Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

A few days ago, a Muslim imam, a guest on Iowa Public Radio, said that Islam is “a religion of peace.” He said that Sharia Law is “fine.” When I called to ask if the words “Thou shalt kill the infidel” are in the Koran, I was told by an IPR employee that my question had been covered when the imam said that Islam is a religion of peace.

Am I supposed to take the imam’s statement that Islam is a religion of peace at face value? Actually, the words, “Thou shalt kill the infidel” are in the Koran and are repeated in various contexts many times. I don’t see how Islam can be a religion of peace if the infidel or unbeliever, whether he be Jewish or Christian or whatever, is regarded as less than human and can be lied to and killed.

What made the whole thing worse, and prompted my call, is that the imam said that people who don’t understand that Islam is a peaceful religion and Sharia Law is fine are “ignorant.”

I emailed and wrote Iowa Public Radio at their central office after I was not allowed to ask my question and canceled my donation of $10 a month to Iowa Public Radio. IPR’s central office promised to stop payment and asked if I would like to have someone in the news department call me back. I said yes, and they said someone would call me back “shortly.” Katherine Perkins, an IPR producer, called me back the next day.

I explained what went down to her and explained why I was unhappy. She said that the call screener was probably afraid I was coming from “a hateful or hurtful place” and didn’t want to take the chance of allowing me to ask my question.

I told her that we sacrifice intellectual rigor if we censor questions based on political correctness and the fear of offending someone who’s calling us “ignorant.”

Free speech is important to me. Questioning Islam is as important to me as questioning Christianity. Neither is an entirely peaceful religion, as history has demonstrated, and I don’t believe in either religion.

It is not my intent to paint all Muslims as terrorists. Not at all. We have Muslim neighbors up the street who are hardworking, nice people. Their children do extremely well in school and are model citizens. We would be fortunate to have more such neighbors.

I support presidential candidate Martin O’Malley’s plan to bring 65,000 Syrians to the United States. Steve Jobs, after all, was the son of a Syrian immigrant.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Extremist jihadis did not invent themselves in a vacuum. The word jihad is in the Koran. ISIS, or as they call themselves, the Islamic State, wants to return to the 7th-century caliphate of their ancestors. Theirs is an apocalyptic vision in which few people ultimately survive, including themselves.

I understand why former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, and current President Barack Obama want to stay away from terms such as radical Islam or Islamic terrorists. They don’t want to offend Muslim countries who are or might be our friends, like Saudi Arabia and Jordan. That’s diplomacy. Universities and radio talk shows don’t, or rather shouldn’t, play the same role.