Entertaining Understanding Islam Without Going to Combat

Submitted by M Tovey (United States), Aug 24, 2022 at 17:57

Reader Matsuoka postulates the perennial question: is it possible to gain an understanding of why Islam adopted the hostile attitude to the societies the adherents of the Quran seems to demand for authenticity of belief? Must there always be the synergism of combat?
In the 15 plus years this observer has been a guest student on Dr; PIpes' forum, the nuanced attention of his lifelong investigation of things Islamic provided a source of opinions of whether there could be an answer to your question: "How can the Muslim world be improved so that there are no longer so many people who want to kill others (eg Salman Rushdie) due to religious matters? Is that possible?"
The answer appears to be - no one human knows.
The appearance of Islam emerges when the spread of the Messianic Gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach seemed to have hit a slump as opposing religious aspirations started to challenge that message; and Islam was developed to be the replacemetn message; at least it seemed to be so when the fights broke out over Jerusalem, still the main place of contention for which fighting (combat for superiority) continues on the Jewish Temple Mount.
The esteemed Dr Pipes has provided many insights into the history of Islam, has introduced several postulations of how Islam might be moderated in order to set the stage for moderated interaction between currently contravening religious belief systems; and generally, is an excellent source for delving into the intricacies of such academic endeavors.
Ultimately, especially for this observer, the possible answer you seek is out of the current realm of possibility for the very real reason that Islam is not alone in the membership of extremist religious adherents; similar vanities exist in the entire spectrum of violent perpetrators that no one can separate for the sake of peace.
Religious combat has been the bane of humanity for millennia; and it does not appear yet that mankind is able to shake the innate tendencies of wrestling with the supernatural while thinking that humanity can win the religious argument. Clue: it cannot!

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