OxNotes > StudentSpace Blog > Debates > "Are ISIS Muslim? Is Islam peaceful or violent?"
The flag used by ISIS / Daesh with Arabic writing
The banner used by the terrorist organisation ISIS, with Arabic writing which uses the Muslim phrase "There is no God but Allah, Mohammed is the messenger of Allah".
Picture
The banner used by a UK Muslim organisation for the successful London peace campaign, which states "Love for All, Hatred For None".

Debate: "Is ISIS Muslim? Is Islam violent or peaceful?"

  • 🏆 Most viewed debate on OxNotes.com, ever.
  • ​Closing: Add your own voice at the bottom of this page now.

70% Say No, 30% Say Yes

No

Islam preaches peace
If Islam really were a religion that preached hate and violence how come the vast majority of the 1,8 billion Muslims are living peacefully?
A Christian Example For You.
​Three people murdered a mother and her unborn baby, they say they killed 'in the name of Christianity'. They are three sick people. They do not represent Christianity. Whatsoever. Neither to the Christian gunmen in the US. Neither do the KKK. So of course people who say they kill 'in the name of Islam' do not represent Islam.
Islam is a religion of peace
  • Islam is definitely a religion of peace. No religion of God is evil. We must learn to separate the actions of the imperfect Muslim from the perfect teachings and ethical principles of Islam. Mankind will never be perfect, after all, to err is human. We must not allow the barbarians that terrorise and commit acts inhumane acts of murder and hatred to become an example of Islam. These people use the name of Islam in order to justify their own egotistic and evil goals. The truth is that Islam implores violence and only allows it as an absolute last resort , in self-defence. Islam states that when all other options have been exhausted and the only option is war; one must follow these laws:
  • Do not harm non-combatants
    Use minimum necessary force
    Fight without anger
    Show humane treatment towards prisoners of war
    Do not kill prisoners of war
    Do not kill women or children
    Do not harm crops or trees
    Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path.
    You must not mutilate dead bodies.
Islam's teachings are perfect. Humans are imperfect. ​Islam is a religion of peace.
Muhammed's (pbuh) commands in war:
1.Don't kill a woman, elderly person, child, sick person, monk or priest, those who surrendered, or those who ran away.
2.Don't destroy a building, especially a church or temple
3.Be good to prisoners and feed them
4.Don't enforce Islam
​The last one alone is enough to debunk the whole premise of ISIS. They break every one of these rules. Murderers don't represent a whole group of society. ​
Violent people will be violent NO Matter their faith.
Islam completely rejects any form of violence, we believe in "Jihad of the pen". I love my country, the UK. The prophet Muhammed on whom be peace stated "loyalty to your nation of residence is part of your faith", a Muslim living in England, America, Japan etc must (must!) be loyal to their country. The people that go against their country are definitely not doing it in the name of their religion, these people barely know these teachings. Many of the extremists are stopped before reaching Syria being found carrying "Islam for Dummies" and similar books - they are so misinformed and are not going to Syria for Islam, they are going to Syria because they feel society is somehow against them. Young people who are considering running away to such evil groups abroad need to be taught this is completely against their religion. Feel free to Google "Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace", you might understand my perspective.
For
​Dont do what hitler did to jews judging a whole race
Terrorism is an act of violence not religion.
If you define 'Religion' it literally means, the belief in and worship of a supernatural power, especially a personal God or gods. Also, Islam is a religion so its followers are called Muslims not Isis nor a terrorist. Whereas, 'Terrorism' is an act of violence not a religion. Therefore, just because a group of extremists goes around and kills people and claims to be Muslim doesn't mean Muslims are terrorist, it means those people are terrorists!
Islam and violence aren't mutually exclusive.
While people have attempted to make a link with Islam and violence, that does not mean they necessarily go hand in hand. You can use this logic to justify nearly anything, like how there has been an increase in potatoes and pregnancies in ireland. They have a correlation, yes, but is it a relevant one? No. Islam and terrorism aren't mutually exclusive. Not all muslims are terrorists, nor are all terrorists muslims. It is ignorant and just plain idiotic to believe so. Religion does not fuel hate, nor violence, ignorance and outside stimuli do. If you have been taught your whole life that your purpose in life is to be a dentist, you will likely believe that. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that that is your purpose, it means that you are ignorant of your true purpose. Just like how these terrorists have been taught that they are representing their religion properly. It doesn't mean they have been, it just means they are ignorant to the true teachings of their religion. Furthermore, ISIS is using a very very very skewed version of Islam. As someone who has lived in Bahrain, a muslim country, practically their whole life, I can wholly assure you with all of my heart that they are not practicing Islam properly. Islam approves of fighting in Just Wars (refer to the just war theory if you don't know what i mean), which does not fit into what isis is fighting for. Also, to ensure no one thinks I am a biased source do to where I live, I am an American atheist with no real ties to this country nor Islam. Therefore, i'd like to conclude by stating this: Terrorism thrives off fear and ignorance, so do not let your ignorance make you fear Islam, a religion of peace.
KKK christians?!
For those who are saying that 'ISIS say they are Muslims therefore they must be' well then in that case the KKK held crosses, and were killing innocent people aswell. Do we say that the KKK represent christanity? If you think no then why do you think it is right to say that ISIS represent Islam!
Older answers
​THIS DEBATE SADDENS ME.
I am not Muslim but I have Muslim friends in my school and outside of school. I have never experienced a violent Muslim. what I see on the media really does create hate for these friends.
ISIS are creating a bad name for the religion because they want people to hate Muslims. They want people to hate Muslims because they want Muslims to be pushed away from society. Someone who is pushed away from society will not feel like they are a part of society, and ISIS can THEN lure (SOME OF THEM) them in. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS THE MEDIA NEEDS TO STOP REPORTING SO MUCH ON ISIS, STOP GIVING THEM SO MUCH FREE ADVERTISING SPACE ON TV, PHONES, NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE!

Yes

Neither a religion of peace or violence
Islam is neither a religion of peace OR violence. I could say this about almost any religion in the world, including Buddhism which is described as one of the most "peaceful." Any religion could be drawn upon for the most peaceful of purposes or the most violent of purposes. Including, but NOT limited to, Islam. Islam is simply another expression of faith, religion, borne out of the same region that gave us Judaism and Christianity. It is not exclusive and that is why Muslims believe the Bible and Torah to be a Book of God. In that same light, shouldn't we call those two religions violent/peaceful?

Some Buddhists are violent, some Buddhist monks tortured children and mothers in 2015's Myanmar Murders. But Buddhism is not violent. In the same way, Islam is NOT violent or peaceful.
What (mainstream) Islamic law includes
Mainstream Islamic law does include regulations for the use of violence, including the use of violence within the family or household, the use of corporal and capital punishment, as well as how, when and against whom to wage war.
PERSONALLY,
​As I believe in one particular religion: Christianity is the religion the US needs to protect, as it is declining in USA. The original religion of the country must of course be protected.
Look at Saudi Arabian laws, Iranian governance and the Syrian situation. These issues are happening under Muslim governance. Yes, these governments get to pick and choose which Islamic teachings to follow or ignore, but they are Muslim governments.
Older answers
My view
I agree that Islam is not violent, but there are some that have distorted their holy book to seek power and wealth. However, I do not blame their religion, I blame those few people called isis.

More! Intense debates on OxNotes:

Or Visit StudentSpace Blog (intense debates, easy recipes, horror stories?!)

    Submit your response

    Responses are manually approved to allow suitability for anyone from the age of 14 to participate. We review responses to prevent spam and harassing/unlawful comments.  Responses are approved within one week. 

Response information

For

"Islam preaches peace" Jana
"For" Arunram Hogan
"Violent people will be violent no matter their faith" Nav (An Ahmadi Muslim)
"Do not represent their religion" 
"Islam and Violence aren't mutually exclusive" Jamie Clark
"This debate saddens me" Marcus

Against

"Islam is neither a religion of violence or religion of peace" 
"Well, they say they are Islam so must be Islam" - Chris
(Debate Starter) LK Lisa
View more debates on OxNotes
We welcome dialogue between our users and ask that you follow the guidelines below. Following these guidelines will help to foster open communication and interaction.

Please do: Respect other community members and their opinions.

Please don't post anything that could be considered: Spam, off-topic, harassment or personal attacks against other users, obscene, abusive or graphic, in violation of any law or regulation, or a link or reference to other websites or off-topic pages.

We will remove comments that do not meet these guidelines.

Information on this page is for your information only. We do not accept any liability or responsibility for damage caused because someone relies on the information on this page. The views expressed on this page, including staff responses, are not the views of OxNotes itself. We do not accept responsibility for comments posted on the debate pages, or any damage caused by that.
Back to StudentSpace Blog