# Islam is a Violent Religion **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 5, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497 "2006-06-05T16:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/201 "2006-06-07T03:49:42Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > And in NK, and in China, where they don’t need gods to royally mess things up. Ever hear the phrase “God-King” ? “Personality cult” ? Mao and what’s-his-name in NK qualify. > [@Linty Fresh](#): > > I still can’t figure out how you can have a religion without a god. There are plenty of religions without gods; a religion is a belief system based on faith instead of facts or logic, with a few other characteristics. Generally, a tendency towards ritual, authoritarianism, some other things. > [@Linty Fresh](#): > > and I’d actually quite interested to see how he lays STD’s at religion’s door. Suddenly I’m skeptical. Who is it who opposes condoms and vaccinations for cervical cancer ? That’s right; the religious. A truly religious person cares nothing for how much death and suffering they inflict on the world, what matters - ALL that matters - is his or her religion. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/202 "2006-06-07T03:51:42Z")
Where in this thread have I ever said “best”? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/203 "2006-06-07T03:53:05Z")
Sorry, hit reply too soon. Let me try that again. Where in this thread have I said “best”? I’ve been saying “only.” The only speculation here is on your behalf, in that, absent the Church, another organization would have taken over that role. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/204 "2006-06-07T03:55:51Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > The second part of my post was my own opinion. I believe that faith & science complement each other, and the lack of either’s influence on the other would be less than ideal. I can see how science benefits religion. Through science, churchs and hospitals are built, and through science doctors are trained. In what way does religion directly benefit science? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/205 "2006-06-07T03:59:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Sorry, hit reply too soon. Let me try that again. > > Where in this thread have I said “best”? I’ve been saying “only.” The only speculation here is on your behalf, in that, absent the Church, another organization would have taken over that role. Actually, I speculate that, if the money had been more evenly distributed instead of being concentrated with one monolithic entity, there would have been many smaller benefactors with a more diverse range of ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/206 "2006-06-07T04:14:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I can see how science benefits religion. Through science, churchs and hospitals are built, and through science doctors are trained. In what way does religion directly benefit science? It has been argued that the obsession with Talmudic scholarship in Judaism is largely responsible for the disproportionate representation of Jews in the sciences, just for one example. ---
**Author:** ![FWorld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FWorld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FWorld)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/207 "2006-06-07T07:34:32Z")
> [@gum](#): > > The originality of Karsh’s interpretation is its underlying assumption that Islam was, from the very beginning, a pretext for personal and dynastic political ambition, from the razzias against the Meccan caravans and the expulsion of Jewish tribes from Medina, to the siege of Vienna a millennium later in 1529, and Hamas today. **gum** , I find you amusing. So you’re saying Muhammad had this planned all along. Right down to the Jewish colonisation of Palestine and the creation of Hamas…you think he was in with the Illuminati? > [@](#): > > Contrary to its universalistic pretensions, Karsh argues, Islam has never succeeded in eliminating political power struggles within the Muslim world, where, on the contrary, such struggles have always been murderous. Islamic regimes, many espousing in the beginning the ascetic principles of what one might call desert Islam, invariably degenerate (if it be degeneration) into luxury- and privilege-loving dynasties. Like all other political entities, Islamic regimes seek to preserve and, if possible, extend their power. They have shown no hesitation in compromising with or allying themselves with those whom they regard as infidels. Saladin, a mendaciously simplified version of whose exploits has inflamed hysterical sentiment all over the Middle East, was not above forming alliances with Christian monarchs to achieve his imperial ends; the Ottoman caliphate would not have survived as long as it did had the Sultan not exploited European rivalries and allied himself now with one, now with another Christian power. See, these ideas could have been really originial. Only if they had not been written some six hundred years earlier by a Muslim Arab known as [Ibn Khaldun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Khaldun). Thing is, Ibn Khaldun did not pin the cause to Islam. He claimed that dynasties and empires follow such a pattern, and often use religion as a tool to forward their empirial aims. Your first mistake is assuming that all what Muslims do is motivated by Islam. Your next mistake is to assume that all what Muslims do reflects the true nature of Islam, or stems from a uniform agreed upon interpretation of its true nature. You’re wrong on both counts. Muslims, like other human beings, take into account factors other than religion. And Muslims do not agree on the true meaning of Islam. Your post on murders committed by Muslims is a case in point. Most of those dead are Muslims, killed by other Muslims, who prefer a less-than-peace-loving version of Muhammad. Ibn Khaldun would have been quick to point out that those bastards are happy to profess Islam in justifying their actions. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/208 "2006-06-07T10:43:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > **Linty Fresh** , I’ll try to make this as simple as possible-I believe that the world would have the same amount of good and bad without religion in it as it does with religion in it. _If_ this is true, does adding religion to the mix improve things overall, or further complicate things? Ahh, well allow _me_ to make things as simple as possible. Who knows? Your guess is as good as mine. More to the point, my guess is as good as yours. It’s not like we’re ever going to have an inkling one way or another. The problem with your question is that religion never got _added_ to humanity in the first place. The human race was born with a capacity–and a tendency–to believe in religion. Theoretically, you could introduce religion to the feline, canine, or plant world. You couldn’t introduce it to the human world, however, because it was there to start with, and far too much human history has been influenced by religion for either of us to step back and say, “Well what if it had never existed in the first place?” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/209 "2006-06-07T10:53:55Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > I think I read that as four, although a multireligious parliament still holds the point. Yeah, it should be four. I guess my Linguistics professor was right when he said, “I realize some of you have a math phobia; that’s why you’re majoring in Linguistics, after all.” From the constitutional article cited above: > [@](#): > > (2) The Zoroastrians and Jews will each elect one representative; Assyrian and Chaldean Christians will jointly elect one representative; and Armenian Christians in the north and those in the south of the country will each elect one representative. Zorastrians get one rep. Assyrians and Chaldean Christians are represented by one rep. Armenian Christians in the north get one rep. Armenian Christians in the south get one rep. Total reps: 4. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/210 "2006-06-07T14:15:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > In what way does religion directly benefit science? Indirectly, by providing inspiration and even material support to some scientists, who want to improve our understanding of God’s creation. Gregor Mendel was one so inspired, so for that matter were Averroes, Avicenna, and pretty much all of the early Muslim astronomers, mathematicians, and physicians to whom we owe so much. But religion does not directly illuminate the scientific process, often actually obscuring it; you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/211 "2006-06-07T18:32:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Indirectly, by providing inspiration and even material support to some scientists, who want to improve our understanding of God’s creation. Gregor Mendel was one so inspired, so for that matter were Averroes, Avicenna, and pretty much all of the early Muslim astronomers, mathematicians, and physicians to whom we owe so much. > > But religion does not directly illuminate the scientific process, often actually obscuring it; you’re right. [Vatican Observatory(ies) in Italy and Arizona](http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/vatican_observe_000716.html). Some religious groups see Genesis in the Bible as allegory and have just as much curiousity in the sciences as non-religious scientists. > [@](#): > > The Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical institutes in the world and the only research group directly supported by the Holy See. The church funds the observatory to the tune of about $1 million a year, leaving its operation to the Jesuits, a religious order whose “charism,” or special gift to the church, is scholarship. > > Ten Jesuit astronomers split their time between Italy and Tucson, Arizona, where the Vatican Observatory Research Group has offices at the University of Arizonas Steward Observatory. In collaboration with Steward, the Jesuits built the 70-inch (1.8-meter) Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mount Graham, 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of Tucson. > . > . > . > Many people are surprised to learn that the Vatican funds astronomical research. After all, it was the Roman Catholic Church that condemned Galileo Galilei, the first person to apply a telescope to astronomy, in 1633 for teaching that Earth moves around the sun. > > But the notorious Galileo case has overshadowed four centuries of steady Vatican support for astronomy, said George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory. Coyne, a Jesuit priest with a doctorate in astronomy from Georgetown University, applied for NASAs astronaut program in the mid 1960s but was rejected because he lacked eagle-eye vision. > > **"The Galileo affair was fabulously interesting, and it did show a degree of ignorance on the part of the church, theres no doubt about that," Coyne said. "But to say that thats characteristic of the churchs attitude toward science is where I think a big leap is made."** > > Coyne co-chaired the scientific and epistemological section of the Pontifical Commission that studied the Galileo case for 13 years. In October 1992, after reviewing the commissions report, John Paul II proclaimed that the Roman Catholic Church erred in condemning Galileo, who spent the last eight years of his life under house arrest. **At his trial before the Roman Inquisition, Galileo defended his endorsement of the Copernican system by stating that scientific research and the Christian faith are not mutually exclusive.** > > **"He said that Scripture is intended to teach us how to go to heaven, and not how the heavens go," Coyne said. "Its a beautiful phrase, and it says that Scripture is not teaching science. Scripture is made up of many literary forms: Some of its poetry, some of its history, but none of its science.** > > “Galileo really understood that and tried to get others to understand it,” Coyne said. “He was a better theologian than any of them. He was 400 years ahead of the Catholic Church.” Bolding mine. The Catholic Church has narrowed that 400 year gap considerably down to a negligible amount of time, once they took their blinders off. Morals and ethics based on scientific discovery though, are a total different ball of wax. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/212 "2006-06-07T18:54:58Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > The problem with your question is that religion never got _added_ to humanity in the first place. The human race was born with a capacity–and a tendency–to believe in religion. Theoretically, you could introduce religion to the feline, canine, or plant world. You couldn’t introduce it to the human world, however, because it was there to start with, and far too much human history has been influenced by religion for either of us to step back and say, “Well what if it had never existed in the first place?” Brings up a good question. How long ago did we evolve the capacity for faith? If we had this capacity for faith for thousands, if not millions of years, why does this “faith gene” persist, and not recessed since many deem it “useless”? Could this be the beginning of a sixth sense, or just an extension of “gut instinct”? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/213 "2006-06-08T02:32:41Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > The problem with your question is that religion never got _added_ to humanity in the first place. The human race was born with a capacity–and a tendency–to believe in religion. Theoretically, you could introduce religion to the feline, canine, or plant world. You couldn’t introduce it to the human world, however, because it was there to start with, and far too much human history has been influenced by religion for either of us to step back and say, “Well what if it had never existed in the first place?” An excellent point, and one could go even further with it, in that, if the human race had never developed religion, I don’t think it would still be the human race. Several fundamental attributes to the human character would have to be absent, among them curiosity and imagination - attributes that are vital to the advancement of science. A human race that had never imagined a god in the sky who made thunder and lightning would likely be equally unable to conceive of high pressure fronts and electrostatic discharge. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/214 "2006-06-13T20:09:33Z")
> [@speakingmythoughts](#): > > I’ve come to the conclusion that Islam (as a religion), is a little too quick to see violence as a solution to solve problems (see below link and/or pick up your papers on any given day). The Koran says violence is acceptable for defense, as opposed to Jesus’ saying to turn the other cheek. The Koran also says the earth is a big place so couldn’t you have found someplace to live without fighting? The more times I read the Koran the more it seems (to me) to say use your best judgment but God know what you’re thinking so you can’t cheat on the final exam. P.S. Prior to 9/11 there were two Christian terrorist and one Muslim terrorist on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. But Eric Rudolph was never labeled a Christian terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/215 "2006-06-14T09:13:12Z")
> [@Will Repair](#): > > The Koran says violence is acceptable for defense, as opposed to Jesus’ saying to turn the other cheek. > The Koran also says the earth is a big place so couldn’t you have found someplace to live without fighting? > > The more times I read the Koran the more it seems (to me) to say use your best judgment but God know what you’re thinking so you can’t cheat on the final exam. Trying to use your own best judgement to interpret anything of the Koraan will lead you to be announced infidel as what happened to an ex-Professor in Cairo University (Professor Hamed Abo Nasr) couple of years ago when he tried to use his mind to interpret Koraan, and he was announced infidel and he had to ask for asylum in the Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/216 "2006-06-14T12:13:29Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > Ahh, well allow _me_ to make things as simple as possible. > > Who knows? Your guess is as good as mine. More to the point, my guess is as good as yours. It’s not like we’re ever going to have an inkling one way or another. > > The problem with your question is that religion never got _added_ to humanity in the first place. The human race was born with a capacity–and a tendency–to believe in religion. Theoretically, you could introduce religion to the feline, canine, or plant world. You couldn’t introduce it to the human world, however, because it was there to start with, and far too much human history has been influenced by religion for either of us to step back and say, “Well what if it had never existed in the first place?” This is silly: proposing the existence of an instinct for something that can easily be explained without one. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors at some point realized that everybody dies, including them. The older ones really didn’t want to die, so they dreamed up this whole “life after death” thing and sold it to the rest of the tribe, which got them increased power and prestige in the group. Pretty soon it became a tradition, with the older tribesmen (and/or women) that made these claims called “preists” or whatever. What religion is, is the longest-running, most successful scam in the history of the human race. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/217 "2006-06-14T18:33:54Z")
> [@gum](#): > > Trying to use your own best judgement to interpret anything of the Koraan will lead you to be announced infidel as what happened to an ex-Professor in Cairo University (Professor Hamed Abo Nasr) couple of years ago when he tried to use his mind to interpret Koraan, and he was announced infidel and he had to ask for asylum in the Netherlands. Which obviously would _never_ happen because of Christian fundamentalists… > [@](#): > > BBC EXECUTIVES will be protected by security guards while the police investigate death threats made over the broadcast on Saturday of Jerry Springer — The Opera. > > Yesterday security guards continued to monitor the North London home of Roly Keating, the Controller of BBC Two, who received threats from protesters. The homes of six other BBC executives were also targeted after an evangelical Christian group posted the addresses and telephone numbers on its website. > . > . > Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said that the group would conduct a private prosecution against the BBC on a blasphemy charge. > **[The Times & The Sunday Times](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/)** > > News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times **Gum** you totally fail to understand the argument its not “no muslim has every done anything violent because of his faith”. Dredging up examples of Muslim Fundamentalists doing terrible things does not make your argument, for every example of Muslim Fundamentalists doing terrible things you can dredge up and example Christian, or Hindu, or Buddists Fundamentalists doing terrible things. The point is that there is nothing inherent violent about Islam anymore than any other religion, yes there are parts of the Koran that can be interpreted as condoning violence, but the same can be said of the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/218 "2006-06-14T20:01:17Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Which obviously would _never_ happen because of Christian fundamentalists… > [The Times & The Sunday Times](http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4484-1433987,00.html) > > **Gum** you totally fail to understand the argument its not “no muslim has every done anything violent because of his faith”. Dredging up examples of Muslim Fundamentalists doing terrible things does not make your argument, for every example of Muslim Fundamentalists doing terrible things you can dredge up and example Christian, or Hindu, or Buddists Fundamentalists doing terrible things. The point is that there is nothing inherent violent about Islam anymore than any other religion, yes there are parts of the Koran that can be interpreted as condoning violence, but the same can be said of the Bible. Bill Clinton said: ‘Our number-one threat abroad is fundamentalism, absolutism. Terror is their tactic, but it is their ideas, their hatred, their absolute certainty that they are so right that they can kill people who disagree with them — that is our enemy’ Now, I haven’t been threatened by another religion than islam. My freedom of speech isn’t in danger by another religion than islam. Furthermore: I’m an atheïst and I prefer \* not\* having to read through long, boring books like the bible and the koran. But as someone or other said: ‘Know thy enemy’ So I’m getting to know them and I don’t like it, okay? ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/219 "2006-06-14T20:56:04Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > This is silly: proposing the existence of an instinct for something that can easily be explained without one. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors at some point realized that everybody dies, including them. The older ones really didn’t want to die, so they dreamed up this whole “life after death” thing and sold it to the rest of the tribe, which got them increased power and prestige in the group. Pretty soon it became a tradition, with the older tribesmen (and/or women) that made these claims called “preists” or whatever. > > What religion is, is the longest-running, most successful scam in the history of the human race. I find your offhand retort in dire need of a few credible cites. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497/220 "2006-06-14T21:07:25Z")
> [@gum](#): > > My freedom of speech isn’t in danger by another religion than islam. If you live in the states I’d say Christian Fundamentalism is a FAR bigger threat to your freedom than Islam. (Last time I checked the [FCC](http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001010563) wasn’t hiring any Muslim Fundamentalists spokesmen to control what we can and can’t watch and listen to). I mean, I know Bush and his buddies are running the war on terror pretty badly but I can’t really see Muslim Fundamentalists seizing control of the US government any time soon. But that doesn’t change original point, saying Fundamentalism is the worst threat to U.S. interests abroad DOES not make Islam inherently more violent than any other religion (the question OP posed). If your an American living in Saudi Arabia, yeah, the main threat to you security comes from Muslims. But if your a Buddist living in certain parts of Sri Lanka then the main threat to your security comes from Hindus, if your a Muslim living in southern Nigeria you main threat is Christians, if your a catholic living certain parts N. Ireland your main threat is from protestants, … The point is FUNDAMENTALISM in any religion is an inherently violent, intolerant, force in society. And unfortunatley it seems to be an inherent trait in humanity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islam-is-a-violent-religion/359497.md?page=12)