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INTRODUCTION
The religion of Islam was founded some fifteen hundred years ago by a man named Muhammad. He was born in 570 in the city of
In the violence that became a way of life, anything that happened to the benefit of Muslims was good, regardless of whether it violated moral or other laws.[2] This set a pattern of behavior that has continued to this day. If by chance a chain of events did not go in the Muslims favor, it was blamed on their own disobedience. Spencer points out in his book that these ideas grew into a credo of "Islam alone guarantees success and to abandon it brings failure."[3]
The religion of Islam was born out of conflict and continues to be a religion of war. There seems to be no limit to which they are willing to go to further their cause. We cannot continue to try to peacefully coexist with the religion of Islam. It is a religion of war and they are not willing to exist with anyone. We must educate ourselves to the enemy we face for they have already declared war on us.
ISLAM: A RELIGION OF WAR
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. This is an alarming fact the rest of the world needs to be alerted to. The basis of belief among Muslims is the Qur'an. This book was supposedly given to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. It is said to be a direct revelation from Allah. Because Muhammad was illiterate, it had to be written down by others as he quoted it to them. The book is a very hard book to read because of the way it was written. Spencer says, "reading the Qur'an somewhat like walking in on a private conversation between two unknown people: It's confusing, disorienting, and ultimately incomprehensible."[4]
Muhammad explained how the revelations came to him by creating the Hadith. This writing consists of volume upon volume of stories told by him to explain how the revelations came to him and also explains some of the Qur'anic texts. The Hadith is second only to the Qur'an in its authority. It is important for one to look at these writings as well as the Qur'an when studying Islam for they explain a lot of the teachings that would otherwise be hard to understand. The subject of through much of this writing is that of war.
There are many who say just because the Qur'an and the many volumes of the Hadith contain many references to war does not make Islam a religion of war. They point to many places in the world where Muslims peacefully coexist with people of other religions. It is my conviction that this is an exception rather than the rule and only a matter of time before those situations change. Sometimes it only takes a single situation to change the way people view others.
It is easy to look at those who are today known as "radical Islam" and how they promote terror throughout the world and be tempted to say they might be an exception to the rule in their religion. The truth is they are a small number in the whole scheme of things. However, that does not explain the teachings and beliefs of the rest of the Muslim world and how they view those not of the Muslim faith.
Throughout the history of the Muslim religion we see a religion marked by physical violence. "The Qur'an is replete with explicit and implicit sanction and promotion of armed conflict, violence, and bloodshed by Muslims."[5] It is taught there is nothing better for a Muslim to do than participate in violent jihad. That jihad being executed on any and all unbelievers also called infidels. Esposito gives the following definition of jihad:
"Jihad as struggle pertains to the difficulty and complexity of living a good life: struggling against the evil in oneself-to be virtuous and moral, making a serious effort to do good works and help reform society. Depending on the circumstances in which one lives, it also can mean fighting injustice and oppression, spreading and defending Islam, and creating a just society through preaching, teaching, and, if necessary, armed struggle or holy war."[6]
With this in mind, we are led to the idea that Muhammad believed that warfare was meant for him to carry out against those who opposed the Muslim religion. Those to whom he carried this war out against had three choices. First of all they could accept Islam. They could avoid fighting by just accepting the teachings of Muhammad and basically save themselves from war. Secondly they could keep their beliefs and pay the jizya, a poll tax placed on non-Muslims. This tax basically reduced their status as free citizens and made them subservient to the Muslim leaders of their particular country. The third choice non-Muslims have is war with those who are Muslims. When one looks at these three choices, it is painfully obvious that peaceful coexistence with those of the Muslim faith is not one of the options given to those who are not of the Muslim faith. Muhammad believed that it was his religious duty to fight those who were unbelievers and continue fighting until they either convert to Islam or are defeated and lose their lives and property.
There are those who are apologetic of the Muslim faith, believing Islam is given a bad name by those who believe jihad and armed warfare are commanded by the very teachings of the Qur'an. They contend all of the different factions of Islam do not agree with the radical elements that take center stage in the media. Esposito claims "Islam, like all world religions, neither supports nor requires illegitimate violence. The Qur'an does not advocate or condone terrorism."[7] The problem lies in the fact that Muslims do not look at jihad as terrorism. They will say they do not condone terrorism and at the same time advocate warfare for the good of Islam. This is taught in mainstream Islamic circles not just those radical groups we hear about in the news.
The peace referred to by Muslims of all factions, even to include those extreme radical elements, is a peace that results from all unbelievers either becoming Muslim or become subject to an Islamic state. This includes those of a more moderate belief. This is what makes the Islam religion a threat to non-Muslim nations. Even though the moderates do not condone the violence that is often seen committed by the more radical elements, they do not condemn their actions as more reasonable people would expect. This causes many people to believe there is a vast difference in the groups that pursue violent jihad and those who claim a more peaceful agenda. I do not believe every Muslim is a terrorist advocating an agenda that takes aim at all those who do not agree with them. What I do say is the Islamic religion is a threat to peace in the world. The very teachings of the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the example of Muhammad show the warfare with unbelievers is what is expected to be pleasing to Allah.
The Qur'an is a very difficult book to read as I pointed out earlier in this paper. It is written in classic Arabic and must be read and recited in that language only.[8] This would lead one to believe there are those in the Muslim faith that really do not know what they believe and must rely upon others to tell them what they believe. This could also be said of the Christian religion, the fact there are those who claim to be Christian who really do not know what they believe and why. The sad part of this is the fact that the Bible has been translated into our language as well as most languages in the world and we still have people who do not know what it says. They, like a great majority of those of the Muslim faith, choose to remain ignorant of God's teachings and choose to listen to others who claim to have their interests at heart.
I have found there is a great deal of apologetic material available to readers that downplays the message and actions of Islam. Spencer points out "there are enormous numbers of Muslims in the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brantley, Garry K. "A Christian Approach to Islam, Part I", in Reason and Revelation.
issue 16.
<http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/222>
Brantley, Garry K. "A Christian Approach to Islam, Part II", in Reason and Revelation.
issue 16.
<http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/225>
Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam.
University Press, 2002.
Ibrahim, I.A. A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam,2nd Edition.
Miller, Dave. The Quran Unveiled.
Milton-Edwards, Beverly. Islamic Fundamentalism Since 1945.
<http://southernchristian.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp>
Spencer, Robert. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades).
[1]Spencer, Robert. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), (
[2]Ibid. 7
[3]Ibid. 15
[4]Spencer, Robert. The Political Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), (
[5]Miller, Dave. The Quran Unveiled, (Montgomery, Al: Apologetics Press, 2005), 184.
[6]Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, (
Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, (
[8]Spencer, Robert. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades),
[9]Ibid., 45.
