A Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't

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We feel bound explicitly to avow our unshaken persuasion that War is utterly incompatible with the plain precepts of our divine Lord and Law-giver, and with the whole spirit of the Gospel; and that no plea of necessity or policy, however urgent or peculiar, can avail to release either individuals or nations for the paramount allegiance which they owe to Him who hath said, "Love your enemies." Therefore, we cannot participate in war (Rom. 12:19), war activities, or compulsory training. [105] Pentecostal churches [ edit ] Lansbury was eventually persuaded to resign as Labour leader by the non-pacifist wing of the party and was replaced by Clement Attlee. [59] As the threat from Nazi Germany increased in the 1930s, the Labour Party abandoned its pacifist position and supported rearmament, largely as the result of the efforts of Ernest Bevin and Hugh Dalton, who by 1937 had also persuaded the party to oppose Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement. [60] According to the Ahmadiyya understanding of Islam, pacifism is a strong current, and jihad is one's personal inner struggle and should not be used violently for political motives. Violence is the last option only to be used to protect religion and one's own life in extreme situations of persecution. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said that in contrary to the current views, Islam does not allow the use of sword in religion, except in the case of defensive wars, wars waged to punish a tyrant, or those meant to uphold freedom. [132] In the 13th century, Salim Suwari a philosopher in Islam, came up with a peaceful approach to Islam known as the Suwarian tradition. [117] [118] The word ‘Islam’ does not mean ‘peace’ as is often assumed. It means ‘submission’ or ‘surrender’. Mark Durie, a linguistics and theology scholar, writes: “In its original meaning, a Muslim was someone who surrendered in warfare.” [2] Muhammad’s famous phrase aslim taslam means “surrender (i.e. submit to Islam) and you will be safe”. [3] These words were included by him in letters sent to various rulers offering them peace if they surrendered to Islam. This is important because, far from carrying a peaceful meaning, Islam actually means peace after surrender in warfare or after subjugation.

The French pacifists André and Magda Trocmé helped conceal hundreds of Jews fleeing the Nazis in the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. [71] [72] After the war, the Trocmés were declared Righteous Among the Nations. [71] Germany [ edit ] Burhani, Ahmad Najib (2013). When Muslims are not Muslims: the Ahmadiyya community and the discourse on heresy in Indonesia. Santa Barbara, California: University of California. ISBN 978-1303424861.Some religions teach total non-violence and non-harm, such as branches of Hinduism and Buddhism. This approach is called pacifism . Followers of certain branches of Christianity are pacifists, such as Quakers . The Hindu leader, Mohandas Gandhi (often called Mahatma Gandhi) led a successful non-violent struggle to free India from British rule.

Lewis, James R. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1615927388. Leading scholar David Cook argues that attempts to present jihad in purely spiritual terms are completely unsupported by the evidence, and only occur in writings for Western audiences: “Those who write in Arabic or other Muslim majority languages realise that it is pointless to present jihad as anything other than militant warfare.” [7]Patterson, David S. The Search for Negotiated Peace: Women's Activism and Citizen Diplomacy in World War I (Routledge. 2008) The Abolition of War: the Peace Movement in Britain, 1914–1919 by Keith Robbins. University of Wales Press, 1976. ISBN 978-0708306222 (p. 10). Main articles: Buddhist ethics, Engaged Buddhism, and Religion and peacebuilding §Buddhism and peacebuilding

Muslims are not Islam. We need to distinguish between the people and the ideology; criticism of Islam is not criticism of all Muslims. To understand what Islam is, we need to examine its teachings from the Qur’an and the example of Muhammad. The fact that most Muslims don’t know or agree with all these teachings does not change what the religion actually teaches.Some scholars theorize that pacifism was the cause of France's rapid fall to the Germans after it was invaded by the Nazis in June 1940, resulting in a takeover of the government by the German military. Whether or not pacifism weakened French defenses against the Germans, there was no hope of sustaining a real pacifist movement after Paris fell. Just as peaceful Germans succumbed to violent nationalism, the pacifist French were muzzled by the totality of German control over nearly all of France. [70] Mission of National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 . Retrieved 8 July 2010. The Lemba religion of southern French Congo, along with its symbolic herb, is named for pacifism: " lemba, lemba" (peace, peace), describes the action of the plant lemba-lemba ( Brillantaisia patula T. Anders). [18] Likewise in Cabinda, " Lemba is the spirit of peace, as its name indicates." [19] Moriori [ edit ] In modern times, interest was revived by Leo Tolstoy in his late works, particularly in The Kingdom of God Is Within You. Mahatma Gandhi propounded the practice of steadfast nonviolent opposition which he called " satyagraha", instrumental in its role in the Indian Independence Movement. Its effectiveness served as inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr., James Lawson, Mary and Charles Beard, James Bevel, [2] Thich Nhat Hanh, [3] and many others in the civil rights movement. A peace sign, which is widely associated with pacifism World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, 2011

We might ask whether Islam advocates peace. Being a religion of peace could imply that Islam advocates pacifism. [1] But is this really the case? To test this, we need to examine the teaching of Islam in the Qur’an and the hadith.Conscientious Objection Today, Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors". Archived from the original on 4 August 2007 . Retrieved 30 July 2007. Jefferson, Charles Edward (1920), Varieties of Pacifism, International Peace Series, New York: World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches, OCLC 15243673, OL 22896131M Guidebook of the Emmanuel Association of Churches. Logansport: Emmanuel Association. 2002. pp.15–17. There were conscientious objectors and war tax resisters in both World War I and World War II. The United States government allowed sincere objectors to serve in noncombatant military roles. However, those draft resisters who refused any cooperation with the war effort often spent much of the wars in federal prisons. During World War II, pacifist leaders such as Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy of the Catholic Worker Movement urged young Americans not to enlist in military service.