Islam. A Religion of Peace or Violence?

[ondoy]

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every religion is for peace problema lang r those wrong interpretation

[hitch22]

nope. i don't work there. i only go there from time to time, like once every two weeks to visit my friends, those imams and mutawas and they're my patients too

A Muslim-atheist and a Mutawa make strange conversation partners. Perhaps a symbiotic relationship (doctor-patient) prevents their eyes from alternating between your throat and their scimitars.

You country of residence is a paradox to me. As one CIA agent once said, they're both the firestarter and firefighter of terrorism. On the one hand, they crack down on extremists much better than the West. On the other hand, they share the similar views as AYSUS (as you call it)...views like homosexuals should be killed, adulterers should be stoned to death, homosexuals should be killed, etc. The only difference is AYSUS is a bad advertiser of Islam and AYSUS hates the alliance between your country of residence and the great Satan, USA.

[hitch22]

i was the same as you before i came here. all those horrible things i've heard about kanding-land, i was a little bit afraid, but then, slowly and gradually, i've seen that everything i knew ( bad things mostly ) about kanding-land is nothing but false-fear. if you want the worst interpretation of the quran, go to pakistan and afghanistan. well, i haven't been there, but i have a pakistani friend here and damn, the stories he tells about pakistan and afghan .. sheesshh

I once lived with an Indian Muslim family in Singapore for a year in the 1990s. They were good to me: shared food during Eidil Fitri, helped look out for my laundry during rainy days and never had any arguments with me. In fact, they were the ones who first pointed out to me the problem of extremism in their religion, since I took some interest in Islam and even bought a Koran (English translation) from a bookshop just to satisfy my curiosity. But the Muslim head of the household was oddly liberal: he smoked, gambled and sometimes even drank beer. Perhaps he's not the stereotypical Muslim?

The one thing you and I can agree on is that an extreme view of Islam exists and it's taken root in certain segments of societies worldwide. The numbers could be in the millions, which is why the world has a problem with it. To deny its existence has fatal consequence.

[hitch22]

here's the common scenario. a saudi teenage boy, who hasn't kissed or even seen a naked girl, who hasn't enjoyed the pleasures of life, but is exposed to p0rn and youtube, always watching and DREAMING that one day he can experience those things. and here comes AYSUS, offering them money lots of it, women, tour around the Emirates and the best part of it all, whisper in their ears - you will die for Allah. for sure that boy will just nod his head in agreement.

The words "for sure" is telling. And I would agree, as would the secularists within the Muslim community (who are probably just a handful of brave individuals with bounties on their heads). For sure that boy would nod his head in agreement, because he's read the texts and his radical imams (and if he's from the wrong part of the world, even the mass media) are saying the same things. Since we often hear that AYSUS is not Islamic and Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, if that Muslim boy believes this to be so, it would be easy for him to reject such proposals, isn't it? What would AYSUS say if that Muslim boy rejects him? AYSUS would brand him a hypocrite for rejecting the call for jihad, isn't it?

As to why that boy would put his life on the line for such a proposal (especially when lone-wolf terrorists are usually educated and with a family---the kind of individual that "flies under the radar" of intelligence agencies), the material temptation can't be the primary motivation. What's he gonna do with money when he knows perfectly well he's on a suicide mission? Anyone who undertakes a mission that will cost him his life has already thought long and hard about why he's doing what he's about to do. It's the ideology. The same influence Nazism drove Germans to kill millions. The same influence Stalinism drove Russians to kill millions of their own people. Islamism is the latest totalitarian ideology that confronts us all today.

[gibra'al]

AAAAHHHHH TERRORISTS!

dun throw bombz pls. we is frens!
halo fren!


stay away! AAAHHH!~

[MollyMillions]

As much as any. As much as catholicism is a religion of peace, etc.

[brownie]

that's the one single word that could convince them. JIHAD. When the americans attacked/invaded Iraq, it automatically became a Jihad. coz jihad being a defensive war is rightly justified ............ BUT .... these radical muslims became terrorist when they attacked places outside of their jurisdiction.

in the end, it's religion that's dangerous ....

I thought Jihad is a political movement, paps?

This had me thinking, the Jihad was religous in thought but very political in action such as territorial occupation and totalitarian scheming of the past Islam believers. This is no way religious to the core afaic, but I could be wrong though.

[cobraKing]

Allahu Akbar.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

[NapoleonBlownapart]

no paps, jihad isn't a political movement but sadly...

The "jihad" today is merely an alibi for these radical muslims to do their crazy actions .... yes, this ain't about religion anymore.

apparently those extremists are stuck in the 7th century.

[labtingaw]

John 17 : 1 - 3

Only 1 true God according to JESUS