Top ten reasons why Islam is not the religion of peace

March 9th, 2005

Ever since 9/11, Muslim leaders who have access to the national media have told
us that Islam is the religion of peace and that violence does not represent the
essence of Muhammads religion.
Even President Bush and Britains Prime Minister Blair have repeated this assertio
n, saying that Islam has been hijacked by a few violent fanatics. Is this true?
Sadly it is not, for empirical, observable facts demonstrate beyond doubt that I
slam at its founding is filled with violencein the life of Muhammad himself and i
n the Quran itself.
Hence, these Muslim apologists must stop misleading unsuspecting Westerners, and
they must be honest about the heart of their religion, for once and for all.
Here are ten clear, verifiable reasons that explain why Islam is not the religio
n of peace.
Clear? In order to prevent the standard, reflexive out of context defense from Mus
lim apologists, the context of each verse in the Quran is explained either in th
is article or in the links provided within each of the ten reasons. No verse is
taken out of context, and Muslim translators are used.
Verifiable? The readers are invited to look up each verse in the Quran in multip
le translations, by visiting this website and typing in references, like so: 61:
10-12. (61 is the chapter or sura, and 10-12 are the verses). Once at the site,
they should ignore request for the transliterated Arabic titles of the chapters
in the Quran, and just type in the numbers.
10. Muhammad nicknames his weapons.
Tabari (AD 839-923) is an early Muslim historian who is considered largely relia
ble by scholars today. In fact, the State University of New York Press selected
his history to be translated into 38 volumes. (We use volume 9, pp. 153-55, tran
s. Ismail K. Poonawala.)
In the context of the list of Muhammads assets (horses, camels, milch sheep, and
so on) at the end of his life, Tabari records the nicknames of Muhammads weapons.
Muhammad nicknames three swords that he took from the Jewish tribe Qaynuqa after
he banished them from Medina in April 624: Pluck Out, Very Sharp, and Death. Two othe
r swords from elsewhere are named: Sharp and That is wont to sink (presumably into h
uman flesh). After his Hijrah or Emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622, he owne
d two swords called Sharp and Having the vertebrae of the back. This last sword he c
ollected as booty after his victory at the Battle of Badr in March 624.
Next, Muhammad took three bows from the Qaynuqa tribe and named them as follows:
Most conducive to ease, or wide, white, and of nab wood (species of tree from which b
ows are made).
The name of a coat of mail implies ampleness or redundant portions, probably because
Muhammad was portly (cf. Ibn Ishaq, Life of Muhammad, trans. Guillaume, p. 383)
.
Finally, even Muhammad himself has a nickname. After Tabari lists the positive o
nes, he matter-of-factly provides one that is not so positive: The obliterator.
Muslim apologists may object that Tabari is not authoritative (except when he sh
ows Muhammad as heroic or victorious) and that he is not on the same level as th
e Quran and some hadiths (words and deeds of Muhammad outside of the Quran). Thi
s is true. But Muslim apologists still must answer why such a tradition of namin
g weapons developed about Muhammad. After all, later, unauthoritative traditions
about Christ developed, but they do not show him naming weapons. The answer to
this question is found in the next nine reasons.
Thus, violence sits at the heart of early Islamin the life of Muhammad. Islam is
therefore not the religion of peace.
9. Muhammad commands in his Quran that adulterers and adulteresses should receiv
e a hundred lashes.
24:2 Strike the adulteress and the adulterer one hundred times. Do not let compa
ssion for them keep you from carrying out Gods lawif you believe in God and the La
st Dayand ensure that a group of believers witnesses the punishment. (Haleem)
The supposed historical context of this sura occurs during a raid of a tribe in
December 627 or January 628, on which Muhammad brought his favorite and youngest
wife, Aisha, also the daughter of Abu Bakr, his right-hand lieutenant. After th
e Muslims victory, they journeyed back to Medina, one hundred and fifty miles to
the north. On their last halt, Aisha answered the call of nature, but lost her n
ecklace in the dark, just as the army was setting out from their encampment earl
y in the morning. She left her litter, returned to look for the necklace, and fo
und it. Meanwhile, the man leading her camel assumed she was in her curtained li
tter and led the animal away by the halter. Returning, Aisha saw that she was le
ft behind.
However, a handsome young Muslim named Safwan saw her and accompanied her back t
o Medina, though both the Muslims and Muhammads opposition wagged their tongues a
t seeing the two youngsters entering the city together. Eventually, revelation c
ame that Aisha was not guilty of any immorality.
Sura 24 thus establishes some ground rules against adultery, of which flogging o
ne hundred times is one of the rules. Amazingly, 24:2 exhorts the accusers and j
udges not to let compassion keep them from carrying out Gods law.
Moreover, early and reliable traditions depict Muhammad and his Muslims stoning
adulterers and adulteresses, as recorded by Bukhari and Muslim:
Umar said: God sent Muhammad with the truth and sent down the Book [Quran] to hi
m, and the verse of stoning was included in what God most high sent down. Gods me
ssenger [Muhammad] had people stoned to death, and we have done it also since hi
s death. Stoning is a duty laid down in Gods Book for married men and women who c
ommit fornication when proof is established, or if there is pregnancy, or a conf
ession.
Umar was Muhammads right-hand lieutenant (along with Abu Bakr), and even shortly
after Muhammads death he tried very hard to get a verse allowing stoning into the
Quran, but he did not succeed (Ibn Ishaq, Life of Muhammad, trans. Guillaume, p
. 684). Be that as it may, this and the next hadith are sufficient for many Musl
ims today to endorse stoning, as seen here and here.
Perhaps the most gruesome hadith is the following. A woman came to the Prophet a
nd asked for purification. He told her to go away and seek Gods forgiveness. She
persisted four times and admitted that she was pregnant as a result of fornicati
on. He told her to wait until she had given birth. Then he said that the Muslim
community should wait until she had weaned her child. When the day arrived for t
he child to take solid food, Muhammad handed the child over to the community and
ordered the womans death by stoning.
And when he had given command over her and she was put in a hole up to her breas
t, he ordered the people to stone her. Khalid b. al-Walid came forward with a st
one which he threw at her head, and when the blood spurted on his face he cursed
her . . . (Muslim)
The Prophet prayed over her dead body and then buried her. Truthfully, how effec
tive was the prayer when Muhammad and his community murdered her in cold blood?
They should have forgiven her and let her go to raise her child.
Even if Muslim apologists today do not accept these hadiths, then they still hav
e to answer why the true God would send down the harsh punishment of lashing in
the Quran (Sura 24:2), when the New Testament says nothing about this. Christian
s should therefore rightly reject this verse, for Christ forgave the woman caugh
t in adultery (John 8:1-11). He showed us the better way and taught the will of
the true God.
For more information on this early punishment and how it is applied today, link
to this article, which also answers Muslim apologists and explains John 8:1-11 m
ore thoroughly.
Thus, cruel violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads life and in his
Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
8. Muhammad in his Quran permits husbands to beat their wives.
4:34 Husbands should take full care of their wives, with [the bounties] God has
given to some more than others and with what they spend out of their own money.
Righteous wives are devout and guard what God would have them guard in the husba
nds absence. If you fear high-handedness from your wives, remind them [of the tea
ching of God], then ignore them when you go to bed, then hit them. If they obey
you, you have no right to act against them. God is most high and great. (Haleem)
Written in the historical context of the Battle of Uhud (March 625), in which Is
lam lost 70 holy warriors, this verse belongs to a larger collection of verses t
hat outlines laws for the family, such as how to divide the inheritance and to h
ow to oversee the assets of orphans (vv. 1-35).
Plainly said, Sura 4:34 specifies that husbands may beat their unruly wives if t
he husbands fear highhandedness, quite apart from whether the wives are actually b
eing highhanded. This puts the interpretation of the wives behavior squarely in t
he husbands judgment, and this swings the door to abuse wide open. This verse emb
odies a gigantic cultural and social step backwards and should be rejected by al
l fair-minded and reasonable people.
For a more thorough analysis of this hurtful practice, refer to this article.
Thus, domestic violence sits at the heart of early Islamin the life of Muhammad a
nd his Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
7. Muhammad in his Quran commands that the hands of male or female thieves shoul
d be cut off.
5:38 Cut off the hands of thieves, whether they are male or female, as punishmen
t for what they have donea deterrent from God: God is almighty and wise. 39 But i
f anyone repents after his wrongdoing and makes amends, God will accept his repe
ntance: God is most forgiving and merciful. (Haleem)
Three passages in the hadith interpret Muhammads policy and provide its context.
This is a quick compilation taken from the two most reliable collectors and edit
ors of the hadith, Bukhari (810-870 AD) and Muslim (c. 817-875 AD):
Aisha [favorite wife of Muhammad] reported the Prophet saying, A thiefs hand shoul
d be cut off for only a quarter of a dinar and upwards.
A dinar, a word taken from the Roman denarius, was not a small sum, but not exor
bitant either, yet one-fourth of a dinar merits the loss of a hand in Muhammads v
iew.
Ibn Umar said the Prophet had a thiefs hand cut off for a shield worth three dirh
ams.
The shield was fairly expensive. The poor in Muhammads armies could not afford on
e. But is a shield equal to a hand?
Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as saying, God curse a thief who steals an egg a
nd has his hand cut off, and steals a rope and has his hand cut off!
Some commentators are quick to say that an egg is really a helmet, and the rope is
a ships rope, which is sizable and costly. However, the translation above is usu
ally accepted, and this means that the penalty could be imposed for trivial thef
ts. But even if the more expensive items are in view here, they still do not mea
sure up to a hand.
For more information on this gruesome practice and its historical context, link
to this article, which also answers Muslim apologists who seek to defend this pr
actice and which also contrasts Christ with Muhammad. Suffice it to say here, Ch
rist never endorsed this sort of violence. And Paul the Apostle says that thieve
s should work with their hands in order to share with those in need, not get the
ir hand cut off (Ephesians 4:28). So Paul excels Muhammad.
Thus, harsh and excessive punitive violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Mu
hammads life and in the Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
6. Muhammad assassinates poets and poetesses.
These two poets represent others in early Islam.

March 624: Uqba bin Abu Muayt
Uqba mocked Muhammad in Mecca and wrote derogatory verses about him. He was capt
ured during the Battle of Badr, and Muhammad ordered him to be executed. But who
will look after my children, O Muhammad? Uqba cried with anguish. Hell, retorted th
e Prophet coldly. Then the sword of one of his followers cut through Uqbas neck.
March 624: Amsa bint Marwan
Amsa was a poetess who belonged to a tribe of Medinan pagans, and whose husband
was named Yazid b. Zayd. She composed a poem blaming the Medinan pagans for obey
ing a stranger (Muhammad) and for not taking the initiative to attack him by sur
prise. When the Prophet heard what she had said, he asked, Who will rid me of Mar
wans daughter? A member of her husbands tribe volunteered and crept into her house
that night. She had five children, and the youngest was sleeping at her breast.
The assassin gently removed the child, drew his sword, and plunged it into her,
killing her in her sleep.
The following morning, the assassin defied anyone to take revenge. No one took h
im up on his challenge, not even her husband. In fact, Islam became powerful amo
ng his tribe. Previously, some members who had kept their conversion secret now
became Muslims openly, because they saw the power of Islam, so conjectures an earl
y Muslim source that reports the assassination.
In addition to the sources that recount these and other assassinations, the Qura
n also supports harsh punishments for mockers and insulters (Suras 3:186; 33:57;
33:59-61; and 9:61-63).
However, even if Muslims reject the early non-Quranic sources where these assass
inations are found, they still must answer these questions: Why would such a tra
dition grow up around Muhammad in friendly Islamic sources? What was it about Mu
hammad that produced such reports? Why are these sources eager to present their
prophet in a positive way?
For an in-depth analysis of Muhammads assassinations of poets and how they justif
y assassinations of artists today, like the one of Theo van Gogh, the Dutch fil
mmaker, refer to this article, which also answers the Muslim apologists who try
to justify Muhammads deadly policy, and which contrasts early Christianity with e
arly IslamJesus assassinated no one, neither did he order this in the Gospels.
Thus, bullying and murderous violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads
life and in the Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
5. Muhammad commands death or the cutting off of hands and feet for fighting and
corrupting the land.
5:33 Indeed, the punishment of those who fight Allah and His Messenger and who g
o around corrupting the land is to be killed, crucified, have their hands and fe
et cut off on opposite sides, or to be banished from the land. That is a disgrac
e for them in this life, and in the life to come theirs will be a terrible punis
hment. 34 Except for those who repent before you overpower them. Know, then, tha
t Allah is All-Forgiving, Merciful. (Fakhry)
According to the hadith, the historical context of these verses runs as follows
and clarifies fighting and corrupting the land.
Some Arab tribesmen visited the Prophet, but fell sick in the uncongenial climat
e of Medina, so he recommended an old folk belief: drinking the milk and urine o
f a camel. Subsequently, they are reported to have felt better. However, for som
e reason, after departing from Medina, they killed some of Muhammads shepherds, t
urned apostate, and drove off the Prophets camels.
This news reached him, and he ordered them to be hunted down and brought before
him. He decreed that their hands and feet should be cut off, their eyes gouged o
ut, and their bodies thrown upon stony ground until they died.
For more information on this policy that punishes people today based on Sura 5:3
3, even on ambiguous charges, and for a reply to Muslim apologists, link to this
article, which also contrasts Christ with Muhammad.
Thus, gruesome violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads life and in t
he Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
4. Muhammad aggressively attacks Meccan caravans.
A year or so after Muhammads Hijrah from Mecca to Medina in 622, he attacks Mecca
n caravans six times, and sent out a punitive expedition three-days away against
an Arab tribe that stole some Medinan grazing camels (or cattle), totaling seve
n raids.
W. Montgomery Watt, a highly reputable Western Islamologist who writes in favor
of Muhammad and whose two-volume history of early Islam (Muhammad at Mecca (1953
) and Muhammad at Medina (1956)) has won wide acceptance, tells us why geography
matters:
The chief point to notice is that the Muslims took the offensive. With one excep
tion the seven expeditions were directed against Meccan caravans. The geographic
al situation lent itself to this. Caravans from Mecca to Syria had to pass betwe
en Medina and the coast. Even if they kept as close to the Red Sea as possible,
they had to pass within about eighty miles of Medina, and, while at this distanc
e from the enemy base, would be twice as far from their own base. (Muhammad at M
edina, emphasis added, p. 2)
It must be emphatically stated that the Meccans never sent a force up to the doo
rstep of Medina at this timethey did later on when they were fed up with Muhammads
aggressions. It is true that the Meccans gathered forces to protect their carav
ans, but when Muhammad confronted them, they were many days journeys away from Me
dina, often more than a hundred miles. (Medina and Mecca are around 200-250 mile
s from each other, taking seven to eleven days of travel by foot, horse, or came
l.)
Hence, two Muslim scholar-apologists are deliberately inaccurate when they asser
t that the caravans passed through Medina, adding that the Muslims haphazardly sou
ght for whatever spoils they could get, whereas the Meccans mobilized for war (I
smail R. al-Faruqi and Lois Lamyaal Faruqi, The Cultural Atlas of Islam, New York:
Macmillan, 1986, 134). Rather, it is more accurate to say that the Muslims were
aggressively harassing the Meccans.
To complete the military picture of Muhammads life from 622 to 632, Watt sums up
the number of expeditions that Muhammad either sent out or went out on: seventy-
four (Muhammad at Medina, pp. 2; 339-43). They range from negotiations (only a f
ew compared to the violent expeditions), to small assassination hit squads, to t
he conquest of Mecca with 10,000 jihadists, and to the confrontation of Byzantin
e Christians (who never showed up), with 30,000 holy warriors to Tabuk (see belo
w).
For a fuller account of these six early aggressive attacks against Meccan carava
ns, go to this article, which explains more thoroughly why these attacks are not
defensive.

Thus, aggressive military violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads li
fe and in the Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
3. Muhammad in his Quran promises sensuous Gardens for martyrs dying in a milita
ry holy war.
Throughout the Quran, Muhammad promises the men in his fledgling Muslim communit
y that if they die fighting for Allah and for him, Allah will reward them with a
virgin-rich Garden (Suras 44:51-56; 52:17-29; 55:46-78).
In the following Quranic passage, representing others (Suras 4:74, 9:111; 3:140-
143), the Arabic word jihad (root is j-h-d) is the means or currency to trade in t
his life for the life to come in an economic bargain.
61:10 You who believe, shall I show you a bargain that will save you from painfu
l punishment? 11 Have faith in God and His Messenger and struggle [j-h-d] for Hi
s cause with your possessions and your personsthat is better for you, if only you
knew12 and He will forgive your sins, admit you into Gardens graced with flowing
streams, into pleasant dwellings in the Gardens of Eternity. That is the suprem
e triumph. (Haleem)
These verses are found in the historical context of the Battle of Uhud (625), in
which Muhammad lost 70 of his fighters. Thus, he must make the loss of life app
ear worth the sacrifice, so he frames their deaths in an economic bargain (note
the word in bold print). If his jihadists trade in or sell their lives down here
, they will be granted Islamic heavenit is a done deal.
For an in-depth analysis of Islamic martyrdom and how Biblical martyrdom opposes
it, link to this article. Christs Martyrdom on the cross opens the way to heaven s
o that the Christian does not have to die in a holy war to reach heaven.
Thus, deadly, heavenly violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads life
and in the Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
2. Muhammad unjustly executes around 600 male Jews and enslaves the women and ch
ildren.
After the Battle of the Trench in March 627 (named after a trench that the Musli
ms dug around parts of Medina) against a large coalition of Meccans and their al
lies, Muhammad imposed the ultimate penalty on the men in the Jewish clan, Quray
zah, his third and final Jewish rivals (he banished the Qaynuqa tribe in April 6
24 and the Nadir tribe in August 625). The Qurayzah tribe was supposed to remain
neutral in the Battle, but they seem to have intrigued with the Meccans and to
have been on the verge of attacking Muhammad from the rear. They were judged gui
lty by one of their Medinan Muslim allies, though Muhammad could have shown merc
y, exiled them (as indeed they requested), or executed only a few.
The sentence: Death by decapitation for around 600 men (some Islamic sources say
900), and enslavement for the women and children (he took a beautiful Jewess as
his own prize). Muhammad was wise enough to have six clans execute two Jews eac
h in order to stop any blood-feuds. The rest of the executions were probably car
ried out by his fellow Emigrants from Mecca and lasted the whole night.
According to Maulana Muhammad Alis translation, the Prophet says in Sura 33:25-26
the following about the Battle of the Trench and his treatment of Qurayzah:
33:25 And Allah turned back the disbelievers [Meccans] in their ragethey gained n
o advantage. And Allah sufficed the believers in fighting. And Allah is ever Str
ong, Mighty. 26 And He drove down those of the People of the Book [Qurayzah] who
backed them from their fortresses, and He cast awe into their hearts; some you
killed and you took captive some. 27 And He made you heirs to their land and the
ir dwelling and their properties . . . . Allah is ever Possessor of power over a
ll things.
But these questions must be answered: Is intriguing with the enemy equal to slau
ghtering 600 men and enslaving the women and children? Who decides? The Arab tri
bal chief with the most powerful army? Muhammad said around the time of his Hijr
ah in 622 the following:
16:126 If you [people] have to respond to an attack, make your response proporti
onate, but it is better to be steadfast. (Haleem)
Any reasonable and fair-minded person would judge that Muhammad was not making h
is response (execution) proportionate to the breach of the agreement. The Qurayz
ah tribe never attacked the Muslims, and even if a few were to have done so, the
punishment does not fit the crime. Therefore, Muhammad was being excessive and
disproportionate because he used an irreversible penalty to express his human wr
ath.
For a fuller account of this atrocity, refer to this article.
Thus, anti-Semitic violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads life and
in his Quran. Islam is therefore not the religion of peace.
1. Muhammad launches his own Crusades.
In the following verse, Muhammad uses the Arabic word qital (root is q-t-l), whi
ch means warring, fighting, or killing:
9:29 Fight [q-t-l] those among the people of the Book [Christians] who do not be
lieve in Allah and the Last Day, do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have
forbidden and do not profess the true religion, till they pay the poll-tax out
of hand and submissively. (Fakhry)
The two most interesting clauses in this violent verse are (1) People of the Boo
k (Christians in this verse late in Muhammads life) are to be attacked if they do
not profess the true religion: Islam. This leaves the door wide open for terror
ists today to attack and fight Christians because they do not adhere to Islam; (
2) Christians must pay a tax for the privilege of living under the protection of Isl
amsubmissively or in humiliation.
The historical context of Sura 9:29 finds Muhammad preparing for a military expe
dition against the Byzantine Empire in 630, two years before his ordinary death
of an ordinary fever in 632. Indeed, some scholars regard Sura 9 as the last sur
a to be revealed from on high. Therefore, it sets many policies for Muslims toda
y, and is often interpreted as abrogating or canceling previous verses, even pea
ceful ones.
Muhammad heard a rumor that the Byzantines amassed an army some 700 miles to the
north in Tabuk (northern Arabia today) in order to attack Islam, so he led an a
rmy of 30,000 holy warriors to counter-strike preemptively. However, the Byzanti
nes failed to materialize, so Muhammads belief in the false rumor was misguided a
nd his expedition was fruitless, except he managed to extract (extort) agreement
s from northern Christian Arab tribes that they would not attack him and his com
munity. An army of 30,000 soldiers from the south must have deeply impressed the
northern tribes, so they posed no real threat to Islam. They are the ones who p
aid the protection tax mentioned in Sura 9:29 (and so do tribes and cities after M
uhammads death). Therefore, Muhammads forced tax was aggressive and hence unjust,
not defensive and hence just.
Muhammads military expedition qualifies as an Islamic Crusade long before the Eur
opean ones. After all, in 638, only six years after Muhammads death, Muslim armie
s conquer Jerusalem. Today, Muslims should never again complain about European C
rusades, unless they first come to grips with their own.
For more information on the Muslim Crusades after Muhammads death and their atroc
ities and motives, refer to this article.
Thus, crusading violence sits at the heart of early Islamin Muhammads life and in
his Quranand beyond, even reaching to todays western world. Islam is therefore not
the religion peace.
What the ten reasons mean for us today
These ten aspects of violence that have burrowed into the hemorrhaging heart of
early Islam have implications for us today.
First, as noted in the Introduction to this article, Muslim apologists who have
access to the national media and who constantly assert that Islam is the religio
n of peace must stop misleading unsuspecting Westerners. Factually, Islam is not
the religion of peace. True, it had peaceful moments, but not for very long. Mu
hammad sent out or went out on seventy-four expeditions and raids in only ten ye
ars (622-632), most of which were violent.
Second, as each reason in this article has hinted at and the links explain more
thoroughly, Christ never, ever engaged in such violence. For example, he never a
ssassinated opponents, whipped adulterers, cut off the hands of thieves, or laun
ched his own Crusades (what the Medieval Europeans did is not foundational to Ch
ristianity). Christ expresses the love of God. Therefore, Christians and all fai
r-minded persons have the right to question whether the true God would reveal th
e Quran when it contains such violent verses that conveniently support Muhammads
violence, whereas the New Testament does not have such violence.
Third, nominal Christians who no longer take their faith seriously, but who are
tempted to convert to Islam, must stop and think a second time. Christ the Son o
f God demonstrated the love of God (Matt. 3:16-17), not the wrath of an ordinary
, self-described human messenger (Sura 3:144). Why would they trade in the relig
ion of Gods peace and love for Allahs human religion of violence?
Fourth, fanatical Muslims today are simply carrying on their Prophets mission. Wh
y should we be surprised if they want to conquer the West, in order to impose Al
lahs will on non-Islamic societies? They are still working out Muhammads Crusades.
Fifth, Western civilization must never accept the lie that Muhammads life, the Qu
ran, or sharia (the law derived from the hadith and the Quran) is a benefit to s
ociety. Rather, Islam represents many gigantic steps backwards, culturally and s
ocially. One of the most tragic events in the Western worldand one of the most un
derreportedis the existence of an Islamic court in Canada . The Canadian governme
nt should promptly shut it down. And such a court must never be allowed to exist
here in the US.
Sixth and finally, Islam should never be taught in our public schools, K through
12 ; but if school administrators insist on it, Islamic violence must be includ
ed in the lesson plans because it is part and parcel of early Islam and Muhammads
life. Of course, Muslim apologists assert that Christianity is filled with viol
ence, citing the Roman Emperor Constantine and the Medieval Crusaders. However,
they are not foundational for Christianityonly Christ and the rest of the New Tes
tament are. And he and the New Testament authors never practiced or endorsed suc
h violence.
On the other hand, Muhammad and his Quran are foundational for Islam, and violen
ce fills his life and its pages.
Therefore, for ten clear and verifiable reasons, Islam is not the religion of pe
ace.