Why is the Muslim religion a "religion of peace"?

[*PhilHos*]

I'm not saying it's not, but I want to hear from as many of you as possible as to why YOU think its a religion of peace.

Yes, there are violent extremists and we should NEVER judge an entire group by its most radical members, but what about the Muslim religion itself makes it a religion of peace?

Please note: I have no ulterior motive; I'm not trying to passive-aggressively state that it is NOT a religion of peace. I just want to hear your thoughts and hopefully provide some discussion. Because of this, St. Lucie (and those that agree with him) I ask that you don't come here stating why it is NOT.

Thanks.

[Benton]

Possibly a good discussion, but (and I hope I'm not starting it off on the wrong foot) wasn't that just a term coined by President Bush?

Personally, I think there's a potential for peace in all religions. That's usually the selling point. Muslims have that same potential in the same way Christians do — their ultimate goal is to be at peace through submission to a higher power. We're both just really, really bad on understanding what that power is telling us to do.

[Belsnickel]

(10-20-2015, 12:08 PM)Benton Wrote: Possibly a good discussion, but (and I hope I'm not starting it off on the wrong foot) wasn't that just a term coined by President Bush?

Personally, I think there's a potential for peace in all religions. That's usually the selling point. Muslims have that same potential in the same way Christians do — their ultimate goal is to be at peace through submission to a higher power. We're both just really, really bad on understanding what that power is telling us to do.

You know, I never knew that was where the term came from. I was going to go on about internal peace through submission to God, and all that. But I didn't realize it was a term coined int he west to try to differentiate between mainstream Muslims and the extremists.

[RICHMONDBENGAL_07]

(10-20-2015, 11:48 AM)PhilHos Wrote: I'm not saying it's not, but I want to hear from as many of you as possible as to why YOU think its a religion of peace.

Yes, there are violent extremists and we should NEVER judge an entire group by its most radical members, but what about the Muslim religion itself makes it a religion of peace?

Please note: I have no ulterior motive; I'm not trying to passive-aggressively state that it is NOT a religion of peace. I just want to hear your thoughts and hopefully provide some discussion. Because of this, St. Lucie (and those that agree with him) I ask that you don't come here stating why it is NOT.

Thanks.

Yeah I'm not a 100% on the tenants of the faith, but I do know that they are part of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Christianity being the other two).  All three have a history of a lot of violence though.  None of them could claim to be a "religion of peace".

[Au165]

Religion itself is peaceful in most cases, the issue is humans get carried away and try to impose it on others through any means necessary (often violence).

[Belsnickel]

(10-20-2015, 12:18 PM)RICHMONDBENGAL_07 Wrote: Yeah I'm not a 100% on the tenants of the faith, but I do know that they are part of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Christianity being the other two).  All three have a history of a lot of violence though.  None of them could claim to be a "religion of peace".

Depends on the branches/sect/denominations. I don't think anyone could deny the Amish as having a religion of peace.

[RICHMONDBENGAL_07]

(10-20-2015, 12:50 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Depends on the branches/sect/denominations. I don't think anyone could deny the Amish as having a religion of peace.

I absolutely understand this.  However in the broad picture of things, all three undeniably have a history of violence. period. 

[GodHatesBengals]

LOL @ any Abrahamic religion being a "religion of peace".

Yahweh was a war god from the very beginning.

There are peaceful Muslims. But their religion is not peaceful.

[Benton]

(10-20-2015, 12:50 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Depends on the branches/sect/denominations. I don't think anyone could deny the Amish as having a religion of peace.

Woke up quick, at about dawn
Just thought that I had to be in Lancaster soon
I gotta get at peace, before the day begins
Before my mother starts prayin' about my friends
About to go and near went blind
Young Amish on the path peacefully lookin' for signs
I went in the house, to get my hat,
with the pitchfork, strung on my back
I bailed outside and I hefted my farm implement,
and just as I thought, the unenlightened kept steppin'
I jumped in the buggy, harnessed up my ride,
I got reflective triangles front and back, side to side
Then I let the sound of silence stay
I was hummin' hymns in a somber way
I was Amish, Amish at the top of the list,
Then I played my own hymn, it went somethin' like this:
"Cruisin down the street in my buggy-yo',
not looking at ladies, not dancin' ya know,
I went to the barn, to get some hay,
This horse be eatin' it all day."

A car pulls up, who can it be?

It's a load of tourists lookin' to buy cabinets from me.
He rolls down the window and he starts to say:
"You and your friends all about makin' that woodwork, eh?"

Cuz the boys in the Ordnung are always modest
Come needin' a hand and you'll get it, honest
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit,
Don't photograph me boy, I can't have it.

[GMDino]

(10-20-2015, 12:50 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Depends on the branches/sect/denominations. I don't think anyone could deny the Amish as having a religion of peace.

(10-20-2015, 01:14 PM)Benton Wrote:

Woke up quick, at about dawn
Just thought that I had to be in Lancaster soon
I gotta get at peace, before the day begins
Before my mother starts prayin' about my friends
About to go and near went blind
Young Amish on the path peacefully lookin' for signs
I went in the house, to get my hat,
with the pitchfork, strung on my back
I bailed outside and I hefted my farm implement,
and just as I thought, the unenlightened kept steppin'
I jumped in the buggy, harnessed up my ride,
I got reflective triangles front and back, side to side
Then I let the sound of silence stay
I was hummin' hymns in a somber way
I was Amish, Amish at the top of the list,
Then I played my own hymn, it went somethin' like this:
"Cruisin down the street in my buggy-yo',
not looking at ladies, not dancin' ya know,
I went to the barn, to get some hay,
This horse be eatin' it all day."

A car pulls up, who can it be?

It's a load of tourists lookin' to buy cabinets from me.
He rolls down the window and he starts to say:
"You and your friends all about makin' that woodwork, eh?"

Cuz the boys in the Ordnung are always modest
Come needin' a hand and you'll get it, honest
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit,
Don't photograph me boy, I can't have it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1421415674/?tag=saloncom08-20

Quote:On the night of September 6, 2011, terror called at the Amish home of the Millers. Answering a late-night knock from what appeared to be an Amish neighbor, Mrs. Miller opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and their spouses. It wasn’t a friendly visit. Within moments, the men, wearing headlamps, had pulled their frightened father out of bed, pinned him into a chair, and―ignoring his tearful protests―sheared his hair and beard, leaving him razor-burned and dripping with blood.

The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the darkness, taking their parents’ hair as a trophy for their community.


Four similar beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and generating a tsunami of media coverage. While pundits and late-night talk shows made light of the attacks and poked fun at the Amish way of life, FBI investigators gathered evidence about troubling activities in a maverick Amish community near Bergholz, Ohio―and the volatile behavior of its leader, Bishop Samuel Mullet.

Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and found guilty a year later of 87 felony charges involving conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting decision, all of the defendants, including Bishop Mullet and his two ministers, were convicted of federal hate crimes. It was the first time since the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that assailants had been found guilty for religiously motivated hate crimes within the same faith community.

Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation, the trial, and the aftermath. In a riveting narrative reminiscent of a true crime classic, scholar Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark and troubling story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent people, compelling some of them to install locks on their doors and arm themselves with pepper spray.

The country’s foremost authority on Amish society, Kraybill spent six months assisting federal prosecutors with the case against the Bergholz defendants and served as an expert witness during the trial. Informed by trial transcripts and his interviews of ex-Bergholz Amish, relatives of Bishop Mullet, victims of the attacks, Amish leaders, and the jury foreman, Renegade Amish delves into the factors that transformed the Bergholz Amish from a typical Amish community into one embracing revenge and retaliation.

Kraybill gives voice to the terror and pain experienced by the victims, along with the deep shame that accompanied their disfigurement―a factor that figured prominently in the decision to apply the federal hate crime law. Built on Kraybill’s deep knowledge of Amish life and his contacts within many Amish communities, Renegade Amish highlights one of the strangest and most publicized sagas in contemporary Amish history.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Religion isn't the problem, it's the religious that is.

[StLucieBengal]

Violent people make everything they touch violent.  

Violent people use the Hadith to be violent .  

Then it just comes down to what you consider violent and what you do not.    

I do not think its a violent religion because I don't think religion In general is violent.  

Probably more likely the devil corrupting those within any faith who try and turn it violent.

That's why peaceful people will say it's a religion of peace because for them it is.... It's all about the people. Some are good some are bad. This is partly why they probably need a reformation, like other religions have had

[GodHatesBengals]

(10-20-2015, 04:08 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Violent people make everything they touch violent.  

Violent people use the Hadith to be violent .  

Then it just comes down to what you consider violent and what you do not.    

I do not think its a violent religion because I don't think religion In general is violent.  

Probably more likely the devil corrupting those within any faith who try and turn it violent.

That's why peaceful people will say it's a religion of peace because for them it is....   It's all about the people.  Some are good some are bad.  This is partly why they probably need a reformation, like other religions have had

As a Catholic you are in favor of the Protestant reformation? Interesting. 

But yes, an Islamic reformation would be helpful, though, like all religious reformations, only a Band-Aid on the core problem.

[StLucieBengal]

(10-20-2015, 05:07 PM)GodHatesBengals Wrote: As a Catholic you are in favor of the Protestant reformation? Interesting. 

But yes, an Islamic reformation would be helpful, though, like all religious reformations, only a Band-Aid on the core problem.

I like to think of as a course correction rather than a band aid. You need to update with modern society.

[GodHatesBengals]

(10-20-2015, 05:12 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: I like to think of as a course correction rather than a band aid.   You need to update with modern society.

God's laws need to be updated by man?

See why convincing religious types they need to adjust their beliefs is hard? That's why I called it a Band-Aid. It can never completely convince the adherents, and it cannot cure the underlying problem: irrational beliefs.

[StLucieBengal]

(10-20-2015, 05:21 PM)GodHatesBengals Wrote: God's laws need to be updated by man?

See why convincing religious types they need to adjust their beliefs is hard? That's why I called it a Band-Aid. It can never completely convince the adherents, and it cannot cure the underlying problem: irrational beliefs.

Stoning someone who steals shouldn't happen today.  We have laws to handle these things.   Back in the day..... We didn't have these things and stoning was the form of punishment.


Just as the Muslim way of grooming young girls to be Muslims means they are to be raped by Muslim men. That should be replaced with maybe Quran study.

[GodHatesBengals]

(10-20-2015, 05:40 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Stoning someone who steals shouldn't happen today.  We have laws to handle these things.   Back in the day..... We didn't have these things and stoning was the form of punishment.

Um. So God only made that law because it was impossible not to stone people back then, but it's possible now and God therefore wants us to change? How do you know any of this? 

[Rotobeast]

(10-20-2015, 01:14 PM)Benton Wrote:

Woke up quick, at about dawn
Just thought that I had to be in Lancaster soon
I gotta get at peace, before the day begins
Before my mother starts prayin' about my friends
About to go and near went blind
Young Amish on the path peacefully lookin' for signs
I went in the house, to get my hat,
with the pitchfork, strung on my back
I bailed outside and I hefted my farm implement,
and just as I thought, the unenlightened kept steppin'
I jumped in the buggy, harnessed up my ride,
I got reflective triangles front and back, side to side
Then I let the sound of silence stay
I was hummin' hymns in a somber way
I was Amish, Amish at the top of the list,
Then I played my own hymn, it went somethin' like this:
"Cruisin down the street in my buggy-yo',
not looking at ladies, not dancin' ya know,
I went to the barn, to get some hay,
This horse be eatin' it all day."

A car pulls up, who can it be?

It's a load of tourists lookin' to buy cabinets from me.
He rolls down the window and he starts to say:
"You and your friends all about makin' that woodwork, eh?"

Cuz the boys in the Ordnung are always modest
Come needin' a hand and you'll get it, honest
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit,
Don't photograph me boy, I can't have it.

Little Wayne (on that show) plays softball in my town.
I just seen him on Main St a couple of weeks ago.
Merlin's dad has a vinyl siding business in Winesburg.

[Belsnickel]

(10-20-2015, 10:02 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: Little Wayne (on that show) plays softball in my town.
I just seen him on Main St a couple of weeks ago.
Merlin's dad has a vinyl siding business in Winesburg.

Yeah, don't get me started on that show. I could go on several rants about the lack of reality in that reality show. :snark:

[Bengalzona]

I've recently been reading some on the history of Islam. Based upon their history, they have been more cruel and violent than even Christianity (which easily occupies the #2 spot alone). If you look at the history, you see in Islam every violent thing which Christianity has been condemned, only on a grander scale: slavery, racism, colonization, forced conversions, torture, executions, holy wars, church sanctioned raping and pillaging, ethnic cleansing, etc. It's all there. In fact, I am of the opinion that Western Societies learned or relearned many of these behaviors from Muslims.