing social norms that limited violence within Arab communities. That Islam then spread even further is a different matter.
 
Islam was begun by a warlord who murdered people and the religion spread by violent, aggressive conquest. It gives instructions to its followers to war against other people until they reign supreme. It directs followers on decapitating people. It says its followers can lie to non Muslims. It actually names other religions which it demeans.

The religion, itself, is far from peaceful.

Now, there are certainly peaceful Muslims who don't go for any of that stuff, and who manage to look for the better things in Islam. There are a great many of them, but unfortunately, those who follow the violent dictates seem to be on the rise, and their first targets are always those who ARE peaceful -- especially in regards to being peaceful towards non Muslims.
 
There are certainly peaceful Muslims, but as a whole, the religion is being used more and more to incite violence. It's hard to consider a religion that is so readily used to inspire hate and terrorism a "religion of peace." Other religions, namely Christianity, have been used for violent intentions in the past, but I think Islam is definitely the most violent religion in today's world.

I read about a controversial German politician by the name of Thilo Sarrazin in my German studies classes and although I find much of what he says a bit extreme, I think that his classification of current day Islam is spot on:

“No other religion in Europe makes so many demands. . . No group emphasizes their differences so strongly in public, especially through women’s clothing. In no other religion is the transition to violence, dictatorship and terrorism so fluid.”
 
Depends on the people who practice it's faith. I think it is almost completely peaceful, with some violent nut jobs. Kinda like every other religion and group out there.
 
Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

Yes?
No?
Yes and no?
Something else?

Please give some thoughts behind your conclusion.

Bonus question: In your opinion, why did Bush II go out of his way to refer to it as such after 9/11? Do you think he actually believed it? Do you think he was trying to keep people (us and them) calm?

For what it's worth, here's my take. Any religion, including Islam, is what the individual believer feels it is. Some Muslims are peaceful, some are not - some are accepting of others beliefs, some are not. Replace the word Muslims in the previous sentence with any other religious word, like Christian, Jew, etc. and the same applies.

However, Islamist extremists are the only ones beheading people on YouTube right now, that I'm aware of. But, Christian extremists are the only ones I know of that have blown up abortion clinics or killed doctors for performing abortions, but there may be some other religious group that has done that as well - I just don't know.
 
Social objects do not have a will.
 
Is Islam a "Religion of Peace"?

Yes?
No?
Yes and no?
Something else?

Please give some thoughts behind your conclusion.

Bonus question: In your opinion, why did Bush II go out of his way to refer to it as such after 9/11? Do you think he actually believed it? Do you think he was trying to keep people (us and them) calm?

Yes with one major caveat. Once every creature in the entire world is a Muslim which is what they advocate. By default that makes their number 1 goal peace on earth. The religion is peaceful. The obtaining of that religion is very brutal and bloody. It's a pretty big paradox but by definition Islam is a religion of peace. :roll:

That's why they say most Muslims are peaceful people because most Muslims live in saturated populations of Muslims.
 
It's neither a religion of peace or violence. However, it arose in a culture of violence.

Look around its still a culture of violence. From how it treats women (ok to hit), to the actions of its adherents (readily demonstrable, even outside of asia and africa).

Not all religions are equal-some are more violent-and one of those is Islam.
 
Depends on the people who practice it's faith. I think it is almost completely peaceful, with some violent nut jobs. Kinda like every other religion and group out there.

I agree with you, but... the Islamist extremists are more than just "some" violent nut jobs. They are a pretty large group, currently anyway, as compared to other religions nut jobs, and they tend to go further in their nut jobbery than most other religious nut jobs. Of course, I have a feeling that if we didn't have the First Amendment, and laws that enforce it, we would have a higher level of nut jobbery here than we currently do.
 
Social objects do not have a will.

You are a poor student of philosophy. I do applaud your observation. It is logical. Ideas do influence behavior no matter how air tight your argument is. Certain philosophical systems have produced similar outcomes throughout the ages no matter what type of people implemented the ideas or what type of people the ideas were imposed upon.

I give you a thumbs up for literal translation of the topic at hand. I give you a thumbs down because of your inability to see how Islamic traditions have influenced human beings. You missed a big part of the picture.

Your desire to win an argument trumps your ability to solve problems. That's not good.
 
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Any religion that puts to death those who wish to leave it is not a religion of peace. As religions go, it's probably one of the worst ones ever invented. It's in dire need of a reformation.
 
Any religion that puts to death those who wish to leave it is not a religion of peace. As religions go, it's probably one of the worst ones ever invented. It's in dire need of a reformation.

Can Islam produce a Martin Luther?
 
Can Islam produce a Martin Luther?

To be fair, Islamic support made a Martin Luther *and there were many just like him, before him* an actual reformationist. That and German princes tired of Catholic land domination.

The real question is; why are people so willing to live their lives in fear? Freedom includes everyone, and with that freedom comes a terrible price of "insecurity". One, I personally, am willing to pay.
 
To be fair, Islamic support made a Martin Luther *and there were many just like him, before him* an actual reformationist. That and German princes tired of Catholic land domination.

The real question is; why are people so willing to live their lives in fear? Freedom includes everyone, and with that freedom comes a terrible price of "insecurity". One, I personally, am willing to pay.

Wouldn't you say that freedom is a fairly new idea in the course of human history?
 
For what it's worth, here's my take. Any religion, including Islam, is what the individual believer feels it is. Some Muslims are peaceful, some are not - some are accepting of others beliefs, some are not. Replace the word Muslims in the previous sentence with any other religious word, like Christian, Jew, etc. and the same applies.

However, Islamist extremists are the only ones beheading people on YouTube right now, that I'm aware of. But, Christian extremists are the only ones I know of that have blown up abortion clinics or killed doctors for performing abortions, but there may be some other religious group that has done that as well - I just don't know.
This is the Fallacy of anecdote/Exception.
An utterly Misleading 'equivalence' type statement.
MORE People Die Almost EVERY DAY in the NAME of Islam than have died in 30 YEARS Total of abortion Clinic bombings.

thereligionofpeace.com

Monthly Jihad Report
August, 2014

Jihad Attacks: : : 222
Countries:: : : : : 27
Allah Akbars: : :: 24 (Suicide bombings)
Dead Bodies: : : 4573

Critically Injured: 2287

Last 30 Days Only. NAME of Islam Only.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks


The Strawman 'Terrorism' is just the most famous Tip of a Violent/Intolerant Iceberg.
Significant Minorities to Large Majorities favor penalties for 'Insulting Islam', or DEATH for 'Apostasy.'

Christianity and islam are NOT remotely Comparable.
A Christian Fundamentalist is a Missionary, a Muslim Fundamentalist Kills him.

As always, paschendale #5, was quick to the 100% Wrong, 100% apologism.
 
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It's an expansionist religion like Christianity, but Christ passively let himself be killed and was a spiritual leader, but not a political one. Mohammed launched wars of expansion and was both political and spiritual leader. Of course, to some extent, religion is whatever the believer wants it to be. Having said that, dogma does matter. Muslims are going to be less inclined to support separation of church and state then members of other religions because their dogma and religious history doesn't support it. The same is true about the violent expansionism of their religion.
 
Wouldn't you say that freedom is a fairly new idea in the course of human history?

Frankly, I view freedom as a socio-economic affect. The less development a country was and is, the more likely they will practice, in some form (direct or indirect), slavery. Not to say this is the ultimate question, which it isn't, but that recent evolutions of our social identity should not be so readily sacrificed.

Individual Freedom, recent or not, is a basic tenet of any modern society. To live in one (country) that does not provide this basic good, is to not live in a truly modern community.
 
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