Radical Islam

Dear Victorious,

Doesn't radical Islam make all of Islam evil? How can the world ever find peace with Islam?

Chantel R. - Calgary (Canada)

Dear Chantel,

Not any more than perversions of other faiths make them evil. At its core, Islam is simply a misguided attempt to find God. It is like Judaism and other religions in that regard. They both worship a God who simply doesn't exist. They've taken some dimensions of God and decided that's who He is.

God is revealed in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. This Trinity, including the Messiah who arrived hundreds of years ago, is the complete revelation of God. Those who worship other forms of this same God are simply misguided. They are sincere --- but wrong. Like religions who worship completely false gods (i.e., Hindu, Buddhist), radical views can pervert even the most righteous of principles.

It is interesting that in the history of the world, the majority of the wars have been fought over religion. And yet most religions hold peace as a core tenet. You have to ask yourself what's up with that. How can a peaceful tenet result in a bloody war?

At it's core, Islam calls its followers to "annihilate the infidels." In other words, it encourages its followers to kill those who don't follow Islam. The radical fundamentalists are simply implementing what they believe to be the truth. Perhaps the question is what the rest of those who purport to follow Islam believe about these mandates from their own holy book.

My guess is we will never find peace with Islam - radical or not - until Islam finds peace with itself.