Michael1942's Blog

An opinion in the local paper states that Islam is a violent religion. The writer opines that even if there are a few peaceful individuals within  the religion , it is still a violent religion. Going back millenia and less there were the crusades which was orchestrated by a Catholic Pope along with protestants and some nondenominational groups against the muslims (not all of them Islamists). War is violent and if a religion is involved, then it is violence. A religion cannot be violent as it is a belief, not an entity. The violence is issued from the individuals and their religious guides. There was a Catholic priest (Father Charles Coughlin) who was very antisemitic yet the entire Catholic Church was not. The idea that a religion in its self is violent is at best based on ignorance. Every religion has a basis in the same beliefs  no matter what the “Supreme” being is labeled.  To state that a religion is violent is the same as saying guns kill people. I would suggest that the writer read up on religions to understand that all of them have essentially the same basis and are divided only by  different methods of worship. The bottom line is no religion is violent only some of the followers who would have been violent if there were no religions.