The Qur An Does Not Condone Terrorism, Violence, And Forced Conversions

From the text and the article, I learned that the Qur'an does not condone terrorism, violence, and forced conversions. It does, however; allow for self-defense. I had expected something like this, as it doesn't make rational sense for a religion to threaten death and pain on non-believers rather than attempting to convert them. What I didn't expect is that the Qur'an makes such a clear point of saying that non-believers shouldn't be focused on to convert. Yes, the Qur'an does allow for conversions, but it makes it clear that each person is supposed to come to the religion on their own. Unlike in Christian tradition, the Qur'an does not insist that children believe in the same religion as their parents. Also, the Qur'an contains the idea of religious tolerance, especially for the Jewish and Christian faiths.

Of course, people can twist and distort the messages of any text. It seems that in the case of Islam, by emphasizing those select times when violence was praised and ignoring those times when it was forbidden or restricted, the religion is used to promote violence. This is aided by the general lack of knowledge of Arabic. Since many believers cannot understand the original texts it is easy for charismatic leaders to distort

Christianity has a bloody history of Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Salem Witchcraft Trials. In theses instances, the people in power had attempted to maintain their status by using the Bible to oppress certain groups. The Bible itself also contains verses that contradict itself on issues such as the equality of women. By utilizing the most convenient portions of the book and holding power over the religious individuals it is simple for one in power to put forth an argument that suits their needs. It becomes even easier to promote violence if people are afraid for their lives (or afterlife), if people cannot read the original text, and if no one presents clear