Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dude Love]

I know how frustrating it is when people criticize my religion and have no idea what they're talking about. I also think it's wrong to criticize a religion when one hasn't read up on it themselves. However, I've read the Koran. It most definetely encourages violence in no uncertain terms multiple times. Also, there's no indication that jihad means anything other than Holy War. With all due respect, I don't want to get the wrong impression of a good religion. Please take this chance to defend your religion and tell us why it's one of peace. Thanks for your kind help.

[Big_Bird]

[Dude Love]

Thanks for the reply, Big_Bird. I know that's what most Muslims claim, God love them. However, if you read the Koran (at least in English) you'll find that there's no indication that Jihad means anything other than Holy War. I'm not trying to bash Islam here, I'm actually trying to respect it more. It's just that if the Koran is to be believed, it seems absurd to call Islam a religion of peace. It would be great if someone could clarify this issue for me and convince me that it is indeed a religion or peace.

[Demonicat]

Well, thats where things get tricky really. After Mo and his followers take out the pagans who had control of Mecca, the prophet congratulates all of them on winning the Jihad. Whether the Jihad is, as some suggest, the war against themselves to obtain disciplane and victory against a much larger force while holding onto their beliefs...or whether it meant the actual victory against religious enemies is a question of theological debate.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Dude Love]

Ya-ta, yes! This is the first step! To answer your question, I haven't read the commentaries but I've read the Essential Koran, the Koran and taken several religious courses in Uni., including a few that focused on Islam. The Hadith are on my reading list.
By virtue of this thread I'm looking for people who know more about it than I do. I've conducted net searches on Muslim apologetics and found nothing. I've looked at the website for the mosque in Itaewon.
Thanks for encouraging those who read the Bible to also read classics, such as those written by St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

[contrarian]

Aquinas and Augustine are the two guys that did the best job of screwing up Christianity.

[Adventurer]

Religions can be interpreted in more than one way. Jihad from what I have studied does have different components there is the jihad having to do with waging battle in the name of defending Islam, and doing good to your company is a form of jihad that Muslims are supposed to do and that is distinguished from the military form of jihad by being labeled as the jihad of the spirit. Muslims do believe that those who die in combat can reach the 7th heaven, so to speak. When you have to end up sacrificing your life, then there is a big reward. That can be explain possibly by the fact that the Islamic forces encountered many threats from Persia, Rome, and various Arabian tribes The sacrifice had to seem worth it. So, there is a mixed message. There is that component that Muslims speak about helping others as being part of jihad. There are peaceful aspects of Islam and violent ones. In reaction to outside threats, a twisted version of the form of military jihad has been emphasized. Technically, Islamic law, like Jewish law, says you should not even cut a tree in combat i.e. you should not be destructive. However, we are seeing this ignored among Muslims just as Israel has destroyed so many olive groves belonging to the Palestinians. The Islamic powers that be were far more tolerant in the Middle Ages, in many cases, then they are now. I think it is easier for me to say that Buddhism is a religion of peace, but applying it to Islam might be difficult with the emphasis on the glory of war that you mentioned.

[PimpofKorea]

I'd like to put a jihad on someone....how does one go about it...never done it before...