Given the recent shooting in Chattanooga, people are again talking about Islam and if it promotes violence. I figured I'd throw in my two cents. First, since I'll be talking about radical Islam, it's worth defining what I mean by radical in this context. When I say radical, I mean anyone who participates in violent terrorism, supports terrorists, or believes that terrorism is justified. For a full treatment of the issue, you'd have to expand this definition to include sharia law, the execution of homosexuals, extermination of Jews, etc. For now, I'll focus on the terrorism aspect.
The most straightforward test of Islam's violent nature is the beliefs of its followers. How many radical muslims are there? According to a recent survey, 13% of American muslims said that attacks against civilians can be justified to defend Islam. Using even the most conservative polls, at least 20% of muslims in Islam-dominated nations support terrorist attacks against the U.S. Higher numbers are seen in the Palestinian territories, where at least one third of muslims support terror attacks. Looking at all the polls and numbers, it's probably a safe estimate that about 20% of muslims approve of terrorism. So, when Obama tells you that 99.9% of muslims want peace, he's lying through his teeth. Granted, 20% is not a majority. However it is still a very significant chunk of the religion. To put this in perspective, if we consider all groups that claim to be Christian (catholics, orthodox), and apply the same proportions, it would mean that half of all protestants worldwide would be supportive of terrorism. (of those who claim to be Christian, about 40% are protestant). Proportionallly, the amount of radical muslims is equivalent to several Christian denominations combined. In other words, radical muslims are indeed a minority, but not an insignificant one.
The next logical step in showing that Islam is a violent religion is to look at their texts. If there are so many Muslims in favor of terrorism, surely they're getting it from somewhere, right? Frankly, the verses often used to prove that Islam is violent have debatable context. I don't think Sura 2:191 or Sura 9:5 are the best arguments. So does the Qur'an support aggressive, unprovoked, all-out war against those outside of Islam. At face value, I think the answer is debatable, though many passages could be interpreted that way. However, the destruction of the Jews is clearly taught (Bukhari 52:176-177)
So do I think the Qur'an is non-violent? Not at all. While it's debatable if it teaches unprovoked aggression, It certainly does teach hyper-retaliation. I think that this is the greater problem. Muslims are called to fight when Islam is threatened. The retaliation (specifically defined as physical violence) is many times more severe than the offense. Even worse, the definition of “an attack on Islam” is very open-ended. If I say that Islam is a false religion and Muhammad was a scoundrel, is that an attack on Islam? It could easily be read that way, and the Qur'an teaches that I should be subdued by force (Sura 5:33, Sura 8:12-13, Sura 9:29, Sura 47:4). How can Islam be a 'religion of peace' when the Qur'an teaches muslims to fight anyone who disagrees with them?
Now, what about the verses in the Qur'an that call for mercy and peace? To understand this whole thing, it's important to know that muslims have a doctrine of abrogation. Essentially, if there are two contradictory passages in the Qur'an (such as peace vs violence), the more recent passage overwrites the old one. The earlier passages of the Qur'an, written during the Mecca period, tended to be less violent. There was still plenty of violence (as seen in the Suras above), but it was nothing compared to the later parts of the Qur'an written in the Medina period which gave blessings to caravan raids, etc. According to Islam's doctrine, these more recent (and more violent) passages overwrite anything written before.
The good news is that most muslims simply do not take their religion at face value. Yes, there are many (~80%) non-violent muslims. But when you look at the Qur'an, it's safe to say that these peaceful muslims are not fully obeying their holy texts. Their religion consists of Islamic traditions mixed with beliefs that come from themselves, their teachers, or other religions. In my efforts to preach the gospel, I've come across many of these westernized muslims. More often than not, I know more about their religious traditions than they do. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had a muslim quote anything from the Qur'an to me during a discussion, not even a paraphrase. With that being the case, it's hard to imagine that they are taking the Qur'an very seriously.
In conclusion, despite the large number of peaceful muslims, it remains true that Islam is a religion of violence, not peace. While most muslims are peaceful, the number of radicals is significant – more than a small minority. More importantly, the Qur'an plainly teaches and encourages violence against others. Truthfully, these conclusions are obvious to anyone paying attention. For Christians looking to preach the gospel, I think the other take-home message is that 80% of muslims are not deeply indoctrinated in their religion. They have no firm ground for their religion, and I think many of them realize it. Most of them will at least listen to you. So get out there and boldly plant some seed!
