Islam is a religion of violence

I will start my argument by pointing out the flaws in the definition of Islam given by my opponent. Islam dates back to the age of Adam and its message has been conveyed to man by God's prophets and messengers, including Abrahim, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. The correct meaning of Islām is "submission to God". Islam is derived from the Arabic root word "Salema": peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense, Islam means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. Sources Verifying my definition, "F2;Islām(الإسلام) The Arabic root word for Islam means submission, obedience, peace, and purity." Check out the word 'Islam' on page(http://en.wikipedia.org...). I can justify my argument by using my opponent's source too. "Arabic 'islam, submission, from 'aslama, to surrender, resign oneself, from Syriac 'aslem, to make peace, surrender, derived stem of slem, to be complete; see slm in Semitic roots." (http://www.thefreedictionary.com...) Before moving further with my rebuttals, I will make this (mis)understanding of Islam more obvious by stating a few facts about Quran. To understand The Holy Quran you need to know a fact about it that it is poetic and not aphoristic. If you know about aphorism then you must know that any statement rings bell even without it's actual source. Example of aphoristic writers are Oscar Wilde, Franz Kafka etc. Here my opponent stated verses which are not complete and are out of context. And the interpretations of the verses that my opponent gave are her own. Therefore we have many Muslim scholars to interpret the correct meaning of Quran in order to properly understand it. Among them the best interpretations are considered to be of Abdullah Yususf Ali. Due to Limitations of characters I will be posting mostly only interpretations. Verses(2:191) "And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And fight not with them at Al-Masjid-al-Haram (the sanctuary at Makkah), unless they (first) fight you there. But if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers." Meaning of the word Al-Fitnah(verse 191): Fitna comes from an Arabic word which means to seduce, tempt or lure away. In modern usage, it is used to describe forces that cause controversy fragmentation, scandal, chaos, or discord with in the community. Fitna just like jihad, is another misinterpreted word. When it is said, "fight to eradicate kufr/shirk" it means eliminate disbelief and everything unlawful and innovated and not to kill. The context of this verse was when the Muslims were to fight their enemies for their very existence. After thirteen years of endurance and patience, the prophet and his companions had to leave their home town of Makkah and to emigrate to Madinah. When the people of Madinah had welcomed him there and he was accepted as a leader there, the Makkans became unhappy. They wanted to eliminate Muhammad and his religion and so they sent their army to root out Islam. It was just before this that Muhammad received the revelation from God to fight: {And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits.} (Al-Baqarah 2:190) This meant that the Prophet and his companions were not to start the fighting but to defend themselves against aggressors. But we must know that once we fight, we fight to defeat the aggressors, so that we can live without fear of molestation and invasion so that we can live in peace so that justice is done. Remember God does not command any one to start fighting, rather He permits people to fight in self defence or for the defence of those who are attacked unjustly. The first mistake is misunderstanding of the the word "Jihad". Combat is ordained for Muslims in order to defend themselves and their rights, as well as the rights of others. The obligation to defend one"s rights, and to establish justice is the meaning of Jihad. It is most certainly a duty of all human beings to help each other from oppression and injustice. Now, Verse(2:244) is informing the believers not to transgress limits because they should know that "God hears and knows all". So a true Muslim is God-conscious when defending the rights of others and does not overstep his limits in applying justice. Verse(4:75) "And what is wrong with you that you do not engage in combat for the sake of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help." ...and then Allah says in verse(4:76) "Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah". I think once you read this one it's understood why Allah asks us to fight. He asks us to fight off injustice. This verse has been misquoted like the previous verse, out of context. Here is the full passage: Verse(4:88-91) "Why should ye be divided into two parties about the Hypocrites? Allah hath upset them for their (evil) deeds. Would ye guide those whom Allah hath thrown out of the Way? For those whom Allah hath thrown out of the Way, never shalt thou find the Way. They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): so take not friends from their ranks until they forsake the domain of evil in the way of God (from what is forbidden). But if they revert to [open] enmity, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks. Except those who join a group between whom and you there is a treaty (Of peace), or those who approach you with hearts restraining them from fighting you as well as fighting their own people. If God had pleased, He could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you: therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and (instead) send you (guarantees of) peace, then God hath opened no way for you (to war against them). Others you will find that wish to gain your confidence as well as that of their people: every time they are sent back to temptation, they succumb thereto; if they withdraw not from you nor give you (guarantees) of peace besides restraining their hands, seize them and slay them wherever ye get them; in their case We have provided you with a clear argument against them." So in the same manner as the first verse, this verse also only commands Muslims to fight those who practice oppression or persecution, or attack the Muslims. And in the event of a battle, the same laws of war are in place and a Muslim who transgresses limits should prepare for the punishment of God. Verse(4:95) Having defined Jihad previously, a Jihadi is someone who strives to uphold justice, perhaps risking his life in the process. So what do these verses say? They are elevating the status of those who are brave to stand up for truth and justice in the face of oppression. The verses elevate their status over that of those who are cowardly, unless they have a disability, which prevents them from doing so. In these verses either. Moreover, the verse supports the interpretation of Jihad as any struggle for the sake of God because it has mentioned those who perform Jihad with their wealth by donating it for a good cause. One cannot quote verse 5:33 without quoting verse 5:32 (prohibition of murder) and verse 5:34 (command to forgive). Verse(5:32-34) "If any one slew a person - unless it be as punishment for murder or for spreading corruption in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole mankind: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole mankind. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land. The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter; Except for those who repent before they fall into your power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." Please have a common sense to understand the context in which the term mischief is used here. For Verse(8:15) I will state a verse from the same Chapter which is chapter 8. Verse(8:61) "But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in God: for He is One that hears and knows (all things)." It shows how ignorant one can be by judging without weighing. Verse(9:30) Now, Jews and Christians and Muslims they all believe in Monotheism. If one is setting rivals then they are not believing in monotheism, they are included in idolators. The Quran, however, does not assert that all the Jews were unanimous in declaring Ezra as the son of God. What it intends to say is that the perversion in the articles of faith of the Jews concerning Allah had degenerated to such an extent that there were some amongst them who considered Ezra as the son of God. So If you don"t believe in Allah(God) and his monotheism then you should have no problem with this deity casting terror into your heart, am I right? Again, nowhere is it ordering Muslims to do anything. It"s irrelevant to this discussion. Due to limitations of words, I will give the correct interpretation of Verse(9:123), Verse(8:67), Verse(9:88) and Verse(9:111) in next round. And coming back to the topic again, now you are stating Hadiths which are words of muslim leaders and not The Holy Quran or Prophet Muhammad(Pbuh). Please don't jump off the topic. Topic is related to Islam and it's way of life, teachings which are given in The Holy Quran, so briniging up Hadith is irrelevant.