I split this into two posts b/c the conversation seemed to be moving in two directions.
I hope this is so, and that it is something that Muslims can draw upon. Currently, many Muslims and certainly Muslim nations are quite intolerant; virtually banning other religions, executing Muslims who convert and splitting the Earth into two spheres: the World of Islam and the World of War.John wrote:... Historians generally regard
Mohammed himself as someone who never used violence unnecessarily,
although he was harsh with people who defamed or mocked Islam. And
Mohammed held Jews and Christians in high esteem, not as "infidels" to
be killed.
Again I hope this is so and that Muslims embrace the true, peaceful, tolerant Islam.John wrote: All the "teachings of Islam" that talk about killing the infidels are
perversions of Islam that were adopted by later people like Osama bin
Laden.
Generally I agree, though many wars are fought out of a sense of self-preservation, revenge and hatred with little judgment about the enemy's inherent inferiority or superiority.John wrote:This is not surprising. From the point of view of Generational
Dynamics, religion is an important tool in every generational crisis
war. The only way that a leader can justify the slaughter or
extermination of the enemy -- whether by machete or by nuclear weapon
-- is to protray them as inferior in some way, and religious is
frequently used to do that.
I agree that religion doesn't cause war (isn't the root cause of war), but the reverse is an interesting premise that requires consideration.John wrote:As I've written many times before, religion does not cause war. It's
the other way around: war causes religion...