Monday, April 25, 2011

Why do you say Islam is Peace?

A non-Muslim asked this question:

Well I have read the Quran and I found God doesn't like the non-believers and God is against the beliefs of Christians and Jews..but Muslims say Islam is Peace...well if the word Islam means Peace, why does Islam have bad connotations in the world? Where some people take the Quran and justified the Holy War.. like the Surah 9 .. Why is there a Holy war against the West besides the wars in middle east? I found all the conflicts even they are politics.. Islam is always part of it, like the conflicts among Christians and Muslims in Palestine, Lebanon and other Islamic countries.


Answer:

1. What is Islam?
Islam is a way of life which means to surrender, submit and obey God in sincerity and in peace.Thus, an individual who accepts Islam as his way of life must submit himself to the commands of God Almighty. A broader meaning of Islam is “attainment of peace by submitting one’s will to the will of God.”

2. Non-believers (Christians and Jews)
With regards to the verses concerning them, this were the non-believers who were either plotting to kill Muhammad peace be upon or wanting war. That is why those verses were revealed. It is not talking about non-believers in general.
Unlike the Bible which is straight forward, in order to read the Quran you must have knowledge of Islamic history, Hadith and being able to speak with knowledgeable Muslims regarding any questions to understand it.

3. Holy War
There are Muslim who preach violence and unjust aggression. This has nothing to do with Islam, and therefore, a separation should be made between what Muslims do and what Islam as a religion dictates. The same separation should have been done between blaming Christianity instead of Christians who used to carry crosses and rape the women in Bosnia. Be careful from un-objective media that portrays Muslims as violent fanatics.

4. Islam always part of conflicts
It is true that the number of reports against Muslims and Muslim countries are numerous. However, the media is doing no justification in reporting as it only brings those cases that appear to be problematic. When a few of these cases are publicized, some people think that these acts are normal and everyday acts within Muslim countries.

It is true that there are “black sheep” in every community but the way Islam is depicted in the media makes it seem that every Muslim is a “black sheep.” When a Muslim commits a wrong, his religion is quickly accused and Islam creates headlines but when others commit similar acts, there is often no reports or the religion does not get mentioned. Milosevic and Hitler were guilty of mass murder and ethnic cleansing but their religions were never blamed.

According to Islam, every human being is innocent until proven guilty. Thus, blame cannot be placed on entire nations and communities because of one or a few individuals’ conducts. Similarly, just like Christianity cannot be judged by the actions of Adolf Hitler or Slobodan Milosevic, Islam cannot be judged by the actions of any Muslim or group of Muslims who have committed a crime or many criminal acts. If anyone wishes to judge Islam or to understand it better, they have to study its authentic sources– i.e. the Qur’aan and the practical exemplary way of the life of the Prophet.

Media companies are not driven by a mission to educate but to gain profits. Hence profits decide the headlines at the end of the day. Islam urges everyone who wants to know more about Islam to study its sources rather than concentrate on media reports.

Thank you for your questions.

Source(s):
discoverislamaustralia,
islamicity


Courtesy of Yahoo Answers
Question answered by Iqra Newsletter

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