Does Islam inherently encourage violence and extremism?
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Does Islam inherently encourage violence and extremism?

A look at various arguments surrounding Islam.

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Does Islam inherently encourage violence and extremism?
Ben Sutherland

There has been much debate in recent years of the role of Islam in society. Some suggest that there is an inherent risk to society associated with Islam, or being Muslim. Others suggest that Islam is no more dangerous to society than Christianity or Judaism, and that other factors are primarily to blame for extremism in the Islamic world. There are a number of arguments on both sides of the equation, and the goal of this article is not necessarily to choose which arguments are superior, but to present them in an unbiased fashion.

Before I get into the arguments for either side, I think it’s important to provide some general information on the three major Abrahamic religions. These religions are referred to as the Abrahamic religions as the biblical figure Abraham features prominently in each religions respective histories, in fact he is considered the founder of Judaism. There are other religions that are technically considered “Abrahamic Religions”, however Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are significantly larger and more influential than the others. Judaism is the oldest of the three religions, followed by Christianity and then Islam. Islam was 500-600 years after Christianity, and between 2,300 and 2,400 years after Judaism. As of 2009, there are approximately 2.2 billion Christians, 1.5 billion Muslims, and 14 million Jews. In terms of Jesus, Islam states that Jesus is one of the two significant prophets alongside Muhammed, but it does not posit that he was divine, as Christianity does (Judaism considers Jesus to just be an ordinary Jewish man). There are also varying views on sin between the religions. Christians believe that they are born with sin, inherited by Adam, while Muslims and Jews reject the notion of original sin. Muslims believe that humans are born sinless, but that human weakness can and will lead to sin. Both Christianity and Islam put significant emphasis on the afterlife while Judaism does not. In Christianity, Hell is a place of everlasting punishment for sinners. Islam takes a similar approach to Hell, with the exception that Hell is not necessarily permanent so those who go there may eventually be granted access to heaven.

Many of the arguments in defense of Islam revolve around the factors outside of Islam that could have promoted the kind of extremism we see today in many Muslim majority countries. These arguments frequently point to western interference in Islamic countries as a direct cause for instability in those countries, which made them fertile ground for extremism. Some even go as far to say that extremism in Islamic countries is a legitimate response to western incursion. A frequently used example of this is the 1953 coup of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh. The coup was funded and supported by both the United Kingdom and the United States. Immediately after the coup Mohammed Reza Pahlavi became the Shah of Iran in a monarchical form of governance. Many associates and cabinet members of the former Prime Minister Mosaddegh were imprisoned or killed. The Shahs rule lasted for 26 years, until he was dethroned in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The Shah struggled with issues of public support throughout his reign, with some viewing him as a puppet of western nations and a strict authoritarian. There are those who argue that this coup was the beginning of widespread anti-western sentiment in the Islamic world, and may have spurred the growth of extremism. This fits the timeline of an additional argument about the rise of Islamic extremism, that of Wahhabi Islam. Wahhabi Islam is a more radical and conservative branch of Islam that has risen to prominence in the past 40 years (although it has existed for hundreds). There have been claims that Osama Bin-Laden was linked with the Wahabbi movement but these claims are disputed. Wahhabi Muslims only make up about .5 percent of the total Muslim population. They have had a long standing relationship with the royal family of Saudi Arabia, the Saud family. This has led to many countries criticizing Saudi Arabia for funding extremism. Those who argue against Islam being inherently dangerous say that the teachings of Wahhabis are dangerous, but the teachings of the average Sunni or Shi’ite Muslim is not. In fact, many Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims do not even consider Wahhabis to be Muslims, but another aberrant religion.

There are a number of other arguments against Islam being an inherently dangerous religion. One of these arguments centers around population distribution of Muslims across the globe. This argument points out that if all branches of Islam were equally dangerous than there would be an even distribution of violence and extremism in all of the different Muslim populated places around the globe. However, this is not the case. The country with the largest Muslim population in the world (Indonesia) has considerably less extremism than countries in the Middle East with smaller Muslim populations. A similar argument revolves around the longevity of Islam. Fareed Zakaria (CNN host) in particular makes an argument that states that if Islam inherently promotes violence and extremism, why haven’t all 1,400 years of its existence been fraught with them? At some points in history Islam was actually more progressive and intellectually advanced than its Abrahamic counterparts. For example, the Golden Age of Islam (dated from the 8th to the 13th century) brought with it numerous advancements in philosophy, the natural sciences, and mathematics. Another argument in defense of Islam is how the media reacts to acts of violence by Muslims vs. Non-Muslims. This theory argues that Islam is unfairly seen as being violent because when violent acts are committed by Muslims the fact that they are Muslim makes the news headlines, on the other hand when violent acts are committed by Non-Muslims the perpetrators faith is rarely the topic of conversation. Instead the attacks are blamed on mental health issues, or the influence of media and video games.

An additional argument concedes that the Quran does justify and encourage violence/extremism in some cases, but points out that the Bible and Torah do as well. Since all three texts encourage violence, then there must be other factors that influence the amount of extremism or violence other than religion. Or else all religions would have the same amount of extremism and violence.

The majority of arguments that argue in favor of Islam being an inherently dangerous religion posit two things: (1) Islamic extremism is not necessarily solely caused by the tenets of Islam, but these tenets do play a role in the development of this extremism and (2) that Islam as a belief system is what encourages extremism, not necessarily Muslims themselves. For the most part, arguments against Islam do not suggest that extremism is entirely the fault of Islam or that people who are Muslim are inherently immoral, ignorant, illogical just for being Muslims. Many of those on this side of the argument believe that Islam can be inherently flawed, but just because Islam as an institution is inherently flawed it does not mean that all Muslims are inherently flawed.

One argument is that the Quran is more dangerous than the Bible or the Torah. Those who argue this say that the Bible differs from the Quran in that the New Testament contains little to no encouragement of violence, and that most of the violence in the Bible occurs in the Old Testament, which is not necessarily closely adhered to. Those who argue this also tend to state that Muslims tend to adhere more strictly to their holy text than either Jews or Christians. Although the texts themselves may have similar levels of violence, the violence in the Quran may have a bigger impact. It is also argued that the Quran emphasizes an ongoing battle or struggle, whereas the Bible and the Torah refer to isolated incidents where violence may be necessary. There are those who argue that this emphasis on ongoing or eternal battles has prevented Islam from becoming more moderate over time as Christianity and Judaism has. Arguments over the Quran and what it dictates are frequently muddled and find no resolution as the meaning of many passages and terms of the Quran are subjective. One example is the word “Jihad”. For many Muslims this term signifies an internal struggle to serve the purposes of God. However, the term has taken on a very different connotation in recent times, with it being considered synonymous with “Holy War”. In some ways, both definitions are correct.

Some of the arguments that state that Islam plays a role in encouraging extremism and violence are direct responses arguments presented by the opposing side. An example of this can be seen with Fareed Zakarias argument relating to the longevity of Islam. One argument against this is an analogy featuring a car crash. In the analogy, a car crash occurs when an intoxicated man driving in the rain attempts to take a poorly designed turn at an unsafe speed. If an investigator examined the crash after the fact, they would most likely recommend that the poorly designed curve be altered. Despite the fact that many people have taken the curve without crashing, a combination of factors in conjunction with the poorly designed curve could lead to a crash. In this analogy the poorly designed turn represents certain tenets of Islam, while the rainy conditions and the intoxication of the man represent other contributors to Islamic extremism, such as instability caused by western intervention. While the intoxication of the man and the weather conditions of the road contributed to the crash, the poorly designed curve should not be ignored as a cause of the accident.

It is also argued that Islam is more regressive on social issues than Christianity or Judaism are. People accuse Islam of being excessively misogynistic and homophobic, and cite the laws of countries like Saudi Arabia, where women and members of the LGBT community are persecuted heavily. Others suggest that the mistreatment of women and those of the LGBT community tends to more with the socioeconomic status of regions. One example cited is Uganda, a country which is predominantly Christian but still outlaws any form of homosexuality activity. In fact, one can get a life sentence in Uganda for “aggravated homosexuality”. Those against Islam would counter this by pointing out that the 13 countries in which homosexuality or bisexuality are punishable by death are all Muslim majority countries.

The answers to questions about Islam are far more complex than they seem on the surface. Coming to a concrete “yes” or “no” answer is borderline impossible. What is important for Americans in the coming years is to educate themselves about the debate. Decisions cannot be made based off of the rhetoric of leaders with personal agendas, emotional reactions, and biased sources. When it comes to issues of this large of a scale, only an informed and politically active populace can effectively solve the problems we are faced with.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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