Peaceful Islam - Violent Islam?

Caveat - this is not intended to be an attack on Islam per se - there are many examples of Islamic communities living in a peaceful state either in their own countries or as immigrants - and of course as we know there are violent and extreme Islamic 'communities' - Iraq, Nigeria, Syria, etc come to mind

The 'West' and 'Australasia', the 'North Americas' are fueled by Christian principles. the term "The Holy Wars" has been well reported citing the hundred of years battle between Christians and Muslims.

Is what we are seeing today in Iraq and Nigeria and Syria and indeed many other parts of the Middle East and including Iran just a continuation of this long history of "the holy wars" and will we war forever?

Re: Peaceful Islam - Violent Islam?

I'm sorry to say as long as people believe in these myths, then we will be at each others throats for ever. What an advert for so called peacefull faiths.

Re: Peaceful Islam - Violent Islam?

This is worth watching :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry3NzkAOo3s

Re: Peaceful Islam - Violent Islam?

Very interesting and somwhat true. Maybe Muslims should up and be public their dislike of radicalism.

when they do maybe they will become trusted again.

Yet I have no faith, because of this I have no will to murder, butcher or behead people but thoee of faith class me as a hethon, who real is the hethon?

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well as these threads often get side stepped here we go again! - having been a great student at one time of the Christian bible there are numerous examples and stories of "murder, butchering and beheadings" instigated by the God of Abraham and his descendents.

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The point I was trying make, it is only those who profess they have faith in some sort of of god, have overwelling desire to kill others of different or no faith.
On one the faithfull are that they must offer the other cheek, or treat others like you would like them to treat you.
what a bunch of hypercrites. Would give you tuppence for the lot.

I have no faith yet I show recpect for those that do, than their peers.

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yes I agree deepwater - religions often cause wars and death - history attests to that!

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I think that some of the younglings today are taking up islamist ideals more as a protest against the West and what they see as its (the US largely) attempts to dominate.

Unfortunately the more pro western and less religious leaders like Saddam Hussein, Shah of Iran and so on, were hugely corrupt and ran kleptocracies, is the leaders got rich, the rest got nothing. Or imprisoned, tortured and executed if they protested.

The purity of a religion that promises this will not happen no doubt appeals in the way Marxism might have done to Russian peasants. Also you get to go to heaven ...

What happened in Iran, for example, was that the more liberal intelligencia simply did not get that once the Shah was gone the mass of the population, mobilised by religious leaders, would vote them in.

In Egypt, the less religious parties were not in alliance, so the Muslim Brotherhood could be voted in...

Add to this the enormous spending power of Saudi Arabia who promote the most rigid and inflexible version of Islam.

And of course youths born and bred in a country like the UK but feeling disenfranchised, left out and generally stroppy, who instead of falling prey to football hooliganism, drugs or drink as other young men might, fall prey to radical preaching instead...

Voila. A religious revival for Islam.

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The problem is within the Muslim faith sadly, Muslim against Muslim is far more likely to end in violence than Muslim against anyone else.

We have 2 factions both believe they are the true followers of Allah both believe the other faction are not true Muslims.

An example would be Sri Lanka where Sunnis had lived for many years very peacefully along side all the other religions, no problems at all, then from India the Shias arrived and sectarian conflicts began. For my extended family that meant they had to flee for their lives in the late 70s.

From the outside looking in it seems madness but I am pretty sure there are only 2 answers to the problem, either sunnis and shias live in separate countries never allowed to meet or mix or one side will wipe the other off the face of the planet.

Both sides have fanatics who see death as better than living with each other.

I would add we step in at our peril because both sides could/will turn on us if we try it as I think we have already seen.

Re: Peaceful Islam - Violent Islam?

thanks julie couldn't have put it better or simpler myself - you just explained the entire problem of the ME in one simple paragraph - well put