Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

By

James Scott Trimm

The fact is that Islam is not a religion of peace.  Islam was born out of war and bloodshed.  Muhammed ordered the execution of many of his enemies, and there are passages in the Quran that speak of killing the infidels. While the words ISLAM and MUSLIM in Arabic come from the same root as SALAM (“peace”) the words indicate the peace that comes from conquest and submission to it.

 Radical Islam is definitely something we must be worried about, and moderate Islam is almost a myth.  Most “moderate” Muslims support Sharia law for the countries in which they live and the creation of a new Caliphate.  Radicals want to create a new Caliphate and most moderates want Islam and Sharia law to one day encompass all mankind.  So while a radical Muslim wants to kill infidels, most moderates want the infidels to be killed in accordance with Sharia law.  As a rule a radical Muslim wants to kill you, and a moderate Muslim wants to see you killed.

The best test as to whether a moderate Muslim is truly peaceful is the question on the existence of Israel.  Radical Muslims want to wipe out Israel.  Most moderate Muslims have a strong aversion to Israel and “Zionism”.  Lets be clear, Israel exists in the here and now, and has existed for more than half a century, Zionism today simply means supporting Israel’s right to continue to exist.  If you do not support Israel’s right to exist, it means you want to see Israel wiped off the map.  So radical Muslims want to wipe Israel off the map and most moderate Muslims want to see them succeed.

This was very clear at the 2012 DNC convention.  Support for recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel (which it presently is) had been removed from the party platform, by the influence of Muslims and their allies in the DNC.  This was conspicuous and a floor vote was quickly called to reverse this and place it back in the platform, where it had been for many years.  The result of the floor vote sounded like a no to most of us, but after it was recalled twice, it was declared a “yes” vote over the boos of Muslim delegates, some of whom were pictured in the broadcast showing their displeasure.  

That being said, there is a very, very, small group of pro-Israel “Zionist” Muslims.  But they are in extremely small numbers and live in fear of their lives, threatened by the vast majority.

Since it is claimed that Jerusalem is a holy site for Islam, many are surprised that the truth is that the word “Jerusalem” never appears in the Quran.  So why is this site "holy" to Muslims... what the Quran does say will surprise you... it will even surprise many Muslims.

Many people have been led to believe that Jerusalem is equally important to both Judaism and Islam. This is actually not the case. The Temple Mount is the central holy location in Judaism.  The central holy location for Islam is the Ka'aba Shrine at Mecca. So why is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem holy to Islam? This location is deemed as holy in Islam because Mohamed is believed by Muslims to have been transported there in a vision. This vision is recorded in Surah 17 of the Quran. However if most Muslim's really studied the Quran they would understand what Surah 17 actually teaches about the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Ayeh 8 in Surah 17 (Bani Israil) is the Quran's prescription for the Jewish return to the land of Israel and the building of the Third Temple (given the first and 2nd Temples referred to in verses 1 to 7 of Surah 17) on the Temple Mount where al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock are.

The Quran claims that when Mohamed was taken to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (the word "Jerusalem" does not even actually appear), he saw a Third Temple actually standing there. He saw this the Quran says in ayeh 1 because Allah was showing him his "signs.":

Glorified be He Who carried His servant [Mohamed] by night

from the Inviolable Temple [in Mecca]

to the far distant Temple [Jerusalem]

the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed,

that We might show him [Mohamed] Our signs!

Behold, He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer.

Ayeh 5 speaks of the Babylonian captivity and the destruction of the First Temple:

So when the time for the first of the two [Temples] came,

We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might

who ravaged (your) country,

and it was a threat performed.

Ayeh 6 speaks of the return from the Babylonian captivity and the building of the Second Temple:

Then We gave you once again your turn against them,

and We aided you with wealth and children

and made you more in solidarity.

Ayeh 7 speaks of the destruction of the Second Temple:

(Saying): If you do good, you do good for your own souls,

and if you do evil, it is for them (likewise).

So when the time for the second (of the judgments) came

(We roused against you others of Our slaves) to ravage you,

and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time,

and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting.

Ayeh 8 then begins:

"It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you..."

hinting at a further return to the land and the building of a third Temple, a Temple which the Quran says Mohamed saw as one of Allah's signs on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Then near the end of Surah 17 we read:

And We [Allah] said to the Children of Israel after him [Moses]:

Dwell in the land;

And when the promise of the hereafter comes to pass

We [Allah] shall bring you [Children of Israel] as a crowd

gathered out of various nations.

(Quran Surah 17:104)

Thus the Quran actually says that the Jewish return to the land and the building of the Third Temple should be seen by the Islamic world as a prophetic sign of Allah's sovereign mercy upon the Children of Israel and that Allah has promised the Children of Israel that they will be regathered from the nations to dwell in the land! Moreover the Quran teaches that the very reason this location is "blessed" is because the building of a third Temple there will be a "sign" that Allah has had mercy on the Children of Israel and gathered them out of various nations to dwell in the land!

But the fact is that very few Muslims actually believe this.  There are a tiny minority of Muslims that actually uphold this belief and they live in constant fear for their lives.

These very rare Muslims support and understand “jihad” as the struggle against evil in everyday life (similar to what Christians call “spiritual warfare”).  They see directives in the Quran to “kill the infidels” as having no modern application, just as many Jews and Christians see biblical directives to kill Sabbath breakers or Amalakites as having no modern application. 

But these are not the average “moderate” Muslims, these are very rare oppressed Muslims.  They may well make up less that 1% of Muslims.

For the most part, a radical Muslim wants to kill you, and a so-called "moderate" Muslim wants him to succeed.

However, this does not mean that we should trash the Constitution. Some have proposed that we take draconian and unconstitutional steps in opposition to radical Islam.  But as Benjamin Franklin said:

Those who would give up essential Liberty, 
to purchase a little temporary Safety, 
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.