Flashback Friday: Is Islam really a violent religion, or is it simply the dominant religion of a violent part of the world?

Since I decided to blog daily for at least the rest of this year, I thought doing a "Flashback Friday" might be a fun way to give me a "day off" from blogging. For Fridays I will scroll through my old posts and re-post either a personal favorite, one that just catches my eye, or one I would like to share again to a (hopefully) growing audience.

(Originally posted 09/10/2014)

Is Islam really a violent religion, or is it simply the dominant religion of a violent part of the world?

With the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks fast approaching, there is the annual talk about possible upcoming attacks on that date. Which I always think is a bunch of hype over nothing. I think terror attacks would work best when the victims are not expecting it, so attacking on an anniversary date doesn't seem like the best time. But since I'm not a terrorist planner, what do I know.

Anyway, right now there is a bunch of talk about ISIS launching an attack on US soil. And with it, comes the what's become to be expected comments about how Islam is a violent religion.

I woke up this morning with a thought. Well, more of a rhetorical question. Is Islam really a violent religion, or is it simply the dominant religion of a violent part of the world?