Robert Spencer says that Islam is a religion of intolerance. Your response, with proof?

Answer 1

As salaamu 'alaikym, my freind.

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim,

Insha'Allah, Islam is the religion of peace through ones personal submission to the Will of Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala as the understanding of doing the same is revealed through the Holy Qur'an, taught in the authentic Sunnah Hadiths and as the same was lived by the example of the Last Prophet of Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, Muhammad, sallaahu 'alaihi wasalaam.

Insha'Allah, we are taught in the Holy Qur'an that there can be no compunction or forcing of belief onto anyone. During the life time of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), no one was forced to become a Muslim. Infact, if an individual did not convert of his own free will and conscious choice, his or her profession of faith would not be accepted.

IN the Holy Qur'an, we are also taught that Jews and Christians received their scriptures from Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, just as the Holy Qur'an was given to the Arab nations and to the world by Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala. IN the Holy Qur'an, Jews and Christians are referred to as "ahl al kitab" or "the people of the book" and they are our spiritual brothers and sisters. It is further taught in the Holy Qur'an that many of them will be found and judged as righteous persons by Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, on the Last Day or Day of Judgment.
Muslims accept and recognize and follow the persons and teaching of all of the prophets of Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, from the prophet Aadaam, to Enoch, Noah, Ibrahim, Lot, Ismail, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Dawood, Solomon,and to Essa (Yoshua ben Yoseph in Hebrew or Jesus Christ in biblical Greek), may Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, be pleased with all of them. Although we recognize their prophets as such, neither the Jews nor the Christians recognize the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

As the earthly and political power of the Arab nations grew and as their empire expanded, Muslims built synaguoges and cathedrals for the Christians and Jews in the newly claimed territories so that they could practice their religions. Can you name a masjid or mosque that has been built by the Jews or the Christians for Muslims?

IN Islam, the Muslims are taught to respect all others from their parents, to their relatives to the neighbor who is known to them and to the neighbor who is a stranger to them, to be kind and generous with the poor, the orphans, widows, the infirmed and the disabled,

In Islam, we are taught that all persons, regardless of race, religion, political beleifs or gender are equals, that no person is better than another, that we all have come from Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, and that unto Him we will all return. Furhter, we are taught that Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, and He alone knows who will be judged as righteous from all of the person in the world and that we are not to presume to judge.

The myth that has been perpetuated by other religious bodies and groups of persons throughout history of the Muslims forcing others to convert or to die is utterly false.

How could Muhammad (saw), a single man have forced all of Arabia to convert? He began his mission from Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala in Makkah (i.e., Mecca) facing extreme opposition and grave personal danger. Attempts were made repeatedly to kill him and it was only by the Will and Mercy of Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, that he survived.

Later, when the Arab nations were joined in Islam, they still did not use their military and political might to force others to convert. The following quotes from well known and respected western authors and authorities demonstrate this fact.
James A. Michener, "Islam- the MIsunderstood Religion", writes, "No other relgion in History spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this surge of reltion was made possible by the sword. but no modern scholar accepts that idea, and the Qur'an is explicit in support of the freedome of conscience."
Laurence E. Browne, "The Propspect of Islam" writes, "Incidnetally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings about the Muslims that wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword."
De Lay O'Leary, "Islam at Crossroads", writes, "History makes it clear, however, that the legend of the fanatical Muslims, sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquereed races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated."

AS a response to those person who seek to defame Islam, whether this be in the form of the state controlled media and the propoganda spewed forth by the same, or "religious" individuals or groups who demonstrate their hatred and fear of that of which they know basically nothing (and this despite their claim that they represent a "religion" of love for all, peace for all and brotherhood), I offer this quote by Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), "It will be wrong to judge Islam in the lihgt of the behavior of some bad Muslims who are always shown on the media. It is like judging a car as a bad one if the driver is drunk and he bangs it with the wall. Islam guides all human beings in daily life-in spiritul, mental and physical dimensions. Neverthe less, we must find the sources of these instruction: the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet. Then we can see the idea of Islam."
Furhter, Maurice Bucaille said, "The totally erroneous statements made about Islam in the West are sometimes the result of ignorance and sometimes of systematic denigration. The most serious of all the untruths told about it are however those dealing with the facts for while mistaken opinions are excusable, the presentation of facts running contrary to relaity is not. It is disturbing to read blatant untrths in eminently respectable workls written by authors who a priori are highly qualified."

Insha'Allah, I would futher offer any Western individual two works by the same well known and well respected Western author as a well chosen place to begin ones search of the truths about Islam. These two works are, "Islam, a Brief History" and "Muhammad, a Prophet for Our Times", by Karen Armstrong.

Insha'allah, as I would recommend to any athiest that prior to beginning a disucssion regarding the existance of God he or she should read the scriptures of the very religions he or she is denying, I would recommend to any Christian or Jew, Hindu or Buddhist, etc., that he or she read the Holy Qur'an prior to denouncing the same so that they might have a better background and understanding of that which they have chosen to fear and hate. A. Yusuf Ali has produced a very popular translation of the Holy Qur'an in English with commentary that is readliy available. It is accurate as well as retaining some sense of the poetic beauty of the original Arabic. Of course, if you can read Arabic, please read the Holy Qur'an in that language.

To those person who are so filled with hatred, fear and who have happily swallowed the lies they have been told by those who, like themselves are also filled with the same hatred and fears, insha'Allah, I will pray to Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, that His peace descends upon you and that once you have calmed down, you might, with a more open mind and heart, be guided by Him to the truth.

To those person who are actually trying at present to learn with open minds and hearts, rest assured, Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, will guide you. There is an Arabic saying that if one begins to crawl towards God, God will walk towards him; if one walks towards God, God will run towards him and; if one runs towards God, God is already there with him!

Anything that I may have said or written that is correct is from Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala. All praise and glory is due to Him and to Him alone. Any mistakes that I may have made are my own and I pray that Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, will guide me to the truth and forgive my mistakes. Alhumdulillah!

Ma'a salaam. Eid Mubarak.

Answer 2

icarus62 has beautifully said it in a few words, even if you fart, a muslims has to say something in arabic, so hoplessly the religion has permeated in ones life, its pathalogical. When a person reaches such a mind set he is naturally going to see the other as a sinner not following allah's command, how can they love the other human being who is not doing what a muslim is doing. There are verses that talk about how you should mingle with your own community. Yes it talks about unity, but unity among musllims only. IT is easy for a muslim to love the other provided he/she is a muslim. There is a lengthy answer on how good islam is, perhaps the person who read it read it with one eye closed avoiding the negative things, because the positives things is what his soul seeks. We all choose to hear, see and experience what we want to, it is as simple as that. eventually its the soul that seeks to express itself. Yes a muslim who leaves the religion is disowned by the family, community, and a marriage can be nulled if one person chooses to opt out of Islam. Relationships have no value in islam, its the religion that rules. Crazy!!!

Answer 3

During the Caliph of Omar, Islam Empire took over Jerusalem from Rome Empire. Omar then divide Jerusalem to three section for Islam, Christian and Jews.

Above, is one of the proof that Islam is tolerance.

Answer 4

Proof is a persons eyes, ears and intelligence. The only defense can be that Muslims them selves have ruined their own religion and are continuing to do so by their actions and furher more by un intelligent arguments and out right lies.

Answer 5

Tell me which religion is tolerant. There have been wars over religion and still simmering in the form of terrorism or genocides like it happened in Gujrat in India. All in the name of religion. So let us not single out a religion. In fact any believer in religion is intolerant and potential terrorist. The difference is only of degree.

Answer 6

Apparently Robert Spencer isn't open minded, and because he would think that Muslims are terrorists, or for other reasons, he concluded that Islam is a religion of intolerance. Islam is a religion of tolerance, because there's tremendous wisdom and beauty of Islam, which is in harmony with human nature.

Answer 7

It does seem to be a highly regimented and restrictive religion, with rules for anything and everything, right down to the tiniest detail of life, so on that basis I would say Islam is pretty intolerant of any kind of freedom of thought or speech or behaviour.

Answer 8

ISLAM is islam because of our beloved PROPHET MUHAMMAD(P.B.U.H) otherwise who had seen ALLAH or spoken to HIM. PROPHETS'(P.B.U.T) who came prior to HIM(p.b.u.h) did their bit in establishing the religion of ONE GOD but the people corrupted their teachings and evoked new beliefs and religions out of it. ISLAM is filled with teachings of QURAAN, again a HOLY BOOK revealed on our beloved PROPHET MUHAMMAD(P.B.U.H) and HADEES, which are precious teachings of our PROPHET(P.B.U.H). This means the very backbone of islam is our beloved PROPHET(p.b.u.h). if one cares to read HIS(P.B.U.H) biography, one will notice how tolerant HE(P.B.U.H) was. There is HADEES about this lady who used to throw garbage in the path from where HE(p.b.u.h) used to pass. one day there was no garbage. on enquiring, he found that the lady was unwell. HE(P.B.U.H) went to visit her. HE(P.B.U.H) asked her," today, you did'nt come to throw garbage in my path?" she was so touched and impressed by HIS (P.B.U.H) conduct that she converted. Similarly, this HADEES that a person is responsible for the wellbeing of his neighbours for about 40 houses around his own, that every morse of food you have is forbidden for you if your neighbour is hungry, these invaluable HADEES do not stop us from abiding if our neighbour is a kaafir or a non believer. rather they teach generosity and ampathy. Then, who can forget the biggest of all sacrifices given by HIS(P.B.U.H) grandson, IMAM HUSSEIN(R.A) who preferred to get himself(r.a) beheaded but did not bend before the enemies of islam. What robert spencer is saying is his limited vision. i just want to ask one thing, inspite of this propoganda by islam-haters, why more and more people who begin reading QURAAN and HADEES with the intention of finding faults in it, only end up converting and surrendering to that ONE GOD? May be all are spell bounded!

Answer 9

one of the basics of Islam is that Islam should be forced on non Muslims, the statement " Din Muhammad bisaif" translates " the faith of Muhammad is by the sword", that in itself makes Islam militant towards non Muslims.
there are some other features of Islam that indicate how intolerant is this religion. one of them is the death punishment for any Muslim who converts to other religion, and death punishment for a person who tries to convert Muslims.
another issue is the intolerance towards equal status for women, most pronounced in the dress code, which presumes that a woman must hide herself behind clothes, or punished for failing to do so.

Answer 10

Islam is extremely intolerant for sexual perverts, robbers, looters and rapists.

Answer 11

I have a few Muslim friends. They are tolerant and open minded.

But definitely there exist people who are fanatics!