Is Mohammedanism the same as Islam,they seem to both try to spread thier belief by the use of force and sword?

Mohammedan, the term is now largely superseded by Muslim, Moslem or Islamic, but was commonly used in Western literature until at least the mid-1960s. Same thing.

The crusaders never drove Muslims from Spain; it was done by Spanish Nationals under the command of El Cid, Spain's greatest warrior. Spain was conquered by the Moorish Muslims from Africa whose methods were different from Eastern Muslims. The Moors and Spanish Christians had very good relationships until Eastern Muslim Warriors tried to overpower the Moors. To say that Muslims did not spread Islam by the sword is like saying that the sun rises in the north. The truth is, Islam was a conquering Arabic force before it became a religion. Islam as a religion of peace does not come from Arabic sources; it's Syrian. When Arabic hoards left their desert homes to conquer other lands, the victims had three choices; convert, pay a tax or die. Period. And don't go talking nonsense about India; Muslims butchered over 800 Million Indians in the space of five years. One more thing my friend; the Christians in Saudi Arabia are not free to practice their faith; there are no Christian Churches. Are you as a Muslim proud of this? Should Christian majority countries stop Muslims from building mosques?

"Mohammedanism" is what Christians used to call Islam, but the term is wrong.

In Islam, Mohammed is considered the last and greatest prophet, but he is not seen as divine, for there is no god but Allah. "Islam" meaning "submission" is the proper name of the religion; the name "Mohammedanism" implies that Muslims worship Mohammed, which in Islamic terms would be blasphemy.

At least that's my impression as a non-Muslim who has read a little about the religion.

You write about Islam spreading "by the use of force and sword," and as a non-Muslim, I worry about that, too.

OTOH - Isn't it also true that Christianity has spread a great deal through the use of military force, despite the fact that Christianity is supposedly a religion of peace?

I certainly don't want or intend to be converted to Islam by force. But I wonder if Islam's history on this point is much worse than than of several other religions.

Between roughly 700 and 1550 AD, for example, Islam spread a great deal by means of conquest, and threatened or actually conquered several Christian societies.

But since roughly 1492, hasn't it been Christian societies, mostly European ones, who have been the most responsible for trying to conquer and convert the world by means of military might?

Think of imperial Spain, the Dutch and Portuguese Empires, and the French and British Empires in Asia and North America.

Think also of the United States and the "little wars" and CIA dirty tricks that our country has waged since the 1890s in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Is there any MODERN Muslim society that can match this historical record of war-making and imperial conquest?

Has modern Iran, for instance, ever overthrown a democratically elected American government, the way the American CIA in 1953 succeeded in toppling the elected Iranian government of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh?

Has modern Iraq ever invaded and occupied any part of the United States, the way that the United States has waged two major wars against the Iraqis since 1990?

Has Lebanon ever dispatched its Marines to Washington, D.C., the way the United States government has sometimes dispatched the U.S. Marines to Beirut?

Has Afghanistan ever dispatched thousands of troops to the United States, in order to topple one US government and install another, the way that the United States has done in Afghanistan?

Not trying to apologize for Islamist terrorism here. Not at all. But it's interesting to put things in perspective.

Islam was not spread by d sword, d sword was only used in defense.

rather, Islam was spread by Aqhlaaq ( manners/behavior )

If u wanna kno more abt Islam log on to www.islamcity.com

no islam is islam

there is a movie called (al risala) or (the messege) it tells the story about mohammad and islam !

Peace..

Mohammedans is a false term that the old christians use to call Muslims.

1. Islam means peace.

Islam comes from the root word ‘salaam’, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one’s will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).

2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace.

Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.

3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O’Leary.

The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O’Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8):

"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years.

Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhan, that is the call for prayers.

5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians.

Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.

6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India.

The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword.

7. Indonesia and Malaysia.

Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?"

8. East Coast of Africa.

Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?"

9. Thomas Carlyle.

The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: "The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

10. No compulsion in religion.

With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur’an says in the following verse:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion:

Truth stands out clear from error"[Al-Qur’an 2:256]

11. Sword of the Intellect.

It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur’an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:

"Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord

with wisdom and beautiful preaching;

and argue with them in ways that are

best and most gracious." [Al-Qur’an 16:125]

12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984.

An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which converted millions of people to Islam?

13. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe.

Today the fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?

14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson.

Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says, "People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born".

Peace