Is Islam a religion of love and peace?

From the many students that i have hosted over the years, the Islamic ones seem to find love and peace only with their own kind. Out side of that they are coolly polite but arrogant, impatient, and to a degree intolerant, with statements like " get to the point". None have kept in touch on the internet unlike many other nationals.

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first let me clear up one thing. all of the stuff you mentioned is completely Un-Islamic, and well much of the violence is political. I am sorry if that is not what you wanted to hear, but it is. All of the suicide bombings that Iraqi and Palestinian people do is 1) forbidden in Islam 2) this is how i look at it. The people there have lost everything. On top of their corrupt government, their are other nations (not going to mention names) that are occupying their land. The children have lost their parents and visa versa. So i am not justifying their acts, but i will cut them slack because everyone there..their mental health is at an all time low. About the Jew thing, as far as i am concerned the Muslim nation as a whole does not hate Jews. We are against the Zionists and Israeli government because of their oppression to the Palestinians (which the majority of them are our Muslim brothers and sisters). One of my best friend is a Jew and she feels the same way as i do about this. We don't hate Jews (they are our people of the book and as Muslims we are ordered by God to respect them be nice, act kindly to them and all that other good stuff towards them. All of the violent acts that these many so called Muslims (extremists) commit are forbidden at all costs in Islam. It is not in line with the Glory of God. I hope that helped you understand.

I dont understand this...if Xianity is such a wonderfully peacful and loving religion then why does their Bible advocate for the KILLING of 2/3s of ALL HUMANITY, including me? BIBLICAL DEATH PENALTY: (part 33) KILL UNBELIEVERS - Acts 3:23 … "And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear the prophet, shall be destroyed." BIBLICAL DEATH PENALTY: (part 34) KILL UNBELIEVERS - 2 Chronicles 15:12-13 (NIV) … They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Aslo see: Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT and Exodus 22:20 Does this sound like a peaceful and loving religion to you?

it's forbidden to convert someone to islam by force. it has to be their own decision as stated clearly in the Quran. a forced conversion would be an invalid one.

Quran Al-Baqarah 2:256 "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from Error; whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. (256)"

there is no such thing as a religion of peace.

Even the pope had to apologize to jews for the evil things christians have done.

The ONLY reason christians are more peaceful than muslims... is because us westerners have a quality police force keeping the religious crazies in check.

If there was NO police force in the west..... the christians would be up to the same creepy whackyness the muslims with no police force are up to.

Christians can't stone people anymore only because the POLICE wont let them. But if there was no police force in our society.... there would be stonings galore for every offense the bible sanctions stoning for.

The only difference between christians and muslims... is christians have a quality swat team, fbi and police force keeping them in check.

Muslims in the mountains of pakistan do not.

There is no religion of love and peace................UNLESS there is a police force keeping the peace.

If you ask a Muslim, they will all tell you the exact same thing every time, like the imams and mullahs all got together at a Summit Gathering and agreed,

- "let's tell every Muslim that Islam is the most perfect of all the religions. Tell them so many times that they eventually believe it. Also, tell them allah is great and good and merciful. Yeah, merciful. Use THAT word a million times when talking to them. And say Islam is a religion of peace and love and the fastest growing religion all over the world. DON'T answer any questions about fatwahs or kafirs or killing infidels... just stare at them like you don't know WHAT they're talking about and then change the subject."

I would NEVER join a religion, LEAST of all islam because I'm not an arab and I don't speak or understand arabic. Islam is a religion for people who speak arabic.

The word “Islam” itself means peace. It’s so difficult to verify this on the internet. If you google “Islam peace” you’ll find that the first page is virtually all about how the Qur'an promotes killing which is untrue. The Prophet Muhammad was especially kind to cats and there are several tales in the Qur'an about the importance of kindness towards humans and animals alike. Also the Qur'an equates the murder of one person with the murder of all of humanity. I have learned so much from a very close friend and her family who are moderate Muslims. I know only two people who have converted and both are former white Christians. One of my friends recently decided to convert when he turned 18 after he grew to really appreciate his own friend’s religion and philosophy. A wonderful woman I know who felt isolated and left her family as a teenager found refuge in the teachings of Islam after meeting an Iraqi man whom she later married. She is now living a very fulfilled and successful life in Los Angeles while being a devout practitioner of the religion. She is also my version of Mother Teresa.

I however believe that moderation is important in all religions because you have to leave room to develop your own interpretations and morals. I disagree with and am extremely hurt by many of the answers. First of all, you don’t need to be able to read Arabic to join the religion. There are English translations of the Qur'an and my Pakistani friend doesn’t know a word of Arabic. It seems that people assume that Muslims are primitive people but she comes from an esteemed family and I am still stunned by the depth of her background and culture. Her grandfather was one of the first surgeons of the country. He saved lives for a living because that’s what he loved to do. Her grandmother was friends with many political couples and was well-acquainted with strong, influential women like Jackie O. and Eleanor Roosevelt. She worked for Planned Parenthood in Karachi, Pakistan and was the President of a branch of the UN. So clearly, she comes from a very philanthropic and progressive family. She is just one of the several Muslims I’ve come to admire.

Last weekend I helped organize a media awards ceremony at the Muslim Public Affairs Council in which many notable contributors to the healthy and genuine portrayal of Islam were commended for their efforts. Author Dave Eggers (for a more relatable example, he wrote the screenplay for Where The Wild Things Are) and cast and crew from a Grey’s Anatomy episode called “Give Peace A Chance” were among those awarded.

The greeting among Muslims is “asalamalakum” which literally translates to “may peace be upon you” and the parting phrase, “Khuda hafiz” translates to “may God be your guardian". “Khuda” means God and “hafiz” means "protection".

What I’m trying to explain is, that I cannot understand how so many people are so ignorant and so quick to dismiss the religion. It’s nearly laughable the kind of information you can find about Islam on the internet and many of the answers here fail to provide a more educated insight. How can I, an average teenage American girl, understand something so simple which others feel the need to assume an ulterior motive about? Muslims are not a bad people, but like any other religion or society, it unfortunately has bad individuals. From the several Muslims I’ve been exposed to in recent months, they don’t approve of fundamentalists and extremists and believe that if there was a physical manifestation of evil, it would be the Taliban. Most Muslims I have interacted with are extremely successful, innovative, insightful, and kind people. Muslims are no different from everyone else. We are all people and we all deserve respect. It is a beautiful religion and is under-appreciated. I hope more people will open their minds to Islam. A good first step? I know I have been very humbled and touched by stories like Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea. I’m currently in the process of reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

Unlike other answerers like Micky, I'm not trying to excessive assert my beliefs or copy-and-paste someone else's words. My thoughts mimick no one and this is the experience that I've had with Islam. Frankly, I'm willing to Yahoo-martyr myself and accept however many thumbs-downs I will get as long as I put my truthful and developed point of view out there.

"I found a religion that blended scientific reason with spiritual reality in a unifying faith far removed from the headlines of violence, destruction and terrorism."

-Cat Stevens

Their is a difference between "Religious",and "Extremest".

Some do Hannis acts then hide behind their religion including Jewish,Christens,etc...

Yet one who is truly religious would not hurt another to hurt another to prove a point.

I find most religions are upon Peace.

Ignorance is not bliss,so before you point a finger to ones religion do your research to any crime committed to one whom claims to be of your religion.

Yes , I swear it is the religion of love and Peace .

I really love Islam so much and so proud 2 be muslim .

Islam is really the life , it is the love and it is logic and faith in the same time .

Racists media deformed the image of Islam but many many Non muslims convert to Islam daily .

It is the way of truth ,the way of happiness .

War against Islam is not a new war and the The History is the witness , also the new crusade now against us in Iraq and Afghanistan .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJleS6a81_g

Islam is a religion of love and Peace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqzoF_zMX_A

http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/archive/index2.php?vP...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU8fiayHbVk&feature...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jy18U62WGc

http://mohammad.islamway.com/

If u have any question about Islam contact me : Sera.1986@yahoo

Yes it is a peaceful religion. Give the Quran a read and you'll understand.

Unfortunately, just like with most other religions (especially monotheistic religions), people get involved and screw it up.