veiled4allah: Understanding the Prophet Muhammad

But it should be remembered that no religion is inherently violent, or for that matter, inherently peaceful. Not Islam, not even Christianity. All religious scripture is subject to interpretation, therefore all can be misused. We need only go back a couple of dozen years to the Jim Crow era to find examples of how Christianity was shamefully misused and distorted. Then, Biblical scripture was routinely cited (most notably, Genesis 9) as the divine basis for racial separation and superiority. The most famous American terrorist organization, the KKK, used overtly Christian symbolism and scripture to justify its decades-long campaign of violence, murder, and intimidation in pursuit of its goals of turning America back into a "true" Christian nation.

Was there something about Christianity that bred or at least nourished such racism? Of course not. Religion in general aims people toward peace and justice, but people disposed to evil can always find scriptural justification for their position. Just as for a time the KKK was a significant political force in this country, so, today, Al Qaeda is a political force in the Muslim world. These organizations, not the religions they claim to represent, are the enemy.

Historical context must likewise be remembered when judging Muhammad. The notion that Muhammad was a man of war as contrasted Jesus or Moses, as Jerry Falwell recently asserted, ignores the fact that Muhammad fought only a handful of battles in his lifetime, resulting in barely 1,000 casualties on all sides.

This might be compared to such Biblical figures as David, who is praised in I Samuel 18 for killing his "tens of thousands," famously earning the murderous jealousy of Saul who only killed his "thousands"; or to Moses, who in the book of Numbers 31 chastises his army for sparing the women and children of the vanquished Midianites.

To compare Muhammad to Moses or Jesus, or against some contemporary standard, is meaningless and anachronistic. The world that Moses and Muhammad lived in was lawless and violent, different from even the Roman dominated world in which Jesus lived. Strong vested interests opposed the monotheism each preached, genocide was commonplace, slavery was taken for granted. Women had few rights, and might was the only law.

In this context Muhammad and Moses and all the other Biblical figures sought to create a new society based on justice and on the belief in a compassionate God. Their achievements in accomplishing this in lasting ways form the only relevant contemporary standard by which they can be truly judged.