Why Muslims support violence

Reader comment on item: [Pew Poll on] How Muslims Think
in response to reader comment: [Pew Poll on] How Muslims Think

Submitted by Ted Elleresby (United States), Jun 27, 2006 at 14:36

The key to understanding the role of violence in Islam is that the religion was founded to motivate an army, the army that Muhammad would eventually use to begin the conquest of Arabia. Armies have to endorse violence, because that is their purpose. Other features of Islam are consistent with this view, in particular the notion that the Muslim warrior will receive his reward in Heaven if he dies in jihad. Without a perpetual war, there is no real rationale for the existence of Islam.

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