As
ril mentions in her w/u,
A religion or set of beliefs and the actual people that happen to label themselves as such, are two totally different things. I'm no great historian, but I believe that while the Qur'an
may (I'm no great
religious scholar, either) preach solely for just war, the spread of Islam from
the Arabian peninsula was certainly anything but peaceful. I further believe that many Muslims have adopted the
Jihad as an extra
pillar of the Islam. The term "Dar el'Harb" (land of war), I am told, relates to all countries not under Islamic rule.
Like the other two monotheistic religions, the Islam has produced many great scholars, some of whom have preached for peace. Some modern Islamic thinkers have defined jihad as the inner war one wages against his evil side, and like Christianity and Judaism, Islam can be used as the reason for the most wonderful acts, or as the excuse for the worst of them.
All this not withstanding, The Hizbullah, a name that translates to “party of god”, is no peace party. They have fought bloody battles not only with the IDF and SLA, and not only with their Druse and Maronite neighbors, but also with their fellow Shiites from the Amal movement. Are the Amal men driving their brothers from their land?
Islam may preach peace, but the Hizbulla practices war.
My memory may be betraying me again, but didn’t the Shiite sect of Islam start after a bloody battle about who the true Khalif is? Just a thought...