In spite of the beheading of Western journalists by the Islamic State (IS), Western politicians keep repeating the mantra that Islam is a religion of peace. On Septem­ber 10, 2014, President Barack Obama denied that IS is Islamic for they kill innocents and three days later U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron maintained that “Islam is a religion of peace.” Really?

In a helpful September 17, 2014 article, “Islam and the Killing of Innocents,” Denis MacEoin who holds a Ph.D. in Persian/Islamic Studies from Cambridge, gives some perspective on this topic. What follows are excerpts from his article as posted on the website of the Gatestone Institute, a non-partisan, international policy council and think tank, dedicated to educating the public about what the mainstream media fails to report.

Islam does not mean 'peace.' Islam means 'submission.' Its root, salam, means peace, but not in the Western sense of the word. It means the peace that will prevail in the world once man­kind converts to Islam, although which branch of Islam is apparently still in dispute.

What is curious is that no-one, so far as I know, has placed much or any emphasis on the earliest history of Islam. By any measure, this early history sadly demonstrates that Islam has never been a religion of peace and that modern jihadists, especially Salafis, take their inspiration directly from the actions of the first three gen­erations of the faith, the Salaf (forefathers), the companions of the prophet, their children and their grandchildren. What is, or should be, wor­risome, is that these figures serve as constructive role models for Muslims today.

The Qur’an is replete with injunctions to fight jihad; modern radicals themselves say they take their inspiration from it. There are estimates of some 164 jihad verses in the Qur’an. And those do not include innumerable passages command­ing or describing holy war in the Hadith, or the prophet’s biography. A few examples (transla­tions by the author) include:

'Let those who sell this world’s life for the hereafter fight in the way of God. For whoever fights in the way of God, whether he is killed or lives victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward.' 4:74

'I will cast fear into the hearts of the un­believers. Therefore behead them and cut off all their fingertips.' 8:12

'Slay the unbelievers wherever you come upon them, take them captives and besiege them, and waylay them by setting ambushes.' 9:5

Regrettably it is impossible to re-interpret the Qur’an in a 'moderate' manner. The most famous modern tafsir, or interpretation, of the holy book is a multi-volume work entitled, In the Shade of the Qur’an. It was written by Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966), the Muslim Brotherhood ideologue often regarded as the father of modern radicalism. His interpretation leads the reader again and again into political territory, where jihad is at the root of action.

The Qur’an contains many peaceful and toler­ant verses, and these could well be used to create a genuine reformation – something several genuine reformers have tried to do. But there is a catch. All these moderate verses were written in the ear­ly phase of Muhammad’s career, when he lived in Mecca and had apparently decided to allure people. When he moved to Medina in 622, every­thing changed. He was soon a religious, political and military leader. During the next ten years, as his religious overtures were sometimes not wel­comed, the peaceful verses gave way to the jihad verses and the intolerant diatribes against Jews, Christians and pagans. Almost all books of tafsir take for granted that the later verses abrogate the early ones. This means that the verses preaching love for all are no longer applicable, except with regard to one’s fellow Muslims. The verses that teach jihad, submission and related doctrines still form the basis for the approach of many Muslims to non-believers.

One problem is that no one can change the Qur’an in any way. If the book contains the dir­ect word of God, then the removal of even a tiny diacritical mark or a dot above or beneath a letter would be blasphemy of the most extreme kind...

The besetting sin of modern Western polit­icians, church leaders, and multiculturalists is their ready acceptance of ignorance and their pro­motion of their own ignorance to the rank of ex­pertise. Islam is one of the most important topics in human history, but how many schoolchildren are given details such as the ones mentioned above in their history classes? How many text­books paint an honest picture of how Islam began and how it continued as a background to how it continues today?...

So long as the Qur’an is on the shelves of every mosque and Islamic bookstore, young men and women in their thawbs and hijabs can find in it the perfect justification for their continuing endeavours in the path of jihad and the killing of innocents.

Being forewarned is being forearmed. Let us take note of the true nature of Islam that is faithful to its roots, hist­ory, and writings.