Bernard Lewis says that Islam means peace

Submitted by Amjad M. Khan (United States), Jul 1, 2007 at 10:43

Dr. Pipes:

On page 79 of his book, The Political Language of Islam (University of Chicago Press, 1988), historian Bernard Lewis states as follows:

"While the connotation of salam is thus primarily religious--indeed, the word "Islam" itself is derived from the same root--it does sometimes have the sense of more mundane "safety" or "security," i.e., the lack of trouble or danger."

How do you explain this "nonsense"?

Amjad

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Daniel Pipes replies:

Easily. Read it again and note that Lewis is referring to the word salam, not islam. Salam, I noted, does mean peace.