The essence of Islam is dissolved in an Islamic society. It is not only limited to personal spirituality of individuals as in most religions.As Islam is actually a Deen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C4%ABn (which is complete code of life). It is not limited to a set of spiritual practices or prayers. The way we eat, sleep, do business and everything else all of it is Islam(if done according to Islamic principles).
This is where the question lies. It is in the words, "if done according to Islamic principles." Where can a person find out what Islamic principles are?
Since most Muslims do not read the Quran, and many of them cannot read at all, do they get the Islamic principles from somebody else reading the Quran to them?
If I, a Christian, simply state that my Christian activities are Islamic principles, then am I a Muslim, even though the Quran is generally against accepting a Christian as a Muslim without having the Christian deny his Christianity first?
The point that I am trying to make is that, if Islamic principles are not standardized in the lives of all Muslims, then anybody who is spiritually minded, no matter what that form of spirituality is, can be Islamic simply by saying, "Allah is God," and "I am a Muslim," right?
For people not living in that society/environment they'll have to learn about it by reading/researching etc.
Also Qur'an is not the only source of Islamic knowledge and teachings.There are Prophetic sayings(Hadith) which explains the rules in details.
Its simply by saying "Allah is God and Muhammad is prophet" you become Muslim. Then there are 4 other basic pillars of Islam.
Here is the big question that needs answering.
Why is Islam called the religion of peace?
The question is asked because, in both the Quran and the Hadith, there are calls of Islam calling Muslims to violence. Often the violence is extreme. http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm
The only peace in Islam seems to be that which is extended to Muslims. That is understandable because, no religion wants to destroy itself.
No other major religion has strong violence listed in it against people of other religions. Where strong violence is listed in other the writings of other religions, it is generally simply a recorded record of past events. It is not a call to do the violence. In the Quran and Hadith, it is a call for Muslims to do the violence.
All the religions have peace extended to members of their own faith. All religions extend peace to their own people. You could say it like this:
Non-Islamic religions = Peace for their own people.
Non-Islamic religions = Reasonable peace for people of other religions.
Islam = Peace for their own people.
Islam = Violence against people of other religions.
How does this make Islam a religion of peace, since the violence is written right into the Quran and the Hadith, the basic writings of Islam? Isn't Islam really a religion of violence where many Muslims only think that it is a religion of peace? Or with many Muslims who are not really Muslims at heart? Or with many Muslims who would be shocked if they knew what their own religion taught?
