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.

@beaty

You know, all God asks of us is that we strive to become righteous people. We will try and we will fail, and beg God's forgiveness, and keep trying throughout life. Never stop striving and praying for goodness and you will have succeeded in the eyes of God.

You know anyone can call himself a Muslim. Only his actions will tell, whether or not he is telling the truth. So if his actions are in accordance with the injunctions of the Quran he is in fact a Muslim, if not he is an impostor and a liar.

@ 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.

This my friend is NOT Islam. Islam is what the Quran proposes and God says in the Quran that He has PERFECTED our religion. What ever has been added after that, like Ahadith, Siras, Fatwas etc. is therefore null and void as God Alone is the Giver of religion, Not men.