blank: So, why were people arrested in Kano for not fasting?

uhmmm!! I see

As I sat down to review the happenings in my country, Nigeria, one question kept creeping up in my subconscious...'Is Islam really a peaceful religion?'

Am sure this particular question has at one point or another crossed the minds of many Nigerians and the global community at large. Many Muslims believe that Islam is a religion of peace, but daily occurrence the world over keeps pointing in the opposite direction. The question of how peaceful the religion has been has eluded a good number of us. In as much as I want to believe what the majority of muslims say, it is very difficult for one to completely rule out violence as part and parcel of the Islamic faith.

If we take a stock of many current violent events in the world, 80% of it has a root in Islamic ideology. Currently, the Boko Haram bombings in my beloved country is rooted strongly in 'the attitude of non-tolerance of other religions' by islamic extremists. Though many muslims argue that those orchestrating the violence are not true muslims, it is hard for one to buy such ideas. Terrorism in many countries across the world are rooted in the teachings of islamic non-tolerance. The examples abound from Afghanistan to Palestine, from Somalia to Iran, from Chechnea to Pakistan. Most people who have been involved in terrorist plots and attacks have been muslims. The question arises 'if Islam was so peaceful, why are they always the ones involved in the business of Terror?' Why are they always the ones to easily be 'radicalised'? If there was no real teachings in the Islamic ideology supporting such non-tolerance, why do many muslims believe they need to fight for God?

Honestly, I quite frankly believe that if there were no concrete teachings in the Islamic faith pointing towards such tendencies, ardents of the religion may be less likely to be cohered to believe 'they are doing God's work'. It will definitely be difficult to create extremists where such ideology is not rooted in any holy book or seen as a directive from God.

Unfortunately, many parts of the Qur’an seem to support the attitude of non-tolerance of other religions. Jihad has always been a sore point in the islamic ideology. The fact that Islam teaches forceful conversion doesn't support the idea of tolerance and peaceful co-exsistence with non-adherents of the religion. Islam has never been able to decide whether it wants to live in peace with unbelievers, or to pile their severed, unbelieving heads into a giant pyramid. I’m sure many would disagree here, but they would be disagreeing with one of the most empirically verifiable facts in the universe. Think about it. One Muslim beheads an innocent woman to protest the war in Iraq, while another Muslim curses him for slaying the innocent. One group of Muslims flies an aircraft into a building, while another group condemns the attack. One Muslim detonates a bomb on a bus filled with passengers, while another Muslim says on the evening news, "Islam is a religion of peace." Each side quotes the Qur’an to support its actions. However, it may be even more important to note that each of them is following the example set by Muhammad.

For one to understand why Islam is faced with such 'multiple personality' ideology, one has to understand the evolution of the religion and its prophet. When Muhammad was resident in Mecca, he was a peaceful personality, in all ramification a fine moral example. Unfortunately, d people around him never wanted such teachings, therefore they were hostile towards him. They mocked and persecuted him which lead to his leaving Mecca and going into exile in Medina. However, in Medina, as he was able to gather more followership and political clout, the whole ideology of peace vanished. Followers started raiding caravans, villages, towns to support the religion. What followed can only be described as a reign of terror for those who refused to submit to Islam. Both men and women were slaughtered for writing satirical poems against Muhammad, and those who left the Islamic faith were exterminated ( (For more on Muhammad’s violent acts, see "Murdered By Muhammad.".

These are just few examples of the violence that trailed the early world of Islam. Now, one would ask if Islam was a peaceful religion for thousands maimed during this period? Was Islam a religion of peace for the 600-900 Jewish men and boys whose heads were piled into trenches after they had surrendered? Was Islam a religion of peace for the woman who was stabbed to death in the midst of her five children? Was it a religion of peace for anyone who dared to speak out against Muhammad? No, it wasn’t. It is still not. When Muhammad finally had a band of dedicated followers who would obey his commands without question, Islam was no longer a religion of peace.

Some of these acts have continued even till the 21st century by ardents of the Islamic Ideology. Riots and killings have continued at the slightest provocation. Verses abound in the Qur’an which supports violence ranging from religious intolerance (.....),domestic violence against women (Sura 4:34), amputation of criminals (Sura 5:38), harsh punishment for anyone that speaks against the prophet (Suras 3:186; 33:57; 33:59-61; and 9:61-63), encouraging armed conflict and martyrdom(Suras 44:51-56; 52:17-29; 55:46-78), wanton destruction of lives and property (Sura 33:25-26) (These verses can be checked up on www.quranbrowser.com )

As noted in the introduction to this article, most muslims would constantly assert that Islam is a religion of peace, but factually, Islam is no peaceful religion. True, it had peaceful moments, but not for very long. And since then, it has continued to have a 'multiple personality disorder' preaching peace on one hand and violence on the other.

drzed:

No. Muslims dont need to work hard to prove jack!

The difference between we Muslims and you Christians is that you take every bad action of any Muslim as being representative of Islam. We muslims do not generalise the bad actions of some Christians as representative of Christianity. Otherwise we Muslims would blame each and every Christian for:

1). The killing of 6 million Jews and 20 Million Russians by Adolf Hitler - with the connivance of German (and some say papal)Church
2). The massacre of millions of native North American Indians by land-hungry European Christians
3). The murdering of millions of native South Americans by the Spanish Conquistadors
4). The byatch-slapping of presumed witches by your pastors, especially those in Nigeria;
5). The molestation of kids by your 'holy' preachers, especially of the Catholic kind.
6)._________________________(Anyone can fill in the blanks here)....
7)....And list more here.
8].......... And even more here.

We Muslims do not generalise. We know that not all Christians are bad, just as we acknowledge that there are bad Muslims among us. So what is the difference between us? Well, you may not believe in what we believe; you may not like or tolerate us, but we judge each and every one of you according to his words and his deeds. The truth is that we KNOW about you because we were told (and warned) about you in the Glorious Quran. But for you, we on the other hand remain a mystery, an enigma, and unknown phenomenon which you love to hate. Simply because you refuse to even 'consider' making an attempt to know us.

Learn to separate a religion (yes, including Christianity) from its practitioners. The former may be ideal, the latter is definitely not, due to human tendency to err.

A little research about what Islam truly means and what a true Muslim is really like, cannot surely hurt you, will it? But no, most of you would rather believe CNN or what others tell you. For crying out loud: READ!

ps: The very first word revealed in the Glorious Qur'an happened to be 'READ'.

You've spoken well, drzed.... Bokoharam ain't helping u @ all...they involved religion in their fight....let's not talk about boko....let's talk about your fulani brothers who ain't helping @ all! Most of them cause mayhem anywhere they go...they attack people of the community @ the slightest provocation even after destroying their farmlands...is it that they don't know the meaning of farm or what!!?? ....most of these communities don't have muslims around...the only muslims they see are the fulanis.... So tell me, how do you think they'll define 'muslims'?....
Don't get me wrong I like muslims precisely those from the south_west because of their level of tolerance... I have muslim friends from south-west and they are cool.......

[quote author=cjpanta]As I sat down to review the happenings in my country, Nigeria, one question kept creeping up in my subconscious...'Is Islam really a peaceful religion?'

Am sure this particular question has at one point or another crossed the minds of many Nigerians and the global community at large. Many Muslims believe that Islam is a religion of peace, but daily occurrence the world over keeps pointing in the opposite direction. The question of how peaceful the religion has been has eluded a good number of us. In as much as I want to believe what the majority of muslims say, it is very difficult for one to completely rule out violence as part and parcel of the Islamic faith.

If we take a stock of many current violent events in the world, 80% of it has a root in Islamic ideology. Currently, the Boko Haram bombings in my beloved country is rooted strongly in 'the attitude of non-tolerance of other religions' by islamic extremists. Though many muslims argue that those orchestrating the violence are not true muslims, it is hard for one to buy such ideas. Terrorism in many countries across the world are rooted in the teachings of islamic non-tolerance. The examples abound from Afghanistan to Palestine, from Somalia to Iran, from Chechnea to Pakistan. Most people who have been involved in terrorist plots and attacks have been muslims. The question arises 'if Islam was so peaceful, why are they always the ones involved in the business of Terror?' Why are they always the ones to easily be 'radicalised'? If there was no real teachings in the Islamic ideology supporting such non-tolerance, why do many muslims believe they need to fight for God?

Honestly, I quite frankly believe that if there were no concrete teachings in the Islamic faith pointing towards such tendencies, ardents of the religion may be less likely to be cohered to believe 'they are doing God's work'. It will definitely be difficult to create extremists where such ideology is not rooted in any holy book or seen as a directive from God.

Unfortunately, many parts of the Qur’an seem to support the attitude of non-tolerance of other religions. Jihad has always been a sore point in the islamic ideology. The fact that Islam teaches forceful conversion doesn't support the idea of tolerance and peaceful co-exsistence with non-adherents of the religion. Islam has never been able to decide whether it wants to live in peace with unbelievers, or to pile their severed, unbelieving heads into a giant pyramid. I’m sure many would disagree here, but they would be disagreeing with one of the most empirically verifiable facts in the universe. Think about it. One Muslim beheads an innocent woman to protest the war in Iraq, while another Muslim curses him for slaying the innocent. One group of Muslims flies an aircraft into a building, while another group condemns the attack. One Muslim detonates a bomb on a bus filled with passengers, while another Muslim says on the evening news, "Islam is a religion of peace." Each side quotes the Qur’an to support its actions. However, it may be even more important to note that each of them is following the example set by Muhammad.

For one to understand why Islam is faced with such 'multiple personality' ideology, one has to understand the evolution of the religion and its prophet. When Muhammad was resident in Mecca, he was a peaceful personality, in all ramification a fine moral example. Unfortunately, d people around him never wanted such teachings, therefore they were hostile towards him. They mocked and persecuted him which lead to his leaving Mecca and going into exile in Medina. However, in Medina, as he was able to gather more followership and political clout, the whole ideology of peace vanished. Followers started raiding caravans, villages, towns to support the religion. What followed can only be describped as a reign of terror for those who refused to submit to Islam. Both men and women were slaughtered for writing satirical poems against Muhammad, and those who left the Islamic faith were exterminated ( (For more on Muhammad’s violent acts, see "Murdered By Muhammad.".

These are just few examples of the violence that trailed the early world of Islam. Now, one would ask if Islam was a peaceful religion for thousands maimed during this period? Was Islam a religion of peace for the 600-900 Jewish men and boys whose heads were piled into trenches after they had surrendered? Was Islam a religion of peace for the woman who was stabbed to death in the midst of her five children? Was it a religion of peace for anyone who dared to speak out against Muhammad? No, it wasn’t. It is still not. When Muhammad finally had a band of dedicated followers who would obey his commands without question, Islam was no longer a religion of peace.

Some of these acts have continued even till the 21st century by ardents of the Islamic Ideology. Riots and killings have continued at the slightest provocation. Verses abound in the Qur’an which supports violence ranging from religious intolerance (.....),domestic violence against women (Sura 4:34), amputation of criminals (Sura 5:38), harsh punishment for anyone that speaks against the prophet (Suras 3:186; 33:57; 33:59-61; and 9:61-63), encouraging armed conflict and martyrdom(Suras 44:51-56; 52:17-29; 55:46-78), wanton destruction of lives and property (Sura 33:25-26) (These verses can be checked up on www.quranbrowser.com )

As noted in the introduction to this article, most muslims would constantly assert that Islam is a religion of peace, but factually, Islam is no peaceful religion. True, it had peaceful moments, but not for very long. And since then, it has continued to have a 'multiple personality disorder' preaching peace on one hand and violence on the other.[/qute]. U want 2 knw more about a religion but u depend on works and essays written by enemies of that same religion(mudered by Muhammadetc).About those verses that u listed I will like u to go and seek knowledge about those verses frm the knowlegdeble ones amongst the muslim umma. not to go straight into the Qur'an and pick some verses without knowing those before or after or rather the essence(sababun nuzl) of the revealation of that(those) verse(s).

idris4r83:
That is not secularism Mr. Austin.E, Secularism is a word coined by a british writer George holyoake in 1851 to denote separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. A country like america where neither Islam nor christianity is playing role or influencing their political terrain can be said to be practising secularism.

I beg to disagree with you sir on the bolded part. America is not a SECULAR country. The founders of America are renegade Christians from Europe and till today, this Fundamental (Extreme) Christians directly/indirectly masterminds America's domestic and foreign policy thrust. For example: All major activities of government can not start without Christian prayers and their constitution starts with the mention of God.

That great country called America, is a Christian country! Period!

Seconded to this comment by Drzed.

The difference between we Muslims and you Christians is that you take every bad action of any Muslim as being representative of Islam. We muslims do not generalise the bad actions of some Christians as representative of Christianity. Otherwise we Muslims would blame each and every Christian for:

1). The killing of 6 million Jews and 20 Million Russians by Adolf Hitler - with the connivance of German (and some say papal)Church
2). The massacre of millions of native North American Indians by land-hungry European Christians
3). The murdering of millions of native South Americans by the Spanish Conquistadors
4). The byatch-slapping of presumed witches by your pastors, especially those in Nigeria;
5). The molestation of kids by your 'holy' preachers, especially of the Catholic kind.
6)._________________________(Anyone can fill in the blanks here)....
7)....And list more here.
8].......... And even more here.

We Muslims do not generalise. We know that not all Christians are bad, just as we acknowledge that there are bad Muslims among us. So what is the difference between us? Well, you may not believe in what we believe; you may not like or tolerate us, but we judge each and every one of you according to his words and his deeds. The truth is that we KNOW about you because we were told (and warned) about you in the Glorious Quran. But for you, we on the other hand remain a mystery, an enigma, and unknown phenomenon which you love to hate. Simply because you refuse to even 'consider' making an attempt to know us.

Learn to separate a religion (yes, including Christianity) from its practitioners. The former may be ideal, the latter is definitely not, due to human tendency to err.

A little research about what Islam truly means and what a true Muslim is really like, cannot surely hurt you, will it? But no, most of you would rather believe CNN or what others tell you. For crying out loud: READ!

ps: The very first word revealed in the Glorious Qur'an happened to be 'READ'.

Ibnjarir:

I want to get something correctly. Are those verses not in the Quaran? Is it not there in Black and White? Why do I need to see an imam to start interpreting what is written in black and white or are u saying that am not literate enough to read?

We must face facts, yes agreed that a lot of muslims are peaceful, but it is arguing against one of the most verifiable facts in the world. Most places with the most conflicts have a vast majority as islamic faithful.

My advice is that the moderate islamic faithful try as much as possible to rein in the 'extreme' ones as to prevent the continual giving of Islam' a bad name. Whether we like it or not, if such wanton destruction as we are witnessing today in Nigeria and world at large continues under the guise of Jihad, the world will undoubtedly become more and more Islamophobic

You are clearly ignorant. According to your hadiths, you are required to fight all those who do not believe in your prophet (kaffirs you call them). The spread of Islam from the word go was courtesy of wars by Muhammed. In Nigeria, it was by Uthman Dan Fodio. 2day, all predominantly Islamic states( I stand to be corrected) have made Islam the official state religion. In Iran, the christian rep who opposed the blasphemy law was brutally assasinated. Everything in that country is linked to Islam- IRGC, RED CRESCENT, etc. In Nigeria, boko is on the rampage, in Mali... How many must be listed to enlighten you on the truth?

please tell them o jare!

Is there compulsion of remaining an islam once an ismam ?