Islam is evil

In this round I will provide my initial arguments. Rebuttals to the arguments of Pro will follow in the next rounds. The structure of my evidence is as follows. The Quran is the word of God and is always the first source of information regarding religious matters. Anything that contradicts the Quran, cannot be accepted as Islamic. The second source of information is the example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This is called the Sunnah and is recorded in Hadith. There are many scholars who have gathered these Hadith. A few of these are widely regarded as the most reliable, the kutub al-sittah: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Jami at-Tirmidhi, Sunan al Sughra and Sunan ibn-Majah. Again, these are the most reliable ones, but can still contain mistakes. Every hadith needs to be analysed individually. Hadith with multiple chains of narration are considered the most reliable hadith. Islam promotes tolerance The Quran clearly and repeatedly says that there is no force in religion. Everyone is free to believe in whatever they want. God has made his signs manifest. The last step is accepting these signs and that is to be made by choice, not by force: “There is no compulsion in religion. Surely, the right way has become distinct from error” (1) “It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him, who will, disbelieve.” (2) “Proofs have indeed come to you from your Lord; so whoever sees, it is for his own good; and whoever becomes blind, it is to his own loss.” (3) Muhammad is also commanded in several verses, that his task is to convey the message. Whether the people believe or not, it is up to them: “If they surrender (to Allah), then they will surely be rightly guided, but if they turn back, then thy duty is only to convey the Message.” (4) “And obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, then Our Messenger is responsible only for conveying the Message clearly.” (5) “Say, ‘Obey, Allah, and obey the Messenger’ But if you turn away, he is responsible for what he is charged with and you are responsible for what you are charged with. And if you obey him, you will be rightly guided. And the Messenger is only responsible for the plain delivery of the Message.” (6) Islam even takes it one step further. Not only does the Quran tell Muslim to let people believe whatever they want to believe, but it tells us not to be disrespectful of gods of other beliefs: “And abuse not those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they, out of spite, abuse Allah in their ignorance.” (7) There are plenty more verses that clearly convey this message, but these verses on their own should suffice to prove the fact that the Quran promotes religious freedom and even tells us not to be disrespectful to followers of these other faiths. The Quran also tells Muslims to be respectful to everyone who didn’t fight us. Respecting others is only forbidden when someone has fought against Muslims, driving them out of their homes. A difference in ideology is not a reason to be disrespectful (8) Based on these verses it is clear that Islam tells us to be tolerant and respectful. Islam promotes good qualities In the Quran there are many verses that promote different, good qualities that everyone should have. These qualities are named here: “O ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with the truthful” (9) “And they feed, for love of Him, the poor, the orphan and the prisoner; assuring them: ‘We feed you to win Allah’s pleasure only. We desire no reward nor thanks from you’” (10) “And the true servants of the Gracious God are those who walk on the earth humbly and when the ignorant address them, they avoid them gracefully by saying, ‘Peace!’” (11) “… but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.” (12) “Those, who spend in prosperity and adversity, and those who suppress anger, and pardon men; and Allah loves those who do good” (13) These qualities, truthfulness, charity-work, humility, patience, self-control and forgiveness, are mere examples of qualities which a Muslim should possess according to the Quran. There are many other qualities which are referred to in the Quran, but it is impossible for me to list them all. I believe that these examples however, should be enough to show that a true Muslim, following the teachings of the Quran would be a true example for everyone that sees him. If everyone would have these qualities, there would be no more conflict or evil. Islam promotes acquiring knowledge Islam encourages us to acquire knowledge. The Quran tells us that God’s signs are everywhere for us to observe: “And He has subjected to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth; all this is from Him. In that, surely, are Signs for a people who reflect” (14) (surat jathiyah 45:14) “In the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alteration of the night and day there are indeed signs for men of understanding.” (15) “And He it is Who spread out the earth and made therein mountains and rivers, and fruits of every kind He made therein two sexes. He causes the night to cover the day. Therein, verily, are signs for a people who reflect. And in the earth are diverse tracts, adjoining one another, and gardens of vines, and corn-fields, and date-palms, growing together from one root and others not so growing; they are all watered with the same water yet We make some of them excel others in fruit. There are signs for a people who use their understanding.” (16) It becomes clear from these verses that Allah has provided signs for everyone to see. These signs are in the heavens and in the earth. How can one see these signs if one does not study them? This means that the Quran tells us to study and acquire knowledge, so these signs can become visible to everyone. Bottom-line The Islam teaches tolerance and makes us better human beings by promoting good qualities and promoting the acquisition of knowledge, thus benefitting society. References Quran, al-Baqarah 2:257 Quran, al-Kahf 18:30 Quran, al-An’am 6:105 Quran, al-Imran 3:21 Quran, al-Taghabun 28:13 Quran, al-Nur 24:55 Quran, al-An’am 6:109 Quran, al-Mumtahinah 60:9-10 Quran, al-Taubah 9:119 Quran, al-Dahr 76:9-10 Quran, al-Furqan 25:64 Quran, al-Baqarah 2:156 Quran, al-Imran 3:135 Quran, al-Jathiyah 45:14 Quran, al-Imran 3:191 Quran, al-Rad 13:4-5 Translations from: http://www.alislam.org... * A note regarding the above quoted verses. There might be difference of numbering with other sources. This is because here the verse “bismillah…” is regarded as the first in every chapter (except al-Taubah which does not start with this verse). Therefore, reduce the number of the verse by 1 when this is the case.