Islam's Teachings of Peace and Tolerance

I'm feeling a bit passive agressive today, so I went looking for trouble. Never hard to find it these days. Here is a series of articles explaining how we just don't understand that Islam is a peaceful religion and a few extremists have reoganized its teachings to suit their own purposes.

For instance, I bet you didn't know that:

1. Warfare should be avoided; Muslims should not begin wars and should only use warfare as a last resort.
2. Warfare is a limited enterprise. Its purpose is only defensive and it should only be used to stop aggression and oppression.
3. War should be only conducted against those who fight. Non-combatants should never be targeted and every possible precaution should be taken to protect them.
4. Water resources, animals, agricultural lands and other resources should be protected from harm as much as possible.
5. Warfare should stop as soon as the enemy inclines to peace, and negotiations should be used. All treaties and agreements should be fully observed.

These are almost unanimously accepted guidelines concerning warfare in Islam.

"Unanimously accepted" by whom? Not by CAIR. Not by the Muslim Brotherhood. Not by ANY Saudi I've ever listened to.

Were you aware that Islam is a religion of tolerance?

Islam considers itself to be the true faith and it emphasizes that its followers should adhere to this faith fully and sincerely. Renouncing the faith and backsliding are acts of sin and are very much frowned upon in Islam. . . [W]e find in many places, the Qur’an advocated religious freedom and forbids compulsion and coercion in the matters of religion.

Really? Then how do you get around this little problem:

In Prophet Muhammad’s own statements, known as Hadith, we find some instances where he prescribed ‘death sentence’ against those who renounce Islam.

You have to stretch and twist things a bit, but you wind up with this:

Most scholars take these statements (Hadith) to mean punishment for high treason. According to this interpretation, if anyone leaves the faith, becomes rebellious bellicose (muharib) or joins a rebellious group of non-Muslims who want to revolt against the Muslim state, then such person/persons should be tried and may be subject to capital punishment if proved committing high treason. Thus the punishment is not for changing the religion, per se, but for rebellion and treachery. It is comparable to a US citizen renouncing his citizenship and then joining Al-Qaeda.

And suicide bombings? Really, really bad, unless it is necessary (to kill Jews)-

Suicide-bombing is a by-product of the barbarity of modern warfare. Faced with overwhelming military odds capable of carpet-bombing or “nuking” entire cities, the Japanese kamikaze pilots and Tamil Tigers resorted to suicide missions before this tactic was adopted by Islamist groups. The tactic is perhaps legitimate as a last-resort method only against military targets, due to the Koranic prohibition of suicide.

First Amendment? Alive and well in Islam (but not a single country that widely embraces it).

As far as blasphemy is concerned, Islam is not against religious debates and dialogues... Freedom of speech is a highly respected principle in Islam [a little known fact - ed.].

Men verses women? Total equality -except:

There are, however, some role differences between males and females in Islam.
*In marriage, the husband is the head of the household and it is his responsibility to take care of his wife’s and their family’s needs [that one is loaded - ed.]. . . .
*Regarding polygamy, a man may have more than one wife under Islamic law. . .
*To maintain public morality and honor of women, [Islam] emphasizes that women must appear in public in a modest attire and should not display their beauty to strangers. . . .

I hope these essays were directed at the Muslim community and not at the secular, Christian or Jewish ones. I have learned to believe absolutely nothing of what people tell me and watch how people act of late. Trust but verify and when clobbered, trust no more.