fundamental difference between Christianity and Islam
Reader comment on item: Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism
in response to reader comment: And no concomitant distinguishing between Christianity & Christianism?

Submitted by Sidda (United States), Mar 16, 2006 at 11:09

It is true that there have been Christians who are extremists and have committed acts of violence. The difference is that these people are condemned by the vast majority of Christians and not considered to be "martrys" or praised when they kill and maim in the name of their beliefs; when caught, they go to trial and are punished. There are also no texts in the bible to support those actions.

One of the core tenets of Islam is to divide the world into two groups: Dar al Harb (land of war - infidels) and Dar al Islam (land of peace - Islam). Christianity does not do this. There are no tenets of Christianity which state that jihad is to be waged on unbelievers until Christianity "dominates and is not dominated." Anything is allowed which furthers the cause of Islam.

Under Sharia Law, unbelievers have three choices: 1) convert, 2) agree to pay the poll tax (jizya) and live in second-class "dhimmi" status, or 3) die. The second option only applies to "people of the book", i.e., Jews or Christians. All others have a choice between options 1 and 3. This is religious apartheid with Islam being dominant over all other faiths and people. There is no corresponding teachings in Christianity.

As to the KKK, it is true that they have tried to misuse religion to justify their hateful ideology, but the facts are that there are no teachings of Jesus Christ that back up their beliefs. Also, the KKK and their ilk have been denounced and marginalized by the vast majority of Americans. They have no power. The KKK, of course, are not alone in their hateful, bigoted beliefs. Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam are just as supremacist and hateful as the KKK or Aryan Nations. And I wonder if their message of intolerance has been as marginalized as much as that of the KKK.

There are literally millions of Muslims worldwide being taught Islamic supremacy and hatred for the West and non-Muslims in general, using the texts of the Qu'ran and hadiths as the basis for those teachings. Some of those teachings are occuring right now in the U.S. Freedom House did a good exposition of this.

There are far more fire-breathing Imams in Wahhabi funded mosques all over the world preaching violence, hatred, and a supremacist message than there are Christian (or Jewish or any other religious) leaders preaching violence and hatred against Muslims. There is no moral equivalence or equivalence in the sheer scope of the problem.

---

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 for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.