Is Islam a religion of peace? Many commentators and even politicians have said that. But is it true?
Let's first acknowledge that many Muslims are peace-loving. But is it also true that Islam is a religion of peace? To answer that question, it is important to understand the meaning of the word "jihad."
In my book, A Biblical Point of View on Islam, I devote a section of one of my chapters to this Muslim concept of jihad. The word is actually the noun of the Arabic verb jahidi, which means to "strive hard." Some Muslims understand this striving to be merely intellectual and philosophical. If that is the case, then they do not believe that jihad involves warfare. But the more traditional interpretation of jihad involves a holy war against infidels.
Here are just a few verses from the Qur'an that seem to teach this. Sura 47:4 says, "When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly." Sura 9:5 says, "Fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleager them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem." Sura 9:123 says, "O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird your about, and let them find firmness in you; and know that Allah is with those who fear Him."
Bernard Lewis is the professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and a leading authority on Islam. He says that, "The more common interpretation, and that of the overwhelming majority of the classical jurists and commentators, presents jihad as armed struggle for Islam against infidels and apostates."
So it is important to understand how Muslims interprets the word jihad. If they see it as an intellectual struggle, then they are most likely to be peace-loving. If instead they see it as an armed struggle, then they pose a danger. The interpretation of these verses of the sword is key. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view.
