stevecanuck
11-02-2014, 02:40 PM
I have frequently heard Muslims says that Islam is the Arabic word for peace. It isn't. It means submission, and in the context of the relgion it means submission to God. The reason this is even worth discussing, let alone having its own thread, is because the lie is not casually told, nor is it an argument in semantics. Those who tell this lie want us to assume that any act of violence perpetrated by a Muslim is un-Islamic because, by definition, it would be contrary to the very meaning of the word Islam. That is propaganda in its purest form.
Not only is it propaganda, but it's also a perfect example of sophistry (starting with a basic truth, but ending with a lie hoping the listener will miss the logical break). Allow me to splain. In Arabic there is a 3-letter root system that causes all words with the same 3 letters used in the same order to be linked to a common meaning. The letters seen (s), lam (l), and meem (m) form the root of 3 linked words that you all know: Islam (submission to god), Muslim (one who submits to God), and salaam (peace in having submitted to god). The sophistry comes in the form of using the word peace out of its intended religious context and letting us think it means peace in the general sense.
I believe it's important to understand this lest we be fooled into thinking Islam and peace are one and the same.
Not only is it propaganda, but it's also a perfect example of sophistry (starting with a basic truth, but ending with a lie hoping the listener will miss the logical break). Allow me to splain. In Arabic there is a 3-letter root system that causes all words with the same 3 letters used in the same order to be linked to a common meaning. The letters seen (s), lam (l), and meem (m) form the root of 3 linked words that you all know: Islam (submission to god), Muslim (one who submits to God), and salaam (peace in having submitted to god). The sophistry comes in the form of using the word peace out of its intended religious context and letting us think it means peace in the general sense.
I believe it's important to understand this lest we be fooled into thinking Islam and peace are one and the same.