Is Islam really a peaceful religion?

Question

A new pew poll of American Muslims found that 26% believe that suicide bombings against civilians are acceptable to defend Islam from its "enemies". Also the poll found that only 40% of American Muslims believe that Arabs were really responsible for 9/11 and about half of Muslims identified themselves as Muslims and do not consider themselves Americans.

What can we do to change this? Should we give them something? Should we start a taxpayer funded program to build more mosques to prove our appreciation for all they have given America? There has to be some way we can turn this around.

anderson, the key is killing of civilians. are you saying that is acceptable under any circumstance in Islam? Sounds like you are one of the 26%

carmelite, i know that all muslims are not arabs. i did not do the poll, the pew institute did and they asked 1,000 American Muslims if they thought Arabs were responsible for 9/11. 60% said no. I would love to hear Aaliyah's opinion on 9/11 and how the US was responsible for 3,000 American deaths.

nunya, did i ask you to explain that your religion is peaceful? nope. i dont know where you read that. please be more careful with your assumptions next time.

Aalyiah, do you have proof of this? or do you just think that it must be a conspiracy because muslims would not murder thousands of people?

Answer 1

Ever read about Malcom X? When he went to the great land of Africa to see real Muslims he realized how terrible it was. He was shocked and terrified by the true Islamic culture. When he returned to America he denounced his belief.

Answer 2

to answer ur question, islam is peaceful. Do you kno the meaning of "assalamualaikum"? it means PEACE be with you. We muslims are God fearing, and have a WAY OF LIFE. If it was fair in islam to kill innocent people with suicide bombs, and bombs in luch boxes, then i think no non-muslim would exist in the world for all the crap that SOME people around the world are doing (i dont think i have to specify).
If my religion allowed me to kill people as i liked, then why would i be sitting and typing away an answer without researching about where u r right now and which is the best method to give u a painful death. But then...Allah doesnt allow me.
Islam is such a peaceful religion that even slaughtering animals shd be done in the least painful way(for the chicken ofcourse). Islam does not allow postemortem because Allah says that a dead person's body shd be given same amount of respect as the body of a living person. If islam is so careful about these things....
where in the world is it told in the quran to kill? infact even suicide is haram. I really believe that if one doesnt understand the quran, then he or she shd seek help, rather than make ur own interpretations.

Answer 3

I beleive it is a peacful religion but it's just mis-represented, i have done a lot or research on the religion after i have seen the corruption in the media by those "so called muslims".

and i have found that islam in it's true context is indeed peaceful but some people (muslim extremists) take certain texts out of the quran and do not explain them in the true meaning

for example (and i am saying this in my own words i'll find proper quotes on the net later) on the passage in the quran which concerns alcohol , it says that a person should not attempt to pray to god while intoxicated i.e drinking prohibts you from practicing the religion preperly hence it is forbidden for true muslims.

example 2: for the passage concerning the beating of women, the passage says that if and only in mostly extreme cases where beating is allowed and only in the condition of where the beating is as equivilant to the strenght of light wrist slap, and it deosnt cause a mark nor causes bleeding or pain i.e then beating is forbidden for those who are TRUE muslims
i've watched a speech by a muslim preist on youtube where he quotes the quran and said beating is allowed by using a metal rod or something and that lacks truth because as i said the muslim extremists or uneducated muslims tend to take it at it's raw form rather than read between the lines becuase they lack the depth of perception. (i'm rude but it's true)

By the way quran in the arabic language is very difficult for some people to understand even if they speak arabic beacuse it was the way they used to speak and write arabic 1400 years ago and is very diffrent than the common spoken arabic used today, so an arab with a lack of proper arabic literature skills (analysing proper poetry or prose) misunderstands the text and so a new extremist is born.

so yes i agree the solution is to take these uneducated muslims and show them the real origin and essence of thier religion since they are so persistant of practicing it so ignorantly.

I am NOT a practicing muslim but i take arabic leesons just so i could read the quran properly becuase i feel the translated text may lack authenticity in the truest form.

Answer 4

Yes, Islam is a very peaceful religion. I applaud your thinking about buliding more mosques. Usually, people are against the buliding of mosques anywhere near where they live, due to the lack of education and just plain understanding of Islam.

A handfull of people who conducted 9\11, changed the lives of all muslims, everywhere. We are harrassed, discriminated against and mistreated everyday.

As far as the polls go, I am an american reverted to Islam for 11 years, and do NOT believe that suicide bombings are "ok". I believe that arabs AND the U.S were responsible for 9/11, and I consider myself a muslim first, and American second.

Matt, I believe that 9/11 was a conspiracy. There is too much evidence contridicting the terrorist accusations. This is my firm belief. I believe that the U.S was in on it. This would give a good reason to go to war with Iraq, Afghanistan and every other muslim country that is next on the list.

Matt, to answer your 2nd question, no one has proof of anything, concerning 9/11, as far as everyone that was behind all of it. I do not have PROOF that it is a conspiracy nor do I have proof that it was done only by muslims. This is what I believe, along with alot of others willing to look beyond just what our government tell us and wants us to believe. No, I am not unwilling to believe that muslims killed thousands of people. These were a few bad eggs....

Answer 5

NOT all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs. In fact, Indonesia has by far the highest population of Muslims in the world. Even in Iran, they are not Arabs but Persians....so are the Kurds....

I seriously doubt the validity of that poll. If 26% of American Muslims believe that suicide bombings are ok to kill the enemy....how many were in their survey? I mean 26% of 25 people is only 7. So, did they interview just 7 American Muslims or 7,000? More or less? Almost all American Muslims are moderate to progressive Muslims -- and very well adjusted.

American Muslims should take the birthday of their founder, Mohammad (pbuh) which is April 20th to throw open the doors to all of their mosques across the country and the globe for people like you and I to enter in and to learn about Islam. It truly IS a religion of peace. The term Islam does mean "submit"....but Jesus himself submitted to the will of the Father. I am Catholic and I have no problem with Islam whatsoever. Just the noisy ones who would seek to hijack it like several have. The extremist Muslims no more represent centrist Islam than did David Koresh in Waco, TX or the Rev. Sam Jones in Guyana represent all of Christianity. Does the KKK represent centrist Christianity? No....that's home-grown terror, too!

I'd love to see a national day where we all learn more about Islam by visiting mosques and asking questions. Knowledge conquers fear.

Answer 6

There are radical and extremist or fanatic muslims and there are also muslims that along the way, being "brainwashed" with inaccurate information on the cause of the 9/11. So if they are those who believed in Jihad, of course any killings are acceptable as long as it is to defend Islam.
I believe the quran is a very powerful tool and if you misintepret it, it is truly evil! However, a peaceful religion should practice against bad doing and as a matter of fact, some religions are against all type killings, but we talking about killing of another human being! Whatever reasons or excuses one give, do you thing two wrongs would make one right?

I don't think they should be given any scheme, why treat them special if every American should be treated fairly. When you said that half of them identified themselves as muslim instead of American, well give them the benefit of the dount, they cant understand English yet, too busy ready Arabic!

You r wrong, I m not one of the 26%. In fact i m trying so hard not to hate this religion so much that i m finding some excuse to defend it so that i dont feel so sick about it!

Answer 7

This is how Islam has spread in the past. If they have an advantage , they loot and plunder while screaming verses from the Quran justifying their actions. As soon as the chips are down and they start getting whacked, the peace full Muslims who are silent till then, come out of the wood works claiming ,the non Muslims have twisted the real Islam and only a very microscopic baddies are giving Islam a bad name. They remain silent when they are wining in order to benefit from the loot. They have played this double game thought out history and only of late their strategy has been exposed in the west due to much better and faster communications.

Answer 8

I am an American Muslim and I don't feel as though I should have to constantly defend my beliefs. Especially because of some mambo jambo from the media.
Some wear the title of a Muslim but they don't practice Islam just as some wear the title of a Christian but don't practice Christianity the same in all religions. I know for a fact that the Holy Bible teaches to love one another and judge not but I read a lot of Q&A's from "Christians" that certainly don't potray Christianity.
People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

So to answer your question, to me, YES Islam is a peaceful religion because it is my way of life with total submission to Allah and the true Islam is Peace

anyone with brains should know by now to never form an opinion from what you read or hear but to see for yourself. Have some Muslim friends and you'll see how good and peaceful they are

Answer 9

As a Muslim yes I think its a peaceful religion. Like Ive tried o explain a million times there are 73 sects of Islam so not all Muslims are the same.

I believe that all these suicide bombings are not for the sake of God as they say. You cant kill yourself and think youre going to heaven.

In my opinion the day there is peace in Islam is the day the world is coming to an end.

Good Luck in what youre looking for

Answer 10

As a Muslim American, I'm a firm believer in Islam as a beautiful and peaceful way of life. I'm not swayed by all the negative and degrading broadcast and print media coverage. It's junk. It's gunk. It's trash. It's garbage. I don't have the time and patience for it.

I am aware that there are people who are convinced that Islam is not peaceful. So be it. That's not my problem.

Answer 11

As a Muslim, I feel that Islam is the most peaceful religion. Allah (swt) forbids violence and the rules of Islam help keep us on a straight path. These people out there are unfortunately ruining the peaceful image of Islam, because they believe it is right to kill for the sake of their religion, but only Allah (swt) is the judge of that.