I agree with your argument and I think that what you
are doing is greatly benefitting those who receive
this message and actually read it. I am not a Muslim
myself, but I still agree with you.

Lindsey.
--- helen <helen2@...> wrote:

> I would be thankful if you give my article 5 minute
> of your value time.
> THANK YOU.
>
> Q.How can Islam be called the religion of peace when
> it was spread by the
> sword? ?
> A.It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims
> that Islam would not have
> millions of adherents all over the world, if it had
> not been spread by the
> use of force. The following points will make it
> clear, that far from being
> spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of
> truth, reason and logic
> that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.
> 1. Islam means peace. Islam comes from the root word
> ‘salaam’, which means
> peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah
> (swt). Thus Islam is a
> religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting
> one’s will to the will
> of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).
> 2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace.
> Each and every human
> being in this world is not in favour of maintaining
> peace and harmony.
> There are many, who would disrupt it for their own
> vested interests.
> Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It
> is precisely for this
> reason that we have the police who use force against
> criminals and
> anti-social elements to maintain peace in the
> country. Islam promotes
> peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers
> to fight where there is
> oppression. The fight against oppression may, at
> times, require the use of
> force. In Islam force can only be used to promote
> peace and justice.
> 3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O’Leary. The best
> reply to the
> misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is
> given by the noted
> historian De Lacy O’Leary in the book "Islam at the
> cross road" (Page 8):
> "History makes it clear however, that the legend of
> fanatical Muslims
> sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the
> point of the sword upon
> conquered races is one of the most fantastically
> absurd myth that
> historians have ever repeated."
> 4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years. Muslims ruled
> Spain for about 800
> years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to
> force the people to
> convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain
> and wiped out the
> Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who
> could openly give the
> adhan, that is the call for prayers.
> 5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians. Muslims
> were the lords of Arabia
> for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled,
> and for a few years the
> French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for
> 1400 years. Yet today,
> there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians
> i.e. Christians since
> generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there
> would not have been a
> single Arab who would have remained a Christian.
> 6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India. The Muslims
> ruled India for about a
> thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power
> of converting each and
> every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than
> 80% of the population
> of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim
> Indians are bearing witness
> today that Islam was not spread by the sword.
> 7. Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia is a country
> that has the maximum
> number of Muslims in the world. The majority of
> people in Malaysia are
> Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to
> Indonesia and Malaysia?"
> 8. East Coast of Africa. Similarly, Islam has spread
> rapidly on the East
> Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was
> spread by the sword,
> "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of
> Africa?"
> 9. Thomas Carlyle. The famous historian, Thomas
> Carlyle, in his book
> "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this
> misconception about the spread of
> Islam: "The sword indeed, but where will you get
> your sword? Every new
> opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority
> of one. In one man’s
> head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of
> the whole world
> believes it, there is one man against all men. That
> he takes a sword and
> try to propagate with that, will do little for him.
> You must get your
> sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself
> as it can."
> 10. No compulsion in religion. With which sword was
> Islam spread? Even if
> Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam
> because the Qur’an
> says in the following verse: "Let there be no
> compulsion in religion: Truth
> stands out clear from error" [Al-Qur’an2:256] 11.
> Sword of the Intellect.
> It is the sword of intellect. The sword that
> conquers the hearts and minds
> of people. The Qur’an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16
> verse 125: "Invite
> (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and
> beautiful preaching; and argue
> with them in ways that are best and most gracious."
> [Al-Qur’an16:125]
> 12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to
> 1984. An article in
> Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the
> statistics of the
> increase of percentage of the major religions of the
> world in half a
> century from 1934 to 1984. This article also
> appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’
> magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by
> 235%, and Christianity
> had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war
> took place in this
> century which converted millions of people to Islam?
>
> 13. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America
> and Europe. Today the
> fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The
> fastest growing religion
> in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in
> the West to accept
> Islam in such large numbers?
> 14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson
> rightly says, "People
> who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in
> the hands of the
> Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has
> been dropped already, it
> fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born".
>
> For more information about Islam:
> http://ftws.net/al_islam/index.htm
>




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