Is Islam a Religion of Peace?
from Christian Concern:
Tim Dieppe, head of public policy at Christian Concern, has contributed an article to the most recent ‘Affinity Bulletin: News and Reports from the Social Issues Team’. In it, he challenges the misconception that Islam is a ‘peaceful religion’ and argues that, more often than not, Islam actually advocates war. You can also read the full Affinity Bulletin on their website.
What makes a religion peaceful?
It is often stated today, in defending the reputation of Islam against the worst excesses of those who advocate terror, that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’. How should we assess such a statement?
We might ask whether Islam advocates peace. Being a religion of peace could imply that Islam advocates pacifism.[1] But is this really the case? To test this, we need to examine the teaching of Islam in the Qur’an and the hadith.
Another way would be to ask whether its founder was a person of peace. We need to look at the life and teaching of Muhammad to make this assessment.
Alternatively, we might ask if the history of Islam has been peaceful. If a religious group had a long history of peaceful relations with other neighbouring groups and religions, this might be grounds to claim it as a peaceful religion. Sadly, the history of Islam is not one of peaceful relations with others. However, it is also the case that so-called ‘Christian’ nations have been far from peaceful themselves, and not just in self-defence. So this marker may not necessarily be a reliable guide.
What about if most of the followers of a religion are peaceful and law-abiding? Would this make it a religion of peace? Perhaps. But what if a significant minority claim inspiration from the teaching of their religion to commit acts of war and terrorism? What if this minority has a strong claim to be following the example of the founder of their religion? What if this minority can also point to multiple religious authorities and examples through history as setting a precedent for their religious understanding?
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