The adherents of Islam and their sympathizers spend a lot of effort trying to paint Islam as a “religion of peace.” The well-documented history of terrorist attacks carried out in the name of Allah make it difficult to defend this position. An examination of the Quran does not help either, as it calls for Muslims to “fight and slay the infidel wherever you find them” (Quran 9:5).
The latest black mark against this “religion of peace” comes in the response to Terry Jones burning a copy of the Quran. This man is a relative nobody in a tiny church in Florida. His actions in burning a copy of the Quran are so insignificant that it is an embarrassment that the media actually reported on it. Yet they did and word has spread far and wide about this event. Since then, Muslims on the other side of the globe in Afghanistan have responded by rioting and murdering dozens of people who are connected to Terry Jones only in that they are non-Muslims (infidels).
Many people have strong opinions about Terry Jones, supposing he must be ignorant, mentally disturbed, seeking attention, or something along those lines. But regardless of why he burned a copy of the Quran, the fact remains that some of the ones who practice this “religion of peace,” violently murdered dozens of innocent victims because they were told that a nobody who lives half a world away burned a copy of their holy book.
What a sharp contrast between the Muslim’s “religion of peace” and the true religion of peace – the religion of Christ. When the mob came to arrest Jesus and Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, Jesus told him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52-53).
Although Jesus could have quickly and thoroughly destroyed those who came against Him, He showed Peter (and all of us) that physical violence would not be a tool for advancing the cause of His kingdom. Paul expounded upon this point: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). We are engaged in a spiritual war in the name of Christ, not a physical one.
Jesus said, “whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:39). Paul told the saints in Rome, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). Yet the Quran says, “we shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved” (Quran 3:151). Such a contrast between the two books.
If someone offends you, have the forgiving attitude that Jesus displayed on the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Love “does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Corinthians 13:5), and certainly does not plan or spontaneously respond with retaliation and vengeance.
If someone rejects the gospel, “shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14) and move on. Do not coerce them by threat of force.
If someone insults your faith or you face persecution, remember what Peter wrote: “if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name” (1 Peter 4:16). Yet the Quran says, “slay these transgressors wherever you meet them… for persecution is worse than slaying… fight them until there is no persecution” (Quran 2:192).
If someone fails to live by the rule of God, correct them through teaching (2 Timothy 4:2), “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). But those who fail to live by the rule of Allah may become the victim of honor killings or some other form of physical violence.
If someone leaves the faith, the Bible says to “keep away” from them, but “do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15). Those who convert from Islam to another religion jeopardize their own lives.
If someone burns a copy of the Bible, we certainly do not respond with a murderous riot against the one who burned it, their friends or family, or people halfway around the world. Jesus said, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Matthew 7:12). Paul wrote, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
There is only one religion of peace. It is the religion of Jesus Christ, the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Paul wrote, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1), not through the false religions of man (including Islam). Jesus “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20), so let us submit to Him and not to any other.
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[For more on this topic, check out the following articles: Aftermath of a Quran Burning (Parkway church of Christ) and The Battle Cry of the Quran (Bible Banner).]
