Violence is an integral component of Islam

Submitted by Kenneth S. Besig (Israel), Aug 23, 2005 at 13:57

I agree with Dr. Pipes that the use of terrorism in the West by Islamic radicals is almost entirely counterproductive to their cause.

But Islam of any kind without a strong and pervading component of violence would not be Islam as it is commonly known and practiced by Moslems throughout the world.

Let me cite just a few examples of the sort of violence that the ...religion of peace is well known for. Islam is perhaps the only religion which instructs that husbands beat their wives for just about any reason, even trivial things like disobeying their husbands. By the way ,Islamic scholars actually give lessons on Arabic television in how and how severely Moslem men should beat their wives. Islam is only religion which demands that the male family members murder their female relatives for immodesty or even the suspicion of improper sexual behavior, the so called honor killings. Islamic countries routinely apply the death penalty for any number of minor offenses, and Islam may be the only religion which officially imposes the death penalty for leaving Islam, or even just for Moslems or non Moslems for simply criticizing the Koran, for example the Salman Rushdie affair or the fellow murdered in Holland a few months ago. And these death penalties are actually carried out. In Saudi Arabia, every Friday is execution day and hundreds of Saudi citizens make a day of it with picnic lunches as well as making it a point to get a good seat to watch the slaughter. ...

Except for communist China, does any other country in the world put on such bloody spectacles? Does the West have such a device as the "sulha" where warring tribes or clans formally put down the sword or gun and promise not to slaughter each other, at least for a while? Does any other serious and moral religion but Islam have the concept of jihad, the holy war to either convert the infidel to Islam or kill him?

Westerners as a group are generally peaceful and laissez faire in their relationships, and because of this they do not, and probably never will, understand even moderate Islam and it's propensity for personal and familial violence and revenge, much less the horrific penchant for violence of the extreme Islamic fanatics.

I would suggest that it is precisely this component of violence, or at least the suggestion of violence, which is so attractive to newly converted Moslems, and helps to explain why Islam has been so effective in spreading throughout Northern and Sub Saharan Africa, and why Islam has even started to attract converts in the Far East. Did you know that Islamic fanatics have murdered over 800 hundred Thai Christians and Buddhists over the past year, usually by chopping off their heads!
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All the best!

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