PROPHET OF PEACE, OR OF VIOLENCE — An Objective Analysis

PROPHET OF PEACE, OR OF VIOLENCE DUE to the intolerance and violent extremism of small groups of people who call themselves 'Muslims', Islam is currently widely perceived to be a religion of violence, with objectives that appear to be achievable only through terrorism. This, however, is untrue. Islam is not the name given to the behaviour or the actions of a particular group of people who call themselves 'Muslims'. Islam is a system of beliefs and ethics, and people who say that they hold those beliefs and value those ethics are called Muslims. It follows, then, that the behaviour of Muslims must be judged by the principles of Islam and not vice versa. Islam cannot be evaluated based on the actions of Muslims. If individuals calling themselves 'Muslims' adopt terrorism or violence, then the responsibility for their actions lies with them, not with the religion they profess. In spite of their professed Islamic agenda, the actions of such people cannot be deemed Islamic. Islam is not the name given to the behaviour or the actions of a particular group of people who call themselves Muslims. Islam is the name of the revealed religion professed by the Prophet Muhammad, and exemplified in his life. The Prophet Muhammad was a prophet of peace, not a prophet of violence. In the Quran, he is called a 'mercy to mankind'. Ali bin Abi Talib was the son-in-law of the Prophet of Islam. When a boy was born in his household, Ali named him Harab, meaning war. Arab tribes were frequently at war and took pride in names that displayed a warrior like nature. When the Prophet heard about the boy’s name, he asked Ali to change the name to Hasan, meaning goodness. From this incident we can get an idea of the personality of the Prophet of Islam. His was a peace-loving personality in the complete sense. His peace- loving nature was so heightened that he did not even like to hear the word Harab which had connotations of violence. Whereas Harab