Is Islam endorsing of violence?

[Exordius]

I do not want to start a flame war or get into any fights so i shall try to keep this as civil as i can. Put simply, i veiw Islam as evil. To me the actions taken by it's faithful and the ideologies they promote are horrid. I know that there are many Muslims who see these acts as i do but in all honesty what difference is that going to make when the vast majority of the faith has been hijacked by the jihadists. Moderate muslims are hated almost as much as jews and are constanlty being purged by groups such as hezballah and the taliban. They have almost no power within their societies and dare not show their faces lest they be executed for being apostates. Islam was once a highly peaceful and advanced faith but now it has become the greatest source of evil in the world. With virtually the entire faith being under the control of the radicals and the number of moderate muslims dwindling is there really any hope of finding a peaceful solution to the problem? What do you think?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

I think religion is only as bad as the person using it.

 

[Exordius]

Pherhaps, but there are a lot of bad people using Islam at this time...

 

[Quintessence]

Ideology is like a curtain. Certain people blame the ideology because they are afraid or unwilling to look behind the curtain.

I do not blame the curtain. What lies behind the curtain is the substance of the action.

 

[idav]

Religions aren't evil, people are.

 

[nazz]

I do not want to start a flame war or get into any fights so i shall try to keep this as civil as i can. Put simply, i veiw Islam as evil. To me the actions taken by it's faithful and the ideologies they promote are horrid. I know that there are many Muslims who see these acts as i do but in all honesty what difference is that going to make when the vast majority of the faith has been hijacked by the jihadists. Moderate muslims are hated almost as much as jews and are constanlty being purged by groups such as hezballah and the taliban. They have almost no power within their societies and dare not show their faces lest they be executed for being apostates. Islam was once a highly peaceful and advanced faith but now it has become the greatest source of evil in the world. With virtually the entire faith being under the control of the radicals and the number of moderate muslims dwindling is there really any hope of finding a peaceful solution to the problem? What do you think?

I think your views do not reflect reality but paranoia

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I think your views do not reflect reality but paranoia

... and naivete, and ignorance.

 

[Shiranui117]

So a vocal minority in a few parts of the world means that the whole of Islam has been hijacked by jihadists? A few terrorist and militant groups are representative of an entire religion?

Ask yourself, what motivates the jihadists? Political ideology or religion?

 

[nazz]

... and naivete, and ignorance.

Yup, that too

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

Evil of all religion is directly proportional to the power and authority it holds over the lives of humans. No religion, without power, is evil. Any and all religions with power and authority are evil. No exceptions.

 

[LuisDantas]

The whole point of teachings - be they political, ideological or religious - is to motivate and influence people.

While saying that "Islam is Evil" is certainly ridiculously reducionist and very much at odds with the observable fact, I wouldn't be quite so quick in saying that Islam - or should I say, the religious teachings that are usually associated with Islam - should be fully considered the victim of mishandling and share no blame whatsoever on its own abuse.

If nothing else, we must acknowledge that Muslims have been having a lot of difficulty in dealing with its doctrinary challenges. It has been remarkably difficult to find legitimate yet effective ways of convincing the more radical adherents to reconsider their ways - and most significant of all, those ways are even more difficult to find internally. That does not make Muslim communities evil, of course, but it does make it pitifully ineffective at avoiding evil.

 

[Riverwolf]

Evil of all religion is directly proportional to the power and authority it holds over the lives of humans. No religion, without power, is evil. Any and all religions with power and authority are evil. No exceptions.

Buddhism never was.

 

[LuisDantas]

That is not really all that certain, Riverwolf. Even the Dalai Lama admits to revising some former stances of his as a ruler.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

I do not want to start a flame war or get into any fights so i shall try to keep this as civil as i can. Put simply, i veiw Islam as evil. To me the actions taken by it's faithful and the ideologies they promote are horrid. I know that there are many Muslims who see these acts as i do but in all honesty what difference is that going to make when the vast majority of the faith has been hijacked by the jihadists. Moderate muslims are hated almost as much as jews and are constanlty being purged by groups such as hezballah and the taliban. They have almost no power within their societies and dare not show their faces lest they be executed for being apostates. Islam was once a highly peaceful and advanced faith but now it has become the greatest source of evil in the world. With virtually the entire faith being under the control of the radicals and the number of moderate muslims dwindling is there really any hope of finding a peaceful solution to the problem? What do you think?

So you have admitted that Islam has had a history of being peaceful and highly advanced, yet today it's evil? It seems to me then, that it's not the religion, but the people practicing it. Most Muslims do not agree with the practices of the extremists, however, as you pointed out, they are basically powerless to do anything about it, primarily because the powers that be, i.e., the political powers of Islamic countries, don't allow for moderate and progressive Muslims to have any say.

There's something else you have to keep in mind: most Muslims in Islamic countries see the west as something foreign to Islam, and they think the west is trying to destroy their Islamic-lead way of life. They see the west as trying to take them over, and force them to think like us.

The religion itself isn't evil. There are people who use it to their own ends, and this happens in every and all religions. Instead of saying the religion itself is evil, instead we should realize that more education is needed in places where extremism is common.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Buddhism never was.

I would be interested in your take on this ...

 

[LuisDantas]

Is there any meaningful difference between a religion and its practice? I don't think so.

 

[Quintessence]

Is there any meaningful difference between a religion and its practice? I don't think so.

That's a curious perspective, considering the world's religions differ on whether or not they emphasize beliefs or practices, as well as the extent of dogmatism involved in each. Particularly for some Western religions, "right belief" is all that is important and "right practice" is irrelevant. But maybe I don't get what you were intending to mean here by "practices."

I'd also contend your earlier suggestion the whole point of teachings/ideologies is to motivate and influence (aka, indoctrination). I thought the whole point was to help people figure out the world around them and establish truth and meaning. That motivation/influence happens is tangential to that central goal and does not manifest in a uniform fashion amongst those who follow the ideology.

Granted, there are ideological groups that do put indoctrination at the center, but it doesn't seem fair to characterize all ideologies in that fashion. These same groups tend to push for uniformity (aka, dogmatism) in the motivations/influences people extract from the ideology.


FunctionalAthiest, are you suggesting power and authority are evil?

 

[LuisDantas]

That's a curious perspective, considering the world's religions differ on whether or not they emphasize beliefs or practices, as well as the extent of dogmatism involved in each. Particularly for some Western religions, "right belief" is all that is important and "right practice" is irrelevant. But maybe I don't get what you were intending to mean here by "practices."

Many religions have odd beliefs about themselves. One of the most odd of all is that belief may somehow trump deeds and actions.

I'd also contend your earlier suggestion the whole point of teachings/ideologies is to motivate and influence (aka, indoctrination).

Influence their thoughts and their knowledge, among other things. It does not always translate into indoctrination, although the line may be fine indeed.

I thought the whole point was to help people figure out the world around them and establish truth and meaning. That motivation/influence happens is tangential to that central goal and does not manifest in a uniform fashion amongst those who follow the ideology.

I don't see much of a difference, personally. I guess you are putting a lot of emphasis on the word "influence".

Granted, there are ideological groups that do put indoctrination at the center, but it doesn't seem fair to characterize all ideologies in that fashion. These same groups tend to push for uniformity (aka, dogmatism) in the motivations/influences people extract from the ideology.

 

[Riverwolf]

I would be interested in your take on this ...

Clarification: Large Buddhist groups (those with significant power) were never evil in my experience. I already knew about smaller evil Buddhist organizations.

Though if the Dalai Lama has revised his stances, then depending on what those are, I just may have to revive my stance... (if any large Buddhist group were to turn evil, it would sadly be that one. ) Shame. I always liked the Dalai Lama.

 

[LuisDantas]

Clarification: Large Buddhist groups (those with significant power) were never evil in my experience. I already knew about smaller evil Buddhist organizations.

That may even be technically true, but it is not important. All religious (and non-religious) groups should watch for their own validity, regardless of size.