Why does Islam seem to have more violent fanatics than other religions?

Discussion in 'Religion & Philosophy' started by MalorieJX, Sep 1, 2015.

  1. MalorieJX

    MalorieJX Well-Known Member

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    I know that other religions were violent too in the past but today in modern age it seems that Islam is the only big religion that has a lot of people who are willing to spread their religion by violence.

    I'm sorry in advance if anyone got offended by this question. I respect all religions, I'm just interested in the background.
     
  2. Yoohoo

    Yoohoo Guest

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    Turkish here. Growing up in a country where over 90% of the population is Muslim, I have asked this question to myself many times and came up with the following explanations:

    Excluding a small part of education institutions in big cities, the culture of education of the public in Islam is not all-embracing and mostly limited to Quran schools and teachings bestowed by family and Imam Speeches, meaning most of the Muslim population in the world are not given the chance to adopt a broader worldview.

    The religion itself, as explained in Quran, professes peace, but this is rarely practiced. The cultural embroidery begins with adoption of a sense of a religious community (Ummah, or ümmet in Turkish), where an enemy image is required to provide cohesion. Reading the history of Islam, one can find many enemy images ranging from Israelites to other caliphs. This mentality of the public regards any sort of questioning (let alone criticism) directed towards religion or religious practices, even if such questioning is made in order to understand, as hostile. Total and unconditional obedience is sought. The word “Islam” means submission in a religious context (though the actual meaning is intended to be the submission to find inner peace).

    In Islam, fear is way more frequently appealed to compared to other religions, the wrath of Allah is commonly quoted in speeches and scriptures; many stories of the old on how Allah destroyed the sinner communities where you can see glimpses of franticness in the eyes of the people. This further precludes questioning. The economic conditions of the countries where Islam is regarded as the main religion does not also help the situation. This creates a perfect flow of power for the ones who could manipulate it. When the generality of the public does not have a broader worldview, they do not question. They are trying to be content and thankful even when all their liberties and economic capabilities are taken away from them. After all, this world is an ephemeral (fani) world and the truth is the afterlife. When you can display a decent portrait as a leader, there are virtually no limits to the things you can do. All of your deeds will either be ignored or justified, even killings, rapes or mass corruption. The more you deprive the public of science or other knowledge and isolate them in a world where they believe that they are here for being tested before god and all this is actually a dream, the more frantic they can get, because this life does not matter. In such cases, they will commit and prolong acts of violence which only the brutes can momentarily summon in the peak of their rage. They will do anything; they will surround their bodies with bombs and do naively believe that when they detonate it, nothing will happen to them. Moreover, when all joys of this world are forbidden or frowned upon, people’s bodies become a frenzy machine waiting to unleash a life’s worth of energy fueled by dissatisfaction when they find a single opening. Give them an enemy image and watch the fireworks.

    In any case, let me finish by saying that Islam as I have learned is a religion that promotes physical cleanliness, cohesion and coexistence of all. Sad to see that what we see is just the opposite. In Islam, for everything you begin, you commemorate Allah, the merciful and the compassionate, but no one is ever merciful or compassionate. My writing this alone is enough for me, in many Muslim countries to experience very hostile and violent repercussions, for the reasons explained above. The search for a heretic, an outcast to sacrifice where one can prove one’s worthiness to a deity is beyond delicious in this mindset.
     
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  3. PatriceBa

    PatriceBa Well-Known Member

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    You really have to denounce such lines as these in the quran:

    • Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand. -Quran Surat An-Nisā' 4:34 http://quran.com/4/34


    • [Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip." -Quran Surat Al-'Anfal 8:12 http://quran.com/8/12


    • The [unmarried] woman or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes, and do not be taken by pity for them in the religion of Allah, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of the believers witness their punishment. -Quran Surat An-Nur 24:2 - http://quran.com/24/2


    • They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah . But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper. -Quran Surat An-Nisā' 4:89 - http://quran.com/4/89

    And Hadiths such as these:

    • Narrated Abdullah: Allah's Messenger said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims." -Sahih al-Bukhari 87:17 - http://sunnah.com/bukhari/87/17
     
  4. ScooterBrandon

    ScooterBrandon Senior Investor

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    The rise of radical Islam has it's roots in the Soviet-Afgan war of the 1980's. (Some argue it has a lot to do with the creation of the state of Israel Post WW2 too)
    In this war the West not only armed the Afghanistan army, but also helped to promote it as a holy war against the soviets. This was a short sighted mistake of course, as it armed and training and motivated the very people who are threatening to destabilize the world now.
    The Saudi's helped by exporting their own twisted version of Islam as well.

    The issue has been exacerbated by our constant warring in the middle east, which has destroyed their economies (leaving many desperate) and creating huge power vacuums.

    I highly encourage everyone to look this stuff up. Perhaps we can start to learn from our mistakes.
     
  5. User911

    User911 Well-Known Member

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    I saw a movie called "Charlie Wilson's War" which is about the U.S. helping the Afghans against Russia. If I remember correctly some of the money used to "help" the Afghans went to "religious schools". Nobody ever checked to see what that really meant, not knowing that the "religious instruction" found in the qur'an and the other "holy" documents are filled with violence, slavery, torture and basically bad things. Oops. They should have checked out what "religious schools" meant in Afghanistan, but I suppose they just assumed it was like Catholic schools or Christian schools here in the U.S.!
     
  6. User911

    User911 Well-Known Member

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    My understanding of the qur'an, the hadith and the sira is that yes, islam does not mean "peace" but actually means submission. Peace is supposed to happen when everyone in the world is either converted or is killed. I guess that sucks for the "infidels", doesn't it? The arabic word for peace is actually "salam". My understanding is that mohammed was a slave owner, he had multiple wives (including Aisha, who was just 9 years old when he consummated their marriage) and he raided (stole from) others which was supposedly condoned by allah and of course he murdered lots of people and/or gave the order for lots of people to be murdered. That is why we see child marriages, slavery in some middle eastern areas, men with multiple wives and followers of islam killing their way across swaths of land because they are basically just doing what mohammed said they are supposed to do. Am I correct on all this?

    Here is an incredible contrast. I truly wish that people would take a little time and read at least the first 4 gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These 4 gospels tell the story of Jesus Christ. He never advocated killing anyone, except Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of humans that would believe in Him. He never lied, he never stole anything from anyone, he was kind and compassionate and he called women "daughter", which was really something for the time in which He lived. He said that a man should leave his mother and father and cleave to his (only) wife and they should become one flesh. Having one man to one woman creates the best environment in which children can be nurtured. He never needed to steal from anyone else because if He really needed something like food, He simply produced it from nothing. He spent TONS of time healing people that suffered. He loved children, treated them with dignity and respect and encouraged others to do so as well. I know that muslims say that mohammed was the world's best example of a man, but I truly beg to differ. It would seem to me that if people would but read about Jesus Christ for themselves, they could truly see that He is the world's most (truly) perfect example of a man. He is a hero who strove to bring out what is best in the human race.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2015
  7. JoshPosh

    JoshPosh Guest

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    I think everyone is over analyzing things. This is what I see in the Quran. It is full of evil passages that plainly says "kill the infidels". I am not muslim, so that tells me, that anyone that believes in the teachings of the Quran has read that passage and is turning a blind eye to those passages, and/pr pretending that those passages of killing the infidels don't exist. As a precautionary measure, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but when it comes to religious fanaticism, it's better to assume the worst possible case scenario and expect the unexpected and be weary of particular religious groups.
     
  8. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Senior Investor

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    Excellent explanation here. I was always taught that Islam was supposed to be a religion of peace and that everything you do is for Allah. I am not Muslim, but studied the religion in college. In talking to people who have been to Muslim countries it seems as though everyone is out for themselves and there are a lot of radicals out there that give the religion a bad name.
     
  9. jbepp

    jbepp Member

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    I personally think that it's a matter of education and moral. Most Islamic countries don't have access to a decent system of education and to a strong moral base. I know that ethics change from one religion to another, but things like "Don't kill other people" should be as universal as possible. It may also be related to
     
  10. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    Everything happens for a reason. The violent fanatics OP refers to are terrorists. They commit acts of violence in the name of Islam because the only way to unite their people is to make them believe they have a common enemy. The easy way to do that is make the world hate Muslims. Guess what that would do? Muslims would also hate everyone who hates them. Hatred against their perceived enemies would unite the Muslims. That's what those who fund terrorists want. And that's why we'll see more radicalization in future. But that doesn't necessarily mean that Islam has more violent fanatics than other religions. It's just that the media spotlight in on them.
     

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