With the recent events of Islam bashing and Muslim violent
reactions, many non-Muslims would focus more on their belligerent behavior and
conclude, once and for all, that Islam, the submission to the will of Allah, is,
in essence, a violent religion. A friend, originally from Egypt , is a Coptic Christian, who moved to Canada
precisely because Egyptian Muslims are overly sensitive and a violent people. As
a Christian, he would do no such thing. “No matter how you want to differentiate
religion from the people,” my friend would admonish me: “But in reality,
Muslims are a violent lot.”
He, like many other non-Muslims, forgets that Christians, in the past, were extremely violent. From the time of Emperor Constantinople to the Modern Age, powerful Christian countries would wage war with non-Christians and kill women and children in the name of their God. They were as violent as any modern terrorists could be.
But, then things began to change. Many Western countries, beginning with the States, institutionalized the separation of Church and State. Subsequently, religion had no place in the matters of the State. True, there are politicians with religious affiliations. But without the people’s support, no Christian or Muslim group of politicians can get their politico-religious plan going. On the other hand, the separation allows religion to focus more on the values compassion and morality. It cuts loose religion’s grip on political matters. Since then, Christianity ceases to be violent on a massive scale. And, thank God for that.
In other words, separation of Church and State destroyed the structure of a theocracy. And, with the extinction of theocracy, and no politics allowed to manipulate religion for its own use, Christians ‘became’ peaceful. Now, it’s only the corporations that have a hand in matters of the State. How unfortunate.
So, is Islam a violent religion? Read the first few chapters of the Koran, and you will realize how much respect is bestowed to women. Read a few more and you will come upon a story about Mohammed, who had been thrown trash at by a woman each day he walks passed her house on his way to the place of worship, stopped by her house, and filled with genuine concern, inquired about her who was conspicuously absent.
With Islam’s long history of theocracy which still exists, it would be very easy for people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who are suffering from myopia, to judge Islam, a religion with more than one billion followers, as being violent in its very core.
He, like many other non-Muslims, forgets that Christians, in the past, were extremely violent. From the time of Emperor Constantinople to the Modern Age, powerful Christian countries would wage war with non-Christians and kill women and children in the name of their God. They were as violent as any modern terrorists could be.
But, then things began to change. Many Western countries, beginning with the States, institutionalized the separation of Church and State. Subsequently, religion had no place in the matters of the State. True, there are politicians with religious affiliations. But without the people’s support, no Christian or Muslim group of politicians can get their politico-religious plan going. On the other hand, the separation allows religion to focus more on the values compassion and morality. It cuts loose religion’s grip on political matters. Since then, Christianity ceases to be violent on a massive scale. And, thank God for that.
In other words, separation of Church and State destroyed the structure of a theocracy. And, with the extinction of theocracy, and no politics allowed to manipulate religion for its own use, Christians ‘became’ peaceful. Now, it’s only the corporations that have a hand in matters of the State. How unfortunate.
So, is Islam a violent religion? Read the first few chapters of the Koran, and you will realize how much respect is bestowed to women. Read a few more and you will come upon a story about Mohammed, who had been thrown trash at by a woman each day he walks passed her house on his way to the place of worship, stopped by her house, and filled with genuine concern, inquired about her who was conspicuously absent.
With Islam’s long history of theocracy which still exists, it would be very easy for people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who are suffering from myopia, to judge Islam, a religion with more than one billion followers, as being violent in its very core.
That is clearly false.
Only the Muslims can break the ties between the State and
their religion. Difficult it may be, it must be done, from the within. An
outsider calling for the break would only tighten the grip. It’s the perception
of an outsider as an infidel that keeps theocracy alive.
