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Islam and Peace
The taking of one innocent life is like
taking all of Mankind... and the saving of
one life is like saving all of Mankind
Leo R. Sandy
/Holy Qur'an, 5:33.
Islam and Peace
 “Islam”: The root of the name is the same as that of
the word for peace “salaam”.
 Islam is most recent of the three great monotheistic
religions (the other two are Judaism and Christianity),
founded by the prophet Mohammed (570?—632).
 Other Islamic prophets include Abraham and Jesus
(although Jesus is not recognized as the divine son of
God)
 Jews and Christians are seen as “people of the book”
worshipping the same God as Muslims
Islam cont’d
 The main sources of Islamic doctrine come from the
Koran (the holy book dictated by Allah to Mohammed)
and the sunna (the way of the prophet , as expressed
in his deeds and words)
 Both are of highest importance in determining manmade law (sharia) which has evolved over time and
varies among Muslim states
 Islam religion is built on 5 pillars:
1. Profession of Faith
2. Prayer (five times a day facing Mecca)
Islam cont’d
3. Charity (a duty to share and to give generously
to the less fortunate)
4. Annual Ramadan Fast (self-control and
discipline of the passions are stressed)
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) (Mecca is usually
called as HARAM – meaning peaceful and sacred
place, and Mdina (Prophet Mohammed’s (BPUH)
birthplace
Islam cont’d
 There are two main Muslim sects, Sunnites and
Shiites, which have had a long history of rivalry
(Shiites believe that Muhammed’s son-in-law (Ali) and
his lineage had been ordained for leadership;
Sunnites reject the idea of a divinely guided heir to
the Prophet’s leadership)
 Roughly 85% of the Muslim world is Sunnite.
 Islam’s ideals include such virtues as faith, love,
charity, mercy, compassion, forgiveness
 A person is not considered a Muslim unless they
practice peace in their lives
Islam cont’d
 One famous Muslim nonviolent activist was Gaffar Khan who is
known as the “frontier Gandhi” and a Pathan who led his
people to independence with the establishment of Pakistan (the
Khan’s Pathans were the first to use nonviolence successfully
against the British)
 Another well-known Muslim driven by his faith is Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who worked closely with
Gandhi to nonviolently oust the British from India
 Passages from the Koran and Hadith (sayings of the prophet)
that support Islamic values on peace:
 * “There shall be no compulsion in religion” (2: 256)
Islam and Peace
 The (true) servants of (God), the Most Gracious, are those who
walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address
them, reply with (words of) peace (25:63)
 Fight for the sake of Allah those who fight against you, but do
not attack them first. Allah does not love aggressors (2:190)
 A man has sinned enough if he neglects to feed those in need”
(Hadith)
Islam cont’d
 God has revealed to me that you should adopt humility so that
no one oppresses another (Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1589)
 The best Jihad [struggle in service to God] is to speak words of
justice to an oppressive ruler (Hadith)
Islam cont’d
 Muslims for Peace is working for peace and social justice
(http://www.muslimsforpeace.org/)
Islam cont’d
 Some claiming to follow Islam have twisted it and used it to
justify heinous acts toward both Muslims and Westerners. They
have interpreted the Koran wrongly and/or literally as some socalled Christians have done with the Bible. The vast majority of
Muslims are peaceful and disassociate themselves from those
who torture, rape, mutilate, and kill in the name of Allah. For the
majority of Muslims, Jihad is service to others not engaging in
killing civilians with vests strapped with explosives. Just as the
Bible has its dark parts in the Old Testament such passages
may also be found in the Koran. However, decent Muslims and
Christians focus on that which is positive and beneficial to
humanity in their holy books.
Video
 Islam is a Religion of Peace: A Debate
Reference
 Islam I a Religion of Peace: A Debate. Retrieved at
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhsmozilla-001&hsimp=yhs001&hspart=mozilla&p=YouTube+Isalam+and+Peace#i
d=6&vid=4accc470a1f29ed17ec419d13be26c61&actio
n=click
 Perkins, R., Sandy, L., & Green, A. (2017).
PeaceTalk: Unpublished manuscript