Thoughts on Islam from The Language Guy

I spend a lot of time checking out different blogs and enjoying what the bloggers have to say (well, most of the time, anyhow). I recently found a very interesting blog kept by a retired linguistics professor who calls himself The Language Guy - you can find him at http://thelanguageguy.blogspot.com/, and he's very interesting even if you aren't really into linguistics.

In August of last year, The Language Guy published a blog entry titled, "Is Islam a Religion of Peace?", in which he applied linguistic analysis to the argument, made in the Islam Herald (http://www.islamherald.com/html/index.htm) among other places, that Islam is inherently peaceful because its very name derives from the Arabic word salama meaning, "peace" or "submission." The Language Guy notes that the Arabic language is actually built on three-letter consonant roots to which vowels are added to form words. The root in question here is s-l-m, which gives words as varied as "Islam," "salaam" (or peace), and "salama" (which means the sting of a snake, or the tanning of leather).

Okay, that's deeper in the linguistic weeds than you probably want to go. If you're interested, you can read the entire fascinating analysis at http://thelanguageguy.blogspot.com/2006/08/is-islam-religion-of-peace.html; for now, I think his summary is worth quoting in its entirety:

"I think we must conclude that any claim to the effect that Islam is a religion of peace must be balanced by a recognition that it also supports the use of violence. The linguistic claims made by the Muslim Hearald mean nothing as compared to the actions of Muslims and this includes not just acts of terrorism around the world, but the brutal killings of Muslims by Muslims in Iraq.

"Muslims are not alone in engaging in violence. But let us not be fooled by linguistic analyses that suggest that Islam is a religion of peace. When I was a kid, the lesson that sunk home with me most about Christ was that his was a message of love. But, of course, that message was as irrelevant to the actions of Christians around the world as is the meaning of 'Islam' is to the actions of Muslims."

I think this is one of the best analyses I've ever read. Muslims are fond of castigating Christians for the Inquisition and the Crusades, conveniently forgetting that the Inquisition is long gone and the last Crusade ended nearly 800 years ago. They are less willing to acknowledge that Muslims are murdering dozens, if not hundreds of people every day now in the name of their alleged religion of peace.

Take a few minutes and read The Language Guy's fascinating analysis. It will help you separate the wheat of truth from the chaff of linguistic obfuscation.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo