Religion of Peace

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Religion of Peace (often abbreviated as ROP or RoP) is a political neologism synonymous with Islam. After the September 11, 2001 attacks many politicians from the Western world, most notably United States President George W. Bush, publicly referred to Islam as a religion of peace, in an effort to differentiate between Islamic terrorists and non-violent Muslims[1].

The word 'Islam' can also mean 'religion of peace', as the word "’islām" derives from the Arabic triconsonantal root sīn-lām-mīm, which carries the basic meaning of safety and peace. [2]. The Arabic term 'islam is defined as "submission" and itself comes from the term 'aslama, which means "to surrender, resign oneself." However, submission to a deity is indeed peaceful to some.

Six days after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush spoke at the Islamic Center in Washington D.C., and quoted the Koran: "The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, but let me quote from the Koran, itself: "In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule."The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war." [3]

Subsequently, many critics of Islam adopted the phrase, using it in sarcastic manner to mock an ideology they see as overtly violent. Some make the mockery more explicit by adding a trademark symbol, "™",^{[citation needed]} evoking the idea that product names are not always accurate descriptions. Based on phonetic similarity, the expression has also been satirically re-phrased as "Religion of Piece(s)" to describe suicide-bombings, which are mostly perpetrated by Muslim terrorists that blow people into "pieces."^{[citation needed]}

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad referred to Islam as a religion of peace while discussing terrorism in Malaysia.^[1]