Get your facts right if you wish to attack Islam. You are basing your argument on a false proposition. The Quran says no such thing. It says that renouncing Islam means your good deeds are null and void, meaning you will end up in hell. However no punishment is recommended NOR allowed as "there is no compulsion in religion".

I think most religions were started as peaceful religions and they are still based on peace. The only reason any religion has violent history or followers is because there are always individuals who are too ignorant to follow their own beliefs and treat others with peace. They see the rule of "treat others peaceful" as "treat your own kind peaceful only."

Terrorists or freedom fighters. Depends on your point of view. From my point of view a lot of muslims are violent in the name of islam.

A small portion of Muslims fight in the name of Islam. Most are peaceful.

The sharia law can be quite unforgiving.

The Shariah Law sets punishments for serious crimes such as murder. Should we forgive people who steal, murder or rape? They are given severe punishment that they deserve.

Since the beginning of islam, it has been opposing other religions agressively and it does not seem this will end anytime soon.

Opposing how? It allows people to have whatever Religion they want. It doesn't force people to Islam. How does it aggressively oppose them.

Muslims want one world-wide base religion only; Islam. Non muslims are lesser beings in their view, fit to do away with, at best tolerated if useful.

As I said it allows other people to have whatever Religion they want. No Muslims is allowed to force anyone else to Islam. In the Quran. Muslims are ordered to treat non-Muslims who don't fight against them kindly and justly.

To islam, not believing is unthinkable. Eradication of undesirables, reason and inconvenient science justifiable. Their message of peace includes putting nay sayers to the sword.

Completely untrue. Islam allows people to have whatever Religion they want. It doesn't have non-Muslims killed.

Christianity is pretty bad too. This kid in my school got beaten up really bad and ended up breaking his legs, because he was muslim and all the christians hated him. I have to keep explaining to kids that im Hindu, not Muslim, when people call me terrorist, and American hater. It's annoying, but i deal with it. Christians look down upon others too, I've had a christian walk up to me in the mall slip me a brochure and say, if you don't convert to christianity you will burn in hell forever you sinner. They look down on me, but oh well. After saying that i still do not think Christianity is a religion of violence, there are just some nutcases, like there are in Islam. Most Muslims arent violent just the crazies, as with christianity.

"Any man who lays with a man as though he were a woman is an abomination, and should be put to death"

Christianity demands we kill all the gays. All the books were written in a different time, and therefore should not be taken too literally. If we do then lots of religions are violent. I mean what book demands we go around and put gays to death?

The Quran says:

Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error ( 2:256 )

This verse makes it clear that Muslims are not allowed to force others to accept Islam.

The Quran also says:

1. Say : O ye that reject Faith!

2. I worship not that which ye worship,

3. Nor will ye worship that which I worship.

4. And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship,

5. Nor will ye worship that which I worship.

6. To you be your Way, and to me mine.

( 109:1-6 )

It says that others can have their Religion and we will have ours. Islam allows freedom of Religion. So then where do all the arguments that Muslims want to make Islam the only Religion on the earth come from?

People look at Muslim Terrorist and say that Islam is a Religion of violence. Why look at them. Why not look at the majority of Muslims or look at the Prophet Muhammed ( SAW ). When the Prophet Muhammed ( SAW ) conquered Makkah with his army of 10000 Muslims all the Makkans thought that He would have them killed for oppressing him and the Muslims but instead the Prophet Muhammed forgave them all and said they could keep their Religions.

Islam not only allows freedom of Religion but it also says the we Muslims must deal justly and kindly with non-muslims:

8. Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just. ( 60:8 )

Violent peace but peace just the same ;)

If a Muslims leaves Islam he will put doubt in the hearts of those who are still Muslim. He may cause them to leave Islam and ultimately enter Hell. An apostate should keep his apostasy secret or make it public in a Non-Muslim country.

If he makes it public in a Muslim country he is given three days to repent. If he refuses to do so then he should be killed. That is to protect others from having their faith weakened. It doesn't make Islam violent.

Christianity, in and of itself, has never been a violent religion. It has had, however, times when it was run by violent popes or has had violent followers that gave it a bad name. The religion itself is peaceful. That doesn't mean Christians are always peaceful though. :)

We shouldnt be attacking each others religion.Islam teaches us that we need to respect one another and respect there religion and practices.Islam is our religion and the prophet is our example.If everyone can just work on the respect part then we wont have war and fighting over religion.its an individual choice of he's beliefs.A person can tell another person about the religion but still it depends on that individual.the fighting in this world is not about wiping out people but more about owning worldly things,to be in control.If only people can realise that everything on this galaxy only have limited time in this world.Have you ever seen somebody comes back from he's or her grave?We have much more better things to worry about.the people that want to attack other people is people that have no commen sense.what do they gain out of killing people.in the end they are just losers.

Islam is a religion of peace. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Our prophet(peace be upon him) was ranked no 1 in the world by a christian guy.Nobody have to fear islam.The only time people will fight in islam is to protect the religion if there is people that wants to attack islam.the wars in the past was not started by islam.it was always the other religions that attacked.like the christians believe in Jesus but dont defend him if they use him in a cartoon.But when our prophet(peace be upon him) was mocked islam right over the world defended him.Where is the other religions structure?

I am Muslim and I don't think any of this non-sense is true. I have read the Quarn many times. Islam is the meaning of peace. There are some people that make bad choices when there not so pose to be doing that. Youngsters that are Muslim all over the world think that its okay to go outside and go shout someone down. Just because of 9/11. People discriminate me so many times, just because I'm Muslim. Can you believe that?

Islam instructs its followers never to kill any one, but for just reasons, i.e. after a death sentence or in self defense, as unjustly killing a person is like killing all humanity.

Islam teaches us that oppression is even worse than killing and we are forbidden to commit suicide as well. Also there is no compulsion in religion so we are forbidden to forcibly convert anyone to Islam.

We know how many wars have been instigated by other religions fired with the will to convert people at all cost.

@ Redinferno

That is exactly right and very well put! If other religions were as open minded as Islam there could have been no religious wars.

People accuse Muslims of having conquered much of the world in a bid to force people to become Muslim, but in fact this was a war of liberation, liberation from oppression actually.

This is also the reason why you will find in Muslim countries, Christian sects, which had been exterminated as heretics in Christian countries. So, far from forcefully converting people, Muslims actually preserved believers in their respective faiths.

@ gdelfman

You are referring to the so called "Sword Verses", which in fact refer to the war, at the time of the revelation, between the believers of Medina and the unbelievers of Mecca.

It is by no means a license to kill non-believers, outside of a war where Muslims were under attack. This is made very clear in other verses of the Quran.

The war you are talking about was in fact a war of defence, as the new Muslim community had repeatedly been attacked by the Meccans.

The Jews of Medina had agreed a concord with the Muslims, by which they were bound. However they betrayed the Medinans and were in collusion with the Meccans.

Treason is a capital offense even in modern wars and, by any sixth century standards, putting traitors to death was standard practice. 6th century acts must reasonably be judged by 6th century standards right?

True some Mulims are violent in THE NAME of Islam. But actually they are doing so in disobedience of Islam, as aggression and oppression both are strictly forbidden to Muslims.

Islam has certainly NOT been aggressively opposing other religions. If it had other religions would soon have become extinct in Muslim ruled countries, which they did not.

In fact Islam advocates "no compulsion in religion" and views Christians and Jews and others as 'People of the book', a sort of co-religionists afforded special privileges in Muslim countries.

The meaning of Islam is manyfold, but any believer in one god, who submits his will to the will of God is, in a sense, "Muslim" and will go to Paradise. Therefore the idea of one religion only does not mean what non-muslims understand as Islam.

Putting nay-sayers to the sword is, perhaps a Christian, or Jewish idea, but absolutely NOT an Islamic one as again "there is no compulsion in religion" (Quran).

In Dar as Salaam (Realm of Peace) peace will reign and oppression is banned. In Dar al Harb (Realm of War) people oppress each other and aggress against each other, which leads to violence and war. This is what it means.

You have a completely errant view of Islam. I gather you have spent too much time on lying, Islam-bashing sites.

Muhammad, being the prophet of Islam, could not have disobeyed God. Therefore he did not start any war, as God forbids Muslims to aggress.

Those who chose not to become Muslims were, by no means forced, or enslaved. However Non-muslims were exempted from serving in the Muslim army and exempt from giving charity.

Instead a form of poll tax, the Jaziya, was extracted. This was equivalent to, or lower than what Muslims were expected to pay to the poor.

Suicide killings are in direct contradiction of the Quran, which forbids suicide and oppression and suicide killings are both.

No religion promises you a reward for bombing. Certainly not Islam. What it does promise is hell for those who commit suicide, or murder people, as the killing of one person is like killing all humanity.

First of all the Nation of Islam is not the original Islamics, The Assyrians (Greeks) and Babylonians (Libya), Idumaeans (Edomites, today known as Italians they are jews, their children of Esau, Jacobs twin brother), As well as other Africans and Indians. They captured Israel and exiled the original jews to many different locations around the world.(II Kings 17:23). You can find it in your history books too. I'm reading a book about it now called ROME and JERUSALEM the CLASH of ANCIENT CIVILIZATION; Author: Martin Goodman. If you watch that documentary with Bill Maher called "RELIGULOUS". You'll see that all the religious governments say that it is all about politics. Allah is not in the Equation.

The Qu'ran is written and should not be adjusted to fit anyones opinion or beliefs, what is written is what should stay, and we should analyze our own convictions and align it with what the Qu'ran says, trying our best to live righteously and at peace with our fellow man. The world is loaded with hypocrites and sinners, can we follow the Qu'ran totally? I seriously doubt it.

Here is an easy game. You name me one Muslim terrorist, and I name you one Muslim who is very peace-loving. While your list stretches to the thousands at most, I can guarantee you my list can stretch to hundreds of millions.

Not all of us are extremists. Some of us suffer from this war. While the people outside of the third world do not comprehend this, it is easy for a fourteen year old. And to all those Christians out there who think we hate Noah, Jacob, Isaac, Solomon, Joseph, David, Moses, Abraham and Jesus,

Think again.

I disagree. What have the Christians done recently on the basis of religion that is considered to be violent?

islam is the only way

Absolutely it was and far worse than Islam. Christianity, for such a short-lived religion, has had its share of violence.