It absolutely stuns me how often the terms "radical Islamist", "jihadist", or just the word "Muslim" are thrown around on a daily basis. I've heard more things about this religion than I have my own religion on campus, and it's time to finally cut some corners by explaining what this "violent" religion actually entails.
First of all, if you are trying to come across as educated about Isis or any middle eastern politics, I'll have to direct you to a Theology 101 course--many are offered at a location near you. If you actually were educated about the religion and the politics it includes, you would understand that the Islamic religion actually covers a widespread array of beliefs and morals (shocking, it's almost like Christianity). There are branches of Islam, just like there are branches of Christianity (once again, shocking) and these branches separate the different views that someone in the Islamic religion may have regarding morals, women, and violence. There are some people of the religion (note, "people" can entail anyone world-wide, Islam is not just a middle-eastern religion--also shocking) that don't believe in the use of violence at all. Some believers do believe in violence for the protection of their religion, just like how some people of Christianity believe in violence towards Islamists; I'm looking at you, Trump.
Second of all, when looking at the history of Islam, the only reason violence ever arose was due to the profit Muhammad's beginning religion and followers being under ridicule and possible attack by the city of Mecca, who felt that the new religion was going to convert the polytheistic views of the citizens that were the only source of income for the city. In order for Muhammad to properly defend his beliefs, violence was the only answer. The violence was not a bloodshed against Allah's wishes, though. The proper term for this violence was Jihad, which is a sacred form of violence only used to protect the religious views of Islam. While there are extremists that believe strictly in the use of Jihad as their religion, majority of those who consider themselves a Muslim don't. In fact, most Muslims are actually against the use of Jihad as they believe religion should be peaceful. Therefore, using the term "jihadist" turns the religion from a spiritual belief into a MMA fighter's dream, causing disrespect and ultimately false ridicule onto the religion.
So long story short, if you really were educated and informed on the religion of the "radical islamist" or "jihadist" you would take a step back and actually do some research before declaring to "bomb" an entire religion--one that holds values and morals that most Christians also hold. Take a theology class, and broaden your vocabulary to be more respectful.
Rant over.
*these opinions are from a Christian's perspective. If something included in this article does not comply with your religion, remember that religion encases a very general and broad array of belief that encompasses many opinions.
