Islam is Not a Religion of Peace

Much thanks to my opponent for agreeing to debate this topic. Good luck to him/her. One thing I"m not going to do in this debate is fear-monger. I won"t argue that your Muslim neighbors down the street are plotting a terrorist attack, or try to convert everyone to to agnosticism. I do not think we should judge Islam off of the works of Osama bin Laden alone. Please don't misunderstand my case What I do think we can and should judge Islam off of is: -What the majority of Muslims worldwide actually believe. -What their Holy Book, the Koran actually says. I contend that these two things by themselves will prove to anyone with a western notion of life and liberty that Islam certainly isn't peaceful. As per Pew Research statistics, the majority of Muslim nations worldwide support the implementation of Sharia Law (the Islamic religious law), which includes punishments like stoning and flogging for women who remove their veil, women who leave the house without a man, or a husband and wife kissing in public. But even these punishments are not comparable to the one awaiting homosexuality; death. Ayatollah Ali Sistani, an influential Muslim cleric and Sharia authority has said of homosexuality: "Forbidden. Those involved in the act should be punished. In fact, sodomites should be killed in the worst manner possible." Indeed, today there are ten Middle Eastern countries that kill homosexuals simply for being gay. And what condemnation do we hear from the Islamic world? Hardly any. In fact, the vast majority of Muslims in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Palestine, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Niger, Djibouti, Congo, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Kenya, Mali, Ghana, and Senegal actually support Sharia! If Islam, on the whole, is a religion of peace, my opponent has to explain to me why a few million moderate Muslims (who, let's be honest, probably aren't all that devout) have more influence over their religion than all the nations named above, and their hundreds of millions of adherents. Even in Turkey, the Muslim success story, one poll found that 32% percent of its Islamic believers think that honor killings of women can sometimes be justified. Turkey is considered extraordinarily progressive, and one third of its Muslims think innocent women can be murdered if they threaten the honor of their husband or father. This is insane! One poll of Muslims living in France found that 35% said that suicide bombings could sometimes be justified. 78% of Muslims living in Great Britain said they wanted people who draw pictures of the Prophet Muhammad to be legally prosecuted. I'd like to hear my opponent argue how exactly this is considered tolerant. Alright, so the majority of the world's Muslims have radical beliefs, but what about their Holy Text, the Koran? Unfortunately, religious fundamentalism and Iron Age philosophy do not a peaceful book make. I could give an analysis of the text, or I could just quote it verbatim: "God is the enemy of the unbelievers."(2:98) "Fight against those who do not obey Allah and do not believe in Allah or the last day and do not forbid what has been forbidden by Allah and his messenger even if they are of the People of The Book (Jews and Christians) until they pay the Jizya (tithing) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued." (9:29) "When the Sacred Months have passed, then kill the Mushrikin (pagans) wherever you find them." (9:5) "When you meet the unbelievers, strike their necks." (47:4) "When your lord revealed to the angels, "truly I am with you. So keep firm those who have believed. I will strike terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved. So strike them at the necks and cut off their fingers." " (8:12) "Kill them wherever you find them and drive them out from where they drove you out. Persecution is worse than slaughter." (2:191) There are many more passages beyond these, but space does not permit me to list them here. Thank you.