Contrary to some not-so-authoritative officials, I don't find it peaceful, forgiving and kind, unless you are already a Muslim. Rather I find it accusatory and full of anger. That's my impression, having read it. Read and be you own judge.
If you read the Hadith, it makes YOUR point even stronger, though not airtight. The Prophet PERSONALLY ordered the horrible death and mutilation of people who so much as stole a camel (Jesus said of His killers, "forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"). The Hadith is the writings about Muhammad, and what he said and did, by those closest to him---sort of like the Gospels except for the "red letters." He had multiple slaves (Jesus didn't have a slave, but rather preached freedom); he had multiple wives and said women had only a fraction of the brain of a male; he sinned and admitted that he would continue to sin (Jesus was sinless); and he preached holy war against infidels.
LIKE CHRISTIANITY, if you really want to contort the message, you can. In this case, if you really want to misinterpret the overall message, you can get "peace" out of the Koran. But if you apply principles of consistency (what's called in the Bible "in the mouths of two or three witnesses"), then Islam looks to me like a violent religion.
However, we must be very careful with this, and we only need look as far as Israel: Israel is anything BUT an Old Testament theocracy. Modern-day Israel is dominated by so-called "reform Jews." I would guess that 90% of American Jews are "reform Jews." That is to say, they do not accept the most basic teachings of their "holy book" the Torah. So our question with Islam is, are the vast majority of Muslims "reform Muslims" (backslidden Baptists, as we used to say of my church, or "Jack Mormons" in LDS circles), or are they "devout." If they are "devout," and if, as I suspect, Islam is indeed a violent religion, then the author is substantially right.
That's exactly the point I 've been making. Moslem literature paints a utopian picture of the world where the entire world is islamic...until that day they will fight the kafir to the death. I hope we're ready for what lies ahead.
Contrary to some not-so-authoritative officials, I don't find it peaceful, forgiving and kind, unless you are already a Muslim. Rather I find it accusatory and full of anger. That's my impression, having read it. Read and be you own judge.
Ever read the Old Testament, bud? Or, the Talmud? Even the devil can quote scripture for his own purposes.
Yes. I read it and I came to the same conclusions you did.
"Oh," say my liberal co-academics, "no Islamic authority believes in a literalist interpretation of the Koran!"
("Have you ever read it?" I ask. "Well, no, but no Islamic authority believes...")
But as my significant other says, religion isn't defined by the scholars, it's defined by the people who read the text and then strap a bomb to their chest and walk into an Israeli pizza parlor.
I suggest anyone willing to comment on this should read the Koran first.
Contrary to some not-so-authoritative officials, I don't find it peaceful, forgiving and kind, unless you are already a Muslim. Rather I find it accusatory and full of anger. That's my impression, having read it. Read and be you own judge.
YES, YES, YES. The Koran is a piece of nasty hate literature. It is obvious that Mohammed was duping a bunch of ignorant people into accepting Arab supremacy. It is amazing how the Koran ridicules and denigrates Christians and Jews, just to mention an example.
Read [the Koran] and be you own judge.
I don't think that's too much to ask.