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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
To be fair, Islam is quite a bit worse than even the most corrupt and misguided elements of Christianity ever were. It is so by design, and has been since its very foundation.

As Gardener pointed out, their holy text includes explicit instructions to either "kill or covert" the whole world, as well as numerous descriptions of acts of violence doled out against both lapsed members of the Muslim faithful and infidels alike by Islam's founding prophet.

Groups like ISIS have not "corrupted" the nature of Islam. To the contrary, it's actually the other way around. Peaceful Muslims are the ones who are not living by the spirit of the original text.

Thank you. Finally, someone who gets it!
 
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.

Your lack of knowledge of the Koran, or Islam, is distressing, to say the least.
 
No religion based on the concept of a war between good and evil can be considered peaceful.


War is, by definition, the opposite of peace.
 
I'm pretty sure the rest of the world didn't think that Christianity was a religion of peace for the first 1200 years.
 
id vote something else.

islam taught peace and compassion,but shortly after it gained traction muslims were invading europe and the middle east by force.today the vast majority of islam is peacefull.

however there is a portion that is corrupted,who twists the quran and its fllowers,this isnt far from the spanish inquisition,where people were tortured many times to death to convert.in that time catholics deemed torture was necessary,though i dont recall putting people testicles in a vice or burning them alive to save their mortal soul anywhere in the bible.


islam is facing the same thing today.in the end so long as any religion is popular,someone will corrupt it for their own gain.

You know, I've heard this claim about how 'some' are distorting the Koran ... but investigation will show that is not true.

Unlike most books, the Koran contains what appears to be contradictions - peace and war - love and violence. But, when you understand the structure of the Koran, you realize that is nothing more than a sop intended to mislead non-believers.

Most documents are built in sections that address a specific instance --- the easiest example is Genesis (all about the birth of the world). Thus, if you want to know what Christians think about how the world came to be, you would start with Genesis. (Think of them as chapters about a particular subject).

The Koran, however, is not built like that ... it is chronological. In other words, that which is written in the first chapter - called a surah - can be changed by a later chapter. The Koran is a document that evolved. This concept is called abrogation - that which is said in a previous surah is overridden by that said later. It is a description of the chronological changes in the thoughts of Mohammed.

So what, you ask? It becomes important when you read the 'verses of violence' that are being 'misused' by Islamic fundamentalists. The truth is ... they are the latest surahs of the Koran, and as such, represent the law of Islam. Previous discussions of peace have been 'abrogated' by the later surahs.

Those Muslims who would tell you that they only follow the previous discussions and ignore the later discussions are being untrue to their religion, and as such, are subject to death.
 
No religion based on the concept of a war between good and evil can be considered peaceful.


War is, by definition, the opposite of peace.

Ehhh... Not so much.

There is a difference between...

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

Romans 12:16

Or...

"If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also."

Luke 6:29

And...

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

Quran 9:26

Or...

"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement"

Quran 5:33

It's simply an entirely different attitude.

Christianity teaches the importance of humility, and admonishes the believer to trust in God to deliver justice whenever possible.

Islam isn't having any of that. Muhammad pretty clearly was in favor of going out and straight up shanking anyone who happened to get in either his way, or the way of the religion he created.

Hell! The only time we see one of Jesus' Apostles resort to violence in the entire New Testament - Peter cutting the ear off of one of the Sanhedrin's men as they move to arrest Christ - Jesus stops, tells the attacker to drop his weapon, and miraculously reattaches the severed ear to the poor man's head.

Muhammad, by way of contrast...

"A man who had drunk wine was brought (before him) and he ordered them (to beat him). So they beat him with what they had in their hands. Some struck him with whips, some with sticks and some with sandals. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) threw some dust on his face."

Abu Dawud 4477

Abu Huraira reported that a person from amongst the Muslims came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) while he was in the mosque. He called him saying: Allah's Messenger. I have committed adultery. He (the Holy Prophet) turned away from him, He (again) came round facing him and said to him: Allah's Messenger, I have committed adultery. He (the Holy Prophet) turned away until he did that four times, and as he testified four times against his own self, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) called him and said: Are you mad? He said: No. He (again) said: Are you married? He said: Yes. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Take him and stone him. Ibn Shihab (one of the narrators) said: One who had heard Jabir b. 'Abdullah saying this informed me thus: I was one of those who stoned him. We stoned him at the place of prayer (either that of 'Id or a funeral). When the stones hurt him, he ran away. We caught him in the Harra and stoned him (to death). This hadith has been narrated through another chain of transmitters.

Book 017, Number 4196:

Suffice to say, he really wasn't what you'd call a "nice" guy.

He probably wouldn't have been terribly out of place on a show like Game of Thrones, truth be told. lol
 
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I'm pretty sure the rest of the world didn't think that Christianity was a religion of peace for the first 1200 years.

Still carrying that grudge from 814yrs ago?? Man that's gotta be wearing you out, but I understand. Im still pissed at the Italians for feeding us to the lions!!
 
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.

Yes, Christians run around starting theocracies so they can behead non-christians.... I've seen Hindu's and Jews doing it also. Islam is the religion of peace.... everytime I hear that it reminds me of the book by Kratman.

A Desert Called Peace (Baen Science Fiction): Tom Kratman: 9781416555926: Amazon.com: Books
 
To be fair, Islam is quite a bit worse than even the most corrupt and misguided elements of Christianity ever were. It is so by design, and has been since its very foundation.

As Gardener pointed out, their holy text includes explicit instructions to either "kill or covert" the whole world, as well as numerous descriptions of acts of violence doled out against both lapsed members of the Muslim faithful and infidels alike by Islam's founding prophet.

Groups like ISIS have not "corrupted" the nature of Islam. To the contrary, it's actually the other way around. Peaceful Muslims are the ones who are not living by the spirit of the original text.

The Bible contains the same thing, there are all kinds of passages that command the killing of heretics. You could make the exact same argument for Christians who rationalize their way around very clear commands to kill sinners.
 
Almost no religion is violent. Assholes use religion to exercise violence. There is a difference.

Religion doesn't exist at all without people. If you want to make excuses, then people are to blame for everything that happens in society and nothing else is ever actually responsible. That pretty much does away with any kind of argument against any idea at all. People are always to blame. Of course, the people who make that argument only tend to do so when it comes to things they hold dear, things they want to defend. It's the "no true Scotsman" argument. Nobody who EVER does anything bad can't possibly really belong to their religion, they must be an a-hole!

It's a logical fallacy for a reason.
 
Thank you for that nonsensical input.

It's only nonsensical because you have a vested emotional interest in not accepting it.
 
The Bible contains the same thing, there are all kinds of passages that command the killing of heretics. You could make the exact same argument for Christians who rationalize their way around very clear commands to kill sinners.

The New Testament contains neither. Frankly, even where the Old Testament is concerned, it's usually either God himself doing the killing, or the call for killing is limited in scope.

Basically all the killing in the Quran is at the hands of men (and Muhammad in particular). Beyond even that, it's calls for violence and open-ended and essentially unlimited.

The Quran quite literally calls for Muslims to conquer the whole world through strength of arms, and maim, kill, or enslave anyone who won't get with the program.
 
The New Testament contains neither. Frankly, even where the Old Testament is concerned, it's usually either God himself doing the killing, or the call for killing is limited in scope.

Basically all the killing in the Quran is at the hands of men (and Muhammad in particular). Beyond even that, it's calls for violence and open-ended.

The Quran quite literally call for Muslims to conquer the whole world through strength of arms, and maim, kill, or enslave anyone who won't get with the program.

So essentially, your argument is that God is a dick? Seriously? And no, there are plenty of massacres in the Old Testament, directly commanded by God, carried out by man. Deuteronomy 17 says pretty much the same thing, anyone who follows any other religion gets put to death. How is that any different? Read your damn book.
 
So essentially, your argument is that God is a dick? Seriously? And no, there are plenty of massacres in the Old Testament, directly commanded by God, carried out by man. Deuteronomy 17 says pretty much the same thing, anyone who follows any other religion gets put to death. How is that any different? Read your damn book.

A) The Old Testament is not the New Testament. Christianity draws its teachings primarily the New Testament.

B) Yea, exactly. The Israelites killed at God's explicit command. That command was given only rarely.

They weren't given an open ended edict by someone claiming to be a "prophet," telling them that they had moral license to aggressively conquer and kill basically anyone who got in their way for the rest of time until no one but Jews, and the slaves of Jews, remained alive on this Earth.

The simple fact of the matter is that Islam is a religion that was explicitly designed to encourage conquest and slaughter ad infinitum. Judaism and Christianity are not.
 
A) The Old Testament is not the New Testament. Christianity draws its teachings primarily the New Testament.

B) Yea, exactly. The Israelites killed at God's explicit command. That command was given only rarely.

They weren't given an open ended edict by someone claiming to be a "prophet," telling them that they had moral license to aggressively conquer and kill basically anyone who got in their way for the rest of time until no one but Jews, and the slaves of Jews, remained alive on this Earth.

The simple fact of the matter is that Islam is a religion that was explicitly designed to encourage conquest and slaughter ad infinitum. Judaism and Christianity are not.

A) Jesus is quite clear in Matthew 5:17-19 that the whole of the Old Testament is to be followed. You also might want to read Luke 16:17. Or John 10:35. It's sad that I know your stupid book better than you do.

B) No, the Israelites didn't kill on God's command because there's no reason to think God is more than a fairy tale. The Bible is a book of mythology, just like the Qu'ran. You just buy into one book of mythology and ignore the other.
 
A) Jesus is quite clear in Matthew 5:17-19 that the whole of the Old Testament is to be followed. You also might want to read Luke 16:17. Or John 10:35. It's sad that I know your stupid book better than you do.

Which is precisely why he openly mocked and defied the Pharisees in their obsessive compulsive observance of the laws set forward by the very same Old Testament, right? :roll:

Again, the fact of the matter remains that no where, in either the New or Old Testament, is the idea ever set forward that Christians or Jews have the general right to aggressively conquer and enslave non-believers in the interests of compelling them to accept a particular religion.

The Quran says exactly that, and it does so multiple times, in no uncertain terms.

B) No, the Israelites didn't kill on God's command because there's no reason to think God is more than a fairy tale. The Bible is a book of mythology, just like the Qu'ran. You just buy into one book of mythology and ignore the other.

Wow, really? No way! My entire belief system just toppled over and died right there, dude (Not). :roll:

Look. I don't give a damn what you choose to believe, or not believe. That's not the point, so don't change the subject.

The simple fact of the matter is that the Quran explicitly preaches a philosophy which is far more aggressive and violent than anything seen in either the Old or New Testament. As such, the claim that Islam is a "religion of peace" is ludicrous.

Christian atrocities generally occur when believers go against the word of God. The Muslim variety occur when the Muslim faithful follow precisely what the Quran orders them to do.
 
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The New Testament contains neither. Frankly, even where the Old Testament is concerned, it's usually either God himself doing the killing, or the call for killing is limited in scope.

Basically all the killing in the Quran is at the hands of men (and Muhammad in particular). Beyond even that, it's calls for violence and open-ended and essentially unlimited.

The Quran quite literally calls for Muslims to conquer the whole world through strength of arms, and maim, kill, or enslave anyone who won't get with the program.

Nailed it. Im amazed at the moral equivalency of so many here.
 
So essentially, your argument is that God is a dick? Seriously? And no, there are plenty of massacres in the Old Testament, directly commanded by God, carried out by man. Deuteronomy 17 says pretty much the same thing, anyone who follows any other religion gets put to death. How is that any different? Read your damn book.

Try to answer this as best as you can. Who is currently beheading children and blowing up planes?
 
Yes, Christians run around starting theocracies so they can behead non-christians.... I've seen Hindu's and Jews doing it also. Islam is the religion of peace.... everytime I hear that it reminds me of the book by Kratman.

A Desert Called Peace (Baen Science Fiction): Tom Kratman: 9781416555926: Amazon.com: Books

Yeah, they do. It's called most of southern Africa. There is incredible violence by the Christian majorities against the non-Christian minorities. And honor killings, and gang rape, and systematic abuse of women and children. Just like in the Islamic Middle Eastern nations. Just like in Hindu India, too.

Your lack of knowledge of the Koran, or Islam, is distressing, to say the least.

No, it's more that my knowledge about other religions and seeing that the violence coming from the Islamic Middle East right now is not unique or even unusual in the world is distressing to you.
 
The only religion of peace is scientology, since nobody has died due to it (as far as I know). :2razz:
 
Yeah, they do. It's called most of southern Africa. There is incredible violence by the Christian majorities against the non-Christian minorities. And honor killings, and gang rape, and systematic abuse of women and children. Just like in the Islamic Middle Eastern nations. Just like in Hindu India, too.

No, it's more that my knowledge about other religions and seeing that the violence coming from the Islamic Middle East right now is not unique or even unusual in the world is distressing to you.

Man I want some of that good stuff you are smoking. By the way, I found it very interesting in the way you worded your response, limiting it to take about "the population is Christian" instead of what is going on in the middle east (and even in Indonesia) where religion is being carried out in the NAME of said religion. And there in lies the difference. The last time Christians were killing on this scale was pre-reformation. Today, and that is all that matters in this discussion, today, Islam is being used to justify horrific acts of violence and depravity.
 
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