Islam and the Question of Violence by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Despite the presence of violence in many regions of the world
ranging from Ireland to Lebanon to the Pacific Basin and
involving many religions from Christianity to Hinduism, the
Western world associates Islam more than any other religion with
violence. The Muslim conquest of Spain, the Crusades - which
were not begun by Muslims -, and the Ottoman domination of
eastern Europe have provided a historical memory of Islam as
being related to force and power. Moreover, the upheavals of the
past few decades in the Middle East and especially movements
using the name of Islam and seeking to solve problems of the
Muslim world created by conditions and causes beyond the control
of Muslims have only reinforced the idea prevalent in the West
that in some special way Islam is related to violence. To
understand the nature of Islam and the truth about the assertion
often made of Islam’s espousal of violence. it is important to
analyze this question clearly rememberin