When looking at the current global events, very many people from around the world are asking is Islam a religion for peace, or is it one that fuels brutality, violence and terrorism.
We live in a time where every individual has access to instant information, whether it is from the mainstream media or from independent reporters, or even from normal people thanks to social media. The problem being that with such a wealth of information and resources, it becomes difficult to keep up with what is actually going on; especially when there may be hidden agendas involved.
However, when looking into this particular question, it would be easy to switch on the televised news and think Islam is all about violence and terrorism. Every time there is an atrocity involving a Muslim, the headlines flow out about “Islamic Terrorism” or “Muslim Extremist” etc.
Using quotes to back up opinions
To back up claims that Islam is about violence and brutality you’ll often come across people highlighting quotes from the Quran, Islam’s holy book. There are serious issues when this happens.
First and foremost, the Quran is written in Arabic. And it’s not even the Arabic of today, it’s the Arabic of over 1400 years ago. Why is this relevant you may ask? Well, put it this way. I have a very good command and understanding of the English language, if I do say so myself :-P. However, put the finest Shakespeare text in front of me and I wouldn’t have the foggiest clue of what’s happening.
Now how many people quoting the Quran actually understand Arabic? How many of them actually understand the Arabic of 1400 years ago?
Furthermore it is not just about understanding the language; of course there are many great works of translation out there. The biggest problem is that people take quotes completely out of context and twist them to however they see fit.
What does Islam actually teach then
Yes the Quran does contain quotes about using violence…but there’s a context surrounding such quotes. The Quran, and therefore Islam, first and foremost teaches peace. The word Islam itself means peace. When Muslims greet one another they do so by saying “Assalaam’alaikum” meaning ‘Peace be unto you.’
The essential teachings are to be peaceful, to be tolerant, to be patient and respectful. BUT, and this is the crucial word, BUT…if someone attacks you, or oppresses you, or deals with you unjustly, only then can a Muslim respond in like manner. In other words, a Muslim may use violence for self-defence, and only as a last resort, as it is still encouraged to bear with the injustice patiently instead.
But they always talk about Jihad…
One of the most misused words today is the word “Jihad”. This word actually means ‘to struggle’ and is about struggling for the cause of Islam. So yes in one aspect it is about fighting for Islam, but the fight isn’t about an oppressive offensive action. Again it’s mainly for self-defence when it comes to that kind of fighting.
But there is a bigger Jihad that Islam refers to, and that is the Jihad against oneself. In other words, Islam talks about and places more emphasis on the human’s struggle against himself, i.e. his struggle against his desires, his bad habits and his struggle for being a better person etc.
What about all the terrorists
Part of being a Muslim is to be selfless and help humanity, and to perfect character. Yet at the end of the day Islam is a religion, and the Quran is a book of guidance. It comes down to the individual person as to how he chooses what to do with that guidance.
There are undoubtedly Muslims who are wreaking havoc and engaged in brutality around the world; in short, there are Muslim terrorists. But do they accurately reflect the entire religion and the entire Muslim population?! Absolutely not.
There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims on the planet, if Islam really did preach violence the world would be facing imminent extinction. If you really have to ask what about all the Muslim terrorists then why not also ask what about all the peaceful Muslims? Tally the numbers up and see which side has more.
What are your views about Islam? What have you heard or come across regarding Muslims and the Islamic faith? Please share your views and queries.
WOW! Very informative website. It is unfortunate that country’s like the united states teach that Islam is a violent and malevolent religious organization like all terrorism represents the whole of the religion. It is an extremely unfair view point. How did you come about coming to this particular faith? And how long have you been practicing? well that is if you do practice this particular faith.
Hello there Shawn. Thank you for your comment. Yeah it is unfortunate about all the false information that goes around, but unfortunately it’s global and on a lot of different things. Hopefully an alternative side can be shown via this website to people who don’t get to really see it. I was born into it, but didn’t really start properly practicing until about a decade or so ago.
Informative always good to read another opinion on this subject.
Thank you.
Very good post. I agree with you 100% about the Islamic religion. I’m not muslim and do not practice Islam, but I have a relatively good understanding of the faith and its teachings, and I believe that one of its teachings is NOT violence, especially as a means to an end. I would encourage you to post more of these blogs to enlighten people and teach them to see what the real Islamic faith is about. I’ve written some articles on my other bloggs, here, http://www.lifeinmzanzi.blogspot.com, and here http://www.geopoliticsandthings.blogspot.com about Islam and the the middle East, of which I’m extremely passionate about.
Hi there George. Thank you very much for your comments and words of encouragement. Just had a quick look at your blogs, see some interesting content on there. Will need to have a good sit down and read.
Hey Xulfeh,
How wish this article if yours could spread all over the world even to those so called “Islamic Terrorism/ISIS). They are the mice who ruined the true meaning of ISLAM. I’m from Malaysia and Islam is main religion in here. Even I’m not Islam, people around are living peacefully and kind. Handful of people will go to extremist and media always reported the bad site.
Back to your websites, feel clean and easy. Article not too long and straight to the point. Wont feel boring or tiring when reading it. I quite like the funny cartoon face too. Keep it up and be peace with you 🙂
Hello there YC Yang, peace be with you too :-).
Thank you very much for your comment. I’d love to visit Malaysia one day, seems so amazing in pictures and videos lol. Appreciate your kind words too. And you’re right about the mice, such a minority but taking all the headlines; and the media don’t help but to create fear and division. Only way is to come together and communicate and share our positive experiences too.
What an insightful article, as are many others on this site. Thank you and keep up the good work. Will definitely be sharing on my social media 🙂
Thank you very much.
I don’t know much about Islam so far, I’m a Christian myself. But I got interested in learning about since my younger sister married an muslim and adopted hir religion.
I was wondering like many others if Islam was about violence with all that we see these days. But what I’ve learned is like you said, Islam is at its base a religion of peace. But lke in other religion there are extremists that ives a bad name to the rest of the group.
It’s true for Christians too.