The Religion of peace (sometimes abbreviated as ROP or RoP) is a political neologism used as a description of Islam. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, some politicians described Islam as a "religion of peace" in an effort to differentiate between Islamic terrorists and non-violent Muslims.[1] Subsequently, some critics of Islam have adopted the phrase, using the term "Religion of Peace" in a sarcastic manner as a pejorative synonym for Islam. [2][3]
Never before have so few people, with so few actual means, frightened so many.
Whether or not Islam is a religion of peace may depend on one's understanding of "Istishhad" (i.e. heroic sacrifice, martyrdom). As research continues on the Koran, but also the beliefs of Muslims around the world, however, relevant data is emerging.[5] Despite, at times, public perceptions, almost every Islamic leader, organization and country has condemned the attacks of September 11th.[6]
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The Arabic term Islam (إسلام) is derived from aslama, which means "to surrender" or "resign oneself".[7][8] The Arabic word salaam (سلام) ("peace") shares the same abstract consonantal root with the word Islam.[9] This has led to a widespread misinterpretation that the word Islam means peace.[10]
There are critics of Islam who have argued that the underlying cause and motivation of the September 11, 2001 attacks was the doctrines and beliefs of Islam, and that Islam is intrinsically violent.[11][12][13][14] However, many notable Muslims have maintained that terrorism against civilians is motivated by a misunderstanding of Islamic doctrine. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia said,
| “ | Clearly Islam the religion is not the cause of terrorism. Islam, as I said, is a religion of peace. However through the centuries, deviations from the true teachings of Islam take place. And so Muslims kill despite the injunction of their religion against killing especially of innocent people.[1] | ” |
President George W. Bush publicly adopted this latter view, stating that "Islam is peace":
| “ | 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. [15] | ” |
This prompted criticism from some quarters[11] and a poll of Evangelical Protestant leaders taken in 2002 revealed that only 10% agreed with Bush that Islam was synonymous with peace.[16]
Muslims who are keen to emphasise their rejection of violence have used the term "a religion of peace” as a description of Islam, like Dalil Boubakeur, mufti of the Paris Mosque, who said, "The prophet did not found a terrorist religion, but a religion of peace."[17] After the 7/7 London bombings, some Muslims in the West increased their efforts to present Islam as a peaceful religion.[18]
The description of Islam as a "religion of peace" has created a great deal of controversy.
Sherman Jackson believes that the comments of Western politicians about Islam being a "religion of peace" is a an attempt at "political correctness."[19]. This use has also been criticised by both Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb[20], and former Islamists such as Hassan Butt, who said,
| “ | Only when Muslims admit that 9/11 and 7/7 were the work of Muslim terrorists can we move forward to the next juncture: which is recognising the hard truth that Islam does permit the use of violence. Muslims who deny this, preferring instead to mouth easy platitudes about how Islam is nothing but a religion of peace, make the job easier for the radicals who can point to passages in the Koran, set down in black and white, that instruct on the killing of unbelievers.[21] | ” |
That is, he suggests that the religion can only be a religion of peace if followers explicitly denounce the terrorist actions.
The term "The Religion of Peace" is used sarcastically by critics of Islam, such as Ann Coulter.[3] This is sometimes the case on anti-Islamic web sites and blogs, such as the web site TheReligionofPeace.com, which counts Islamic terrorist attacks and lists examples of violent speech and actions of Mohammed.[22][23]
Pope Benedict XVI refused to agree that Islam was a religion of peace. However he stated:
| “ | It certainly contains elements that can favor peace, it also has other elements: We must always seek the best elements.[24] | ” |
John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed present data relevant to Islamic views on peace, and more, in their book Who Speaks for Islam? The book reports Gallup poll data from random samples in over 35 countries using Gallup's various research techniques (e.g. pairing male and female interviewers, testing the questions beforehand, communicating with local leaders when approval is necessary, travelling by foot if that is the only way to reach a region, etc).[5]
There was a great deal of data. It suggests, firstly, that individuals who dislike America and consider the September 11 attacks to be "perfectly justified" form a statistically distinct group, with suddenly more extreme views. The authors call this 7% of Muslims "Politically Radicalized"[5]. They chose that title "because of their radical political orientation" and clarify "we are not saying that all in this group commit acts of violence. However, those with extremist views are a potential source for recruitment or support for terrorist groups."[25] The data also indicates that poverty is not simply to blame for the comparatively radical views of this 7% of Muslims, who tend to be better educated than moderates[25].
The authors say that, contrary to what the media may indicate, most Muslims believe that the September 11 attacks cannot actually be justified at all. The authors called this 55% of Muslims "Moderates". They applied the same label to an additional 12% who said the attacks were almost cannot be justified at all. To be clear, 67% of Muslims were classified as Moderates, meaning 26% of Muslims are not quite Moderates, and only a remaining 7% (with much more extreme views) are Politically Radicalized. Esposito and Mogahed explain that the labels should not be taken as being perfectly definitive, however (e.g. there may be individuals who would generally not be considered radical, although they believe the attacks were justified, or vice versa).[5]
Islam may be feared partially because terrorists have realized their goals: to spread anxiety throughout the population connected to the victims.[4] Anthropologist Scott Atran has studied religion and terrorism. He explains that terrorism remains mostly rare, especially unorganized, and unsuccessful. Acts of Terrorism, he continues, are often cases of groupthink causing a handful of individuals to take violent actions in the name of some sacred beliefs. These beliefs need certainly not be Islamist, or even religious. Terrorists can also be quite well educated. Besides the damage from September 11th, Atran summarizes America's interaction with terrorism as "three guys, two plots, two and a half years, and we're spending tens of billions of dollars to deal with it."[4]
List of sites using the term "Religion of Peace" in a sarcastic manner
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List of web pages discussing if Islam is a "religion of peace"
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