Islam is peaceful

To begin with, my opponent is basing his arguments on a strictly theological point of view. Since my opponent has not set out any rules as to exactly what our topic will range, I will try to expound this debate from a strictly theological point of view to more of an historical outlook. To begin with, the usual meaning of Islam, "al-Silm" in Arabic is, not "peace" but "submission" or "surrender." In essence, the Quaran calls for Muslims to defer to Allah and his commands and to subvert and coercively convert people of other religions until they are fully submitted to Islamic rule - and the history of Islam, embossed by war and conquering of other cultures, perfectly illustrates this fact. Prophet Muhammed is still considered a very important figure within Islam. His role within Islam is almost divine since he is viewed as al-insan al-kamil (the perfect human being) and uswa hasana (the perfect moral example). Then by definition, everything that Muhammed did or said is good - and his moral precedence is everlasting irrespective of time and place. Hence many Muslims see Muhammed as a role model in word and action, even 1400 years after his death. Consequently, it is important to bring into light his statements and the deeds that he purportedly did, i.e. what is written down in the hadiths. It is also perfectly clear that Muhammed wanted to back his words up by invoking God as his legal authority. The Quaran contains lots of exhortations that "He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah" (4:80). The same message can be found in 3:32, 3:132, 4:13, 4:59, etc. Islam forbids rape on Muslim women. However, Muhammed encouraged rape of those captured in battle. As portrayed in hadith (4:24): "The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Quranic verse: (Sura 4:24) "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess." (Abu Dawud 2150, also Muslim 3433) Actually, the hadith indicate that it wasn't Muhammed but "Allah the Exalted" who told the men that it was okay to rape the women in front of their husbands. On instances where Muhammed is offered the clear opportunity to disavow raping women, he instead offers advice on how to proceed. In one case, his men were afraid that they would devalue their captive women for later resale were they to get them pregnant. Muhammed answers his hesitant fellow soldiers in the following way: "O Allah's Apostle! We get female captives as our share of booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interruptus?" The Prophet said, "Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence." (Bukhari 34:432) As indicated, the prophet of Islam did not mind his men raping the women, provided they ejaculated within the bodies of their victims. I could go on and on about the crude and vulgar way they treat their prisoners of war. The hadith is basically a war manual, to put it mildly. The connection between Islam can violence can be easily understood by noticing, that according to historic Muslim understanding there is no separation between religion and government. The western civilization as we know it was built on the notion that the state and the church are two distinct institutions with two different spheres of activity. One must, though, have in mind that this idea grew from a Christian worldview. However, In most parts of the world people did not share this understanding. In pagan Rome the emperors were God. It was the Christians who were taught to differentiate the spiritual affairs from wordly affairs: they learned what is due to Caesar and what is due to God. However, for Muslims of the classical age the caliph or the sultan was sort of like Gods vice deputy on earth. For Muslims the state was Gods state and the army was Gods army and the enemies of the state were consequently the enemies of God. If the law is Gods law then in principle there could be no other law to supersede it. Because Islam sees itself as a theocracy it is not merely a religion. It is also a political ideology. This has major ramifications for how it influences the behaviour of Muslims. If an Islamic government is Gods government, and hence the only legitimate government, then other governments that are not based on Gods law are therefore invalid. For that reason Muslims have typically divided the world into two spheres, known as the Dar al-Islam"the "house of Islam" or "house of submission" to God"and the Dar al-Harb, or "house of war""those who are at war with God. History is a perfect example of the hatred and violence that is permeated throughout various Islamic doctrines. During the numerous Islamic conquests in the Middle East, North Africa, India and Europe, not forgetting Islamic Spain, plenty of death and suffering followed. Before the Islamic conquests, the Byzantine, Egypt and parts of North Africa were Christian. The Islamic armies of the Ottoman empire came as far as to the gates of Vienna. The Muslim conquests that went on from 632 to 750 ad is no doubt the biggest expansion of territory in world history, covering the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, almost the entire Iberian Peninsula and as far east as to the Indian subcontinent. This is by far the fastest and biggest expansion in world history. So what can possibly prompt an undertaking such as this one? To begin with, Islam hated Judaism and Christianity from the start. The Koran urges Muslims not to befriend Jews or Christians (Koran 5:51) speaks of "enmity and hatred" with Christians (Koran 5:15) and the Jews (Koran 5:65) who are also to be cursed. The Jews are accused of "creating disorder" (Koran 5:65) and Christians are accused of worshiping their priests (Koran 9:31). The Jews and Christians believe in evil things (Koran 4:52) and Allah"s curse will be upon them (Koran 9:30). Israel has made multiple concessions and efforts to promote a peaceful solution. Why there is still no peace in the Middle East is not because of Israel. There is still war because Israel is hated because it is Jewish. The Quaran is their law - and their law tells them that there can be no peace with Jews. Due to time constraints, I'll stop it here.