Why is Islam portrayed as a religion of violence?
Violence is one of the unfair and unconscionable labels and accusations promoted by the enemies of Islam, who claim that this heavenly religion is incompatible with the peaceful coexistence of people.
Now the following question comes to mind; For what reason was this religion full of love and kindness introduced as a religion of violence and sword? A religion that begins each sura with the name of God's mercy in its holy book, the Quran. Here we will take a brief look at 4 reasons.
1- Political and colonial intentions
Unfortunately, the source of most of the accusations and inappropriate words spoken and injected into the public is political hostility and intentions.
Since the religion of Islam, unlike other religions, has a clear political management model based on monotheism, nation, piety and justice and is always in pursuit of this, mafia political movements try various conspiracies, including the existence of violence, and raise various suspicions.
2- Misunderstanding of Orientalists
Some so-called Orientalists did not understand religious texts correctly and portrayed the actions and behaviors of Muslim rulers who ruled the people not with religion and justice, but with the sword, as the view of religion. However, a person's personal behavior and performance should not be attributed to religion.
Rather than referencing original Islamic teachings, Orientalists based and promoted their theories on the behavior of certain kings and caliphs at particular periods of Islamic history. Most of them are rulers who came to power through trickery and force.
3- Fake, fabricated and incomplete Islamic movements come to the fore
As an example, we can mention ISIS and Al-Qaeda, which are the embodiment of violence, cruelty and alienation from Islam, and which, as an ostensibly Islamic group, occupied parts of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria for a time with the support of Western security services. The best evidence of this, regardless of the admission of some American officials, is the amount of weapons that these countries sold to different countries in these wars.
Of course, Muslims around the world expressed their hatred and disgust towards these so-called Muslim groups and evaluated their actions not on the basis of Islamic nature but on the basis of colonialist identity. The best evidence of their anti-Muslim behavior is the Holy Quran, which equates the killing of an innocent person with the killing of the entire world. Allah states the following in the 32nd verse of Surah al-Maidah, the fifth chapter of the Qur'an:
"Whoever kills one person on earth without committing murder or causing corruption is as if he killed all the people."
4- Distortion of jihad as terrorism
Basically, all living things struggle to survive against the factors that destroy them and try to remove the obstacles in front of them in order to reach the perfection they desire.
On this basis, Muslims must also defend their legitimate rights against enemies and embark on the path of resistance. It is clear to everyone that such a defense is compatible with human nature. If colonialists are attacking Muslims, shouldn't Muslims also respond? Jihad is a response to colonialists and does not mean rape of others.
If the Prophet's wars are examined, we see that these wars were for defensive purposes and in accordance with the principles of peace and mercy.
The truth can be better understood with a short journey among the enlightened verses of the Holy Quran, protected from distortions, and the words of innocent religious leaders. On the other hand, when we look at the social and practical practices of these religious leaders and compare them with the behavior of those who claim civilization in the Western world, it is possible to see the sun of truth behind the dark clouds.
