What does the phrase, "Islam is a religion of peace" mean?
We have heard a lot of people say that and particularly we hear it after some of the most egregious, violent Jihadi attacks. We heard it a lot in the media after September 11th. We heard it again after the 7/7 bombings in England, and after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino from some of those that are the highest up in our political structure. We hear the phrase said right when the violence happens. That's jarring to our system. Here's a very violent attack and then people are saying Islam is a religion of peace. The politicians are saying we should have compassion toward Muslims by saying that. We shouldn't impute the violence that we see to the people that are our colleagues and fellow citizens. That is true, we shouldn't.
The vast majority of Muslims are peaceful loving people and we need to remember that.
Muslims are not Islam.
When we turn our eyes to Islam, what do we find?
We find that the phrase, "Islam is a religion of peace" is not said anywhere in the Quran, or the early Islamic traditions.
In fact, the first time we hear it is in the 1920's when people are starting to argue after the fall of most Islamic powers in the world that Muslims are peaceful people and Islam is a religion of peace.
It doesn't mean that the Muslims who say it don't mean it.
Nabeel himself was raised in a Muslim home, his parents taught him to pray the 5 daily prayers, to recite the Quran regularly and he loved Islam and would share that Islam was a religion of peace. When he started to study the traditions of the Quran and of Mohamed's life he found that from the beginning Islam had been a very violent religion.
That's not very different for most of us. We're all broken people and God loves us anyway and we should be willing to love all people no matter who they are or what background they come from.
To Get Your Copy of "Answering Jihad" CLICK HERE
A personal, challenging, and respectful answer to the many questions surrounding jihad, the rise of ISIS, and Islamic terrorism. In Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward, Qureshi explores what jihad is, how it relates to ISIS and Islamic terrorism today, and the most appropriate response we should make.
For More Information about Nabeel:
