Islam Means 'Peace'
The Myth:
Muslim apologists sometimes claim that the root word of Islam is “al-Salaam,”
which is "peace" in Arabic.
The Truth:An Arabic
word has only one root.
The root
word for Islam is “al-Silm,” which means “submission” or “surrender.”
There is no disagreement about this among
Arabic or Islamic scholars.
al-Silm (submission) does not mean al-Salaam (peace), otherwise they would
be the same word.
Submission
and peace can be very different concepts, even if a form of peace can be
brought about by forcing others into submission. As the modern-day
Islamic scholar, Ibrahim Sulaiman, puts it, "Jihad is not inhumane, despite its
necessary violence and bloodshed, its ultimate desire is peace which is
protected and enhanced by the rule of law."
In truth,
the Quran not only calls Muslims to submit to Allah, it orders them to
subdue
people of other religions until they are in a full state of submission to
Islamic rule. This has inspired the aggressive history of Islam and its
military and demographic success in conquering (and gradually erasing) other cultures.
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