Islam is inherently a religion of peace

Thanks Pro. Pro laid down rules for my debate, which I find a bit presumptuous on his part, but that’s beside the point. Let’s get to opening arguments. Islam is a religion that inherently promotes intolerance, hatred and violence. Before we get any farther let me make it clear that I do not claim all Muslims promote those things. I don’t claim that even a majority of Muslims are violent or are hateful. What I am saying is that the fundamental truths of Islam promote hateful things. I also do not claim that Islam is the only religion that promotes violence. I am equally against Christianity. Now onto my arguments. When you find an extremist or a fundamentalist Jain (and they do exist), you find a person who meditates constantly. You find a person who is crippled by the fear of not harming a single creature; be it stepping on a bug, or eating a piece of meat. Extremist Jain pluck the hairs from their head and wander the wilderness naked in order to renounce all material things and find enlightenment. Now take an extremist or a fundamentalist in Islam. You find widespread female genital mutilation, you find wives as young as nine years old dying on their wedding night, you get people who blow themselves up in crowded marketplaces, etc. etc. They both take a fundamentalist view of their respective ancient doctrine, however, the actions each fundamentalist takes differ drastically. If Islam truly promoted peace and harmony, why is such violence and intolerance routinely interpreted by fundamentalists? You can be a moderate Jain. You can go to work, be productive, be a good citizen and meditate ‘on the side’. Just like you can be a moderate Muslim who holds a good job, greets coworkers with a smile, etc. etc. The difference shows when they go extreme and take literal views. First an analysis of the Prophet himself: A study of Muhammad, the messenger of Allah and the main figurehead of Islam strikes another key difference. While Gautama Buddha was supposedly an enlightened man who rejected the riches of a prince, Muhammad was a wealthy warlord who conquered Arabia. He spread Islam by the sword, and repeatedly encouraged his followers to do the same. According to the ancient Muslim historian Tabari, he had nicknames like “Death” for his weapons, and named himself al-Mahi, the obliterator. He took as many as thirteen or more wives for himself over his life, and spent his later years married to multiple women; up to eleven at one time, the youngest of which he married at age seven and whom he deflowered at age nine while he was fifty-three (Muslim 8:3309). Not to mention the multitude of concubines/sex slaves he took. For example, the occasion in which Muhammad was caught sleeping with Maria the Copt when he should have been with his wife, and his convenient revelation from Allah, "Maybe, his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you, submissive, faithful, obedient, penitent, adorers, fasters, widows and virgins.” (Quran 66:5). Muhammad had the capability to be absolutely brutal. The neutral Qurayzah tribe (from whom his youngest wife [at this time at age seven] was taken) was decimated by the Muslims after looking like they might attack (even though they did not) (Quran 33:26). Tabari says that 600-900 Jewish men were slaughtered because of this, while the Sunan Abu Dawud simply says that all the men were killed. The women and children were taken as slaves. (Sunan Abu Dawud 14:2665) If the central figurehead of Islam promoted such acts and acted in such a barbaric way to say that his behavior doesn’t affect the legacy or tradition of Islam is just foolish. For example, an interview conducted with the Charlie Hebdo gunman Cherif Kouachi, who specially said he committed his brutal attack to defend Muhammad. “But we are not killers. We are defenders of the prophet. We don’t kill women, we don’t kill anyone. We defend the prophet. If someone offend the prophet then there is no problem, we can kill him.” If these men were extremist Jain they would be meditating in the woods. (http://nypost.com...) Second, a study of commands given by Muhammad/Allah for unbelievers Not only was Muhammad himself violent, he issued many violent, intolerant commands. From the Quran: (9:29) “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” In which Christians should be subjugated to forcible conversion. 9:33 makes it clear, “He it is Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that He might cause it to prevail over all religions, though the polytheists may be averse.” Lest Pro be tempted to say it is all metaphorical, I would like to quote from the Quran again (8:12-13) “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them. This is because they acted adversely to Allah and His Messenger; and whoever acts adversely to Allah and His Messenger-- then surely Allah is severe in requiting (evil).” These kinds of verses appear 109 times all throughout the Quran plus additional verses from the Hadith. Islam makes a very bold claim for itself: that it is the only true religion and that Muhammad is the last prophet there will ever be. It also makes it clear that the Quran is the verbatim word of god. In fact it says in the Quran (9:30) “And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!" This is not a message of peace and understanding. This is a message of intolerance! “may Allah destroy them”. We can go back to the interview with the Charlie Hebdo gunman. He is backed up by Islamic teaching when he says that those who offend the prophet are to be killed. From the Quran (5:33): ”The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned...” Third, a study of rules inside the Muslim community Apostasy is death in Islam. It’s not metaphorical and it can’t be shooed away. From the Hadith Bukhari (52:260) “…The Prophet said, ‘If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him’”. It couldn’t be clearer than that. From the Quran (4:89) “They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore take not to yourselves friends of them, until they emigrate in the way of God; then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them wherever you find them...” As was common for Iron Age wisdom, woman aren’t respected in Islam. For example, from the Quran (4:11) “The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females”. Which is why a man’s testimony is twice what a woman’s testimony is in court; from the Quran (2:282) “And call to witness, from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not found then a man and two women.” Or take the overtly sexual verse from the Quran (2:223) “Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will...” which compares wives to farmland. From the Hadith (Al-Tirmidhi 3272), “When Allah's Messenger was asked which woman was best he replied, 'The one who pleases (her husband) when he looks at her, obeys him when he gives a command, and does not go against his wishes regarding her person or property by doing anything of which he disapproves'.”