Why is it a popularly held view that Islam is the cause of our problems?

Question

I'm not saying everyone thinks that. But looking at the answers and questions related to Islam many people believe that Islam and Muslims as a whole believe in terrorism and the destruction of the West and all its values. Why is this? Is it just ignorance and generalisation?

If perhaps you asked someone who knew arabic what Jihad means, they would tell it that it means struggle and NOT "holy war". When the Qur'an talks of Jihad it means the struggle against non-believers to get them to accept Islam, not the slaughter of them for not accepting it. It is very clear in the Qur'an that killing people is wrong, and that you should only have a Jihad of the Sword when your religion is threatened directly.

So we'll have no more of the out of context quotes thanks. I'm sure I could find some pretty nasty ones from the Bible and Torah if I tried.

Also - there were papal bulls issued which demanded the recapture of the Holy lands, which led to the Crusades, and the complete slaughter of the inhabitants of several cities, regardless of their faith. The Pope WAS the church at the time, as Protestantism didn't exist. Therefore what the Pope (and more than one said it) said was and is Christianity. Are modern Christians hypocrites because they believe the Crusaders were wrong in their slaughter of the "infidel" Jews, Coptics and Muslims?

Answer 1

I believe that most people are peaceful, only wanting to be able to work, raise their families,and live without fear. It is the extremists and politicians, and I'm afraid, certain elements of the media, which shapes the average person's viewpoint throughout the world. Some are able to see past all of that, and realize that you cannot generalize, cannot blame people who have nothing to do with the events of the world. People only hate when they are taught to.

Answer 2

It's because we don't want to think that we cause our own problems.

There is also a lot of subliminal racism in the U.S., which only comes out under stress -- examples include Islam & terrorism, Hispanics & illegal immigration, Africans & poverty, etc. If these problems (terrorism, illegal immigration, poverty, etc.) impact the privileged of this nation (which includes almost everyone, since even our poor are wealthy compared to the rest of the world), then the generalizations and stereotypes start being applied (to Muslims, Hispanics, Africans, etc.) and racist hatred starts seep into the mindset of some individuals.

It also doesn't help that religions labels people with different viewpoints as outsiders. Humans are naturally xenophobic, so if your religion tells people that "our way is right and every other way is wrong, wrong, wrong!" then many people will close of their minds to it, take sides, and quickly dismiss any contradictory information as propaganda and traitorous.

The fact that the media also limits the information we receive doesn't help matters. But even if they did report everything truthfully, there are some people that wouldn't believe it. The wealthy nations of the world live in a relative Utopia, which comes at a cost to the rest of the world. But the vast majority of us refuse to acknowledge that or attempt to take *productive* steps to rectify the problem (through self-sacrifice and moderation). We refuse to see the suffering of the rest of the world... or if we do see it, we prefer to blame those who are suffering instead of ourselves. We're delusional, and any attempt by wake us up is seen as a threat.

Edit:
For those quoting Islamic scripture, keep in mind that the Bible is equally as violent towards outsiders (infidels: unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam). Christianity has enough of their own "fire and brimstone," plagues, eternal hell, Apocalyptic fights between generic "evil," etc.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Islam implicates itself. These are some quotations from Islamic scripture and other holy Islamic writings:

Noble Qur'an 2:190 Footnote: "Jihad is holy fighting in Allah's Cause with full force of numbers and weaponry. It is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its pillars. By Jihad, Islam is established, Allah's Word is made superior (which means only Allah has the right to be worshipped), and Islam is propagated. By abandoning Jihad, Islam is destroyed and Muslims fall into an inferior postion: their honor is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligatory duty in Islam on every Muslim. He who tries to escape from this duty, or does not fulfill this duty, dies a hypocrite."

Qur'an 47:4 "So when you clash with the unbelieving infidels in battle (fighting Jihad in Allah's Cause), smite their necks until you overpower them, killing and wounding many of them. At length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, making them captives. Thereafter either generosity or ransom (them based upon what benefits Islam) until the war lays down its burderns. Thus you are commanded by Allah to continue carrying out Jihad against the unbelieving infidels until they submit to Islam."

Ishaq: 327 "Allah said, 'A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion."

Qur'an 8:67 "It is not fitting for any prophet to have prisioners until he has made a great slaughter in the land."

Bukhari: V4B52N220 "Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been made victorious with terror."'

Tabari VIII: 141 "The battle cry of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah that night was: 'Kill, Kill, Kill!'"

Qur'an 5:33 "The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His prophet and make mischief in the land, is to murder them, crucify them, or cut off a hand and foot on opposite sides... their doom is dreadful. They will not escape the fire, suffering constantly."

Qur'an 2:61 "Humiliation and wretchedness were stamped on the Jews and they were visited with Allah's wrath."

Ishaq: 240 "The Jews are a nation of liars...The Jews are a treacherous, lying, and evil people."

Qur'an 33:26 "Allah made the Jews leave their homes by terrorizing them so that you killed some and made many captive. And He made you inherit their lands, their homes and their wealth. He gave you a country you had not traversed before."

Qur'an 4:55 "Sufficient for the Jew is the Flaming Fire!"

Ishaq: 364 "Muslims, take not the Jews and Christians as friends. Whoever protects them becomes one of them, they become diseased, and will earn a similar fate."

The aforementioned quotes are but a smattering of what can be found in Islamic scripture. Islam is NOT a religion of peace but violence.

Good Muslims who adhere to Islamic scripture are, by definition, terrorists. Muslims who do not adhere to Islamic Scripture are, by definition, hypocrites - and therefore face the same fate as infidels. There is no such entity as moderate Islam. Moderate Muslims do not exist (they are hypocrites if they are being sincere).



OK....ASKER....OMIT ALL THE QUOTATIONS ABOUT JIHAD AND EXPAIN THE OTHERS...I"D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY.

Answer 5

It's called propaganda.. If you lived in the Middle East, you'd have the same view on Christianity and the Western world.

Answer 6

No, it's not just ignorance and generalization. It's the truth. Time to wake up and pay attention to reality, junior...

Answer 7

I think people are the source of our own problems, not any particular group of people, just people in general.

Answer 8

People fear the unknown.