Have you ever even read the Koran?
Reader comment on item: Jihad through History
in response to reader comment: "Disillusioned" youth? You fell into the trap!

Submitted by KM (United States), Dec 12, 2006 at 02:42

The Koran is not violent. Islam is not violent. I am a devout Catholic lucky enough to have attended schools that taught about all religions, and impassioned me to continue learning. Islam is one of the most tolerant religions on earth, and not inherently violent. Much of it is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ in fact. Sinners and lunatics throughout time have used religion, Christianity included, to justify horrific acts, as suicide bombers do. What comes to mind for me is the period in Ireland just before the revolution (I'm Irish) when Catholics had to hold their masses in secret or they would be killed by Protestants.

How can you say such insanity is to blame on Christianity? You can't. The same goes for suicide bombers. I do not excuse suicide bombers no matter what their class, situation, etc., and you're right that there is no pattern there anyway, and that NO excuses can be accepted. But they do not represent the whole religion, or any of the religion, by any means.

Our Old Testament is more violent than the Koran! I do not see how condemning a vast religion, cherished by so many people, can possibly be a means to peace on God's earth. I pray to God and Jesus often for us all to educated ourselves about one another, as I think it is the greatest step toward peace. The things in this world that bring us together are so much more important and beautiful than those that tear us apart, so why don't we look to those as places to start?

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