The Religion of Peace

What makes Islam so different?

TheReligionofPeace.com (TROP) is a pluralistic, non-partisan site concerned with Islam's political and religious teachings according to its own texts. The purpose is to counter whitewashing and explain the threat that Islam truly poses to human dignity and freedom, as well as the violence and dysfunction that ensues as a direct consequence of this religion's supremacist ideology.

Islam is not defined by anyone's opinion, but by the Quran, Hadith and Sira. These historical texts are readily available in the information age, meaning that anyone can go straight to the source from any referenced article on this site.

While apologists of Islam generally use fragments of Quran verses, weaker hadith (Islam's version of "fake news") and contemporary opinion to soothe Western concerns, TROP explains the context, cites early biographers, and posts references only to those Hadith collections deemed most reliable (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and Abu Dawud).

TROP is not associated with any organization. The site does not promote any religion, but it is not hostile to religion. We generally support the rights of atheists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, women, consenting adults, Muslims and anyone else on the planet to live as they wish without violating the rights of others.

TheReligionofPeace.com strongly condemns any attempt to harm or harass any Muslim anywhere in the world over their religion. Every person is entitled to be treated as an individual and judged only by his or her own words and deeds.

TROP also denounces any act of vandalism against mosques or other property, including juvenile attempts to offend Muslims by desecrating copies of the Quran. (The best way of discrediting the Quran is to tell non-Muslims what it actually says about them).

At the same time, we see no use in pretending that Islam is just another religion - which always seems to be the assumption of those preferring not to look too closely. Over 99% of religiously-motivated terror is committed explicitly in the name of this one faith. How can that be if it is just like all the others?

How is that we so often hear of converts to Islam turning to terror, but never the same with converts from Islam? Why are only ex-Muslims killed? If 'ignorance of Islam' is the culprit, then why don't other religions have this problem, and why there are so many Islamic clerics, imams and preachers actively involved in terror cells and recruitment across the globe?

Lift the cloak of religion and it becomes obvious that there is a tremendous amount of social dysfunction tied to Islam's core texts and teachings. Polls show that large minorities - or even majorities - in the Islamic world approve of amputations, stonings, violence in defense of Islam, and draconian rules prohibiting other religions equal rights and freedom.

Acts of discrimination, hate and terror that would be shocking in the name of any other faith are so commonplace in the Muslim world that it barely registers in Western media. The very fact that the bar of expectation is set so low for "the Religion of Peace" underscores just how different it really is.

No one uses the term "self-radicalization" with any other faith or attaches an "ism" to the end (Islamism) to project false hope that the "real thing" is something other than what it appears. Islam is the only ideology, religious or otherwise, in which critics are bullied into silence and told they have a "phobia" (or are "racist" for challenging a supremacist religion that speaks far worse of them, along with everyone else outside the group identity).

Yet, where Islam dominates, there is systematic discrimination and oppression of non-believers. Where Muslims are a minority, there is a trend toward peevish self-interest and eventual violence when demands for special privilege and entitlements are not met. No other religion is so demanding of respect while doing so little to earn it.