Islam

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A complete answer is not possible due to varying opinions when it comes to faith. No complete nor even a correct answer or consensus is possible within the realm of this or likely any forum.

However a couple of ground points are as follows.

The History of the two faiths' adversarial positions is great and long. There have been many wars, desecration, insults and arguments originating from both sides over the past millennium. Generally focused around ownership and control of a religious homeland common to many faiths. The historical armed conflicts between east and west along with current events and inherited prejudices predispose the stage for further conflict and negative opinions on the part of both.

One should bear in mind that both of these religions are monotheistic. Monotheism by definition, believes in only one Single God and or one Savior, This singular faith heirerarchy can readily extend too prohets and proposed heirs. Text or opinions that differ from the faith's central beliefs and codified prohecy may justly in faith be met with rejection, disdain, with little tolerance or worse. Strucurally one can not promote respect for another faith or a diversity of belief systems.

Both Islam and Christianity as well as Judaism all are dedicated to beleif in the same One God and much text propehcy is common to all while others are exclusive to it's own. They all seek the same god through different religious schools of faith.

Cultivated exclusivity can often lead to a less than positive view of persons practicing other religions. The devout may perceive the others as false gods or false prophets, misguided or even agents of evil. They may be considered sinners or certainly not of the chosen by no reason other than that they practice a different religion.

An accepted negative view of others can predispose the human psyche to then be moved onto stronger emotions such as hate.

Hate often finds a home in the emotions of people when there is a lack of respect, tolerance and understanding for the beliefs of others.

Other Perspectives

Why does anyone hate anyone else? Perceived offenses against self, group, country, etc. However, to repeat what was deletd: Islam is the so-called "religion of peace"-however, the Islamic definition for "peace" is not usually included in this trite cliche. Islamic "peace" occurs ONLY when all non Muslims have either been converted to Islam, or killed. Islam was spread from day one by one method only: the sword. In ohter words, convert or die. It is not the "same," at all, in connection with Judaism nor Christianity. Neither is Judaism and Christianity "the same." Christians (which includes the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenians, Syrians, Ethiopians, Egyptians ... plus a congolemeration of 20,000+ protestant sectarian groups), if following the major tradition o acceptance of thre first Seven Ecumenical Councils, most certainly DO NOT worhisp the "same One God as Jews and Muslims." Authentic Christianity (i.e., not sectarians who came up with a "better idea" 1500 or 1800 years after Christ walked the earth ...) has ALWAYS adhered to belief in the One God in Three-the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life:

1. Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad;

2. Establishment of the daily prayers;

3. Concern for and alms giving to the needy;

4. Self-purification through fasting the month of Ramadan; and

5. The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able.

1. Iman or Faith

"There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." This declaration of faith is called the Shahadah, a simple formula that all the faithful pronounce. The significance of this declaration is the belief that the only purpose of life is to serve and obey God, and this is achieved through the teachings and practices of the Last Prophet, Muhammad.

2. Salah or Prayer

Salah is the name for the obligatory prayers that are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. There is no hierarchical authority in Islam and there are no priests. Prayers are led by a learned person who knows the Qur'an and is generally chosen by the congregation.

Prayers are said at dawn, mid-day, late-afternoon, sunset and nightfall, and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day. These five prescribed prayers contain verses from the Qur'an, and are said in Arabic, the language of the Revelation. Personal supplications, however, can be offered in one's own language and at any time.

Although it is preferable to worship together in a mosque, a Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories and universities. Oftentimes visitors to the Muslim world are struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life.

3. Zakah or alms

An important principle of Islam is that everything belongs to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The word zakah means both "purification" and "growth." Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need and for the society in general. Like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.

Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakah individually. This involves the annual payment of a fortieth of one's capital, excluding such items as primary residence, car and professional tools.

An individual may also give as much as he or she pleases as sadaqa-h, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as "voluntary charity" it has a wider meaning.

4. Sawm or Fasting

Every year in the month of Ramada-n, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown--abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations with their spouses.

Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are menstruating, pregnant or nursing, are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year if they are healthy and able. Children begin to fast (and to observe prayers) from puberty, although many start earlier.

Although fasting is beneficial to health, it is mainly a method of self-purification and self-restraint. By cutting oneself from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person focuses on his or her purpose in life by constantly being aware of the presence of God.

5. Hajj or Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage to Makkah (the hajj) is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to do so. Nevertheless, over two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe providing a unique opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another.

The annual hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar, so that hajj and Ramada-n fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter). Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments that strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God.

The rites of the hajj, which are of Abrahamic origin, include going around the Ka'bah seven times, and going seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa as did Hagar (Hajir, Abraham's wife) during her search for water. The pilgrims later stand together on the wide plains of 'Arafat (a large expanse of desert outside Makkah) and join in prayer for God's forgiveness, in what is often thought as a preview of the Day of Judgment.

The close of the hajj is marked by a festival, the 'Id al Adha, which is celebrated with prayers and the exchange of gifts in Muslim communities everywhere. This and the 'Id al Fitr, a festive day celebrating the end of Ramada-n, are the two holidays of the Islamic calendar.

1. gate of Jihad - Bab al Jihad
2. Gate of Fasting - ar-Rayyaan
3. Gate of Prayer - Bab as Salah
4. Gate of Charity - Bab as Sadaqah
5. Gate of Repentence - Bab-at-Taubah
6. Gate of Faith - Bab al-Iman
7. Gate of those who are please with Allah and what He has given them - Bab-ar-Radiyeen
8. Gate for those who suppress anger - Bab al-Kadhemean al-Gaidh.

inshAllah all believers will meet there. Ameen

Answer 1

yes, Islam religion per Qur'an revelation by God to prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) helped strongly in freeing slaves.

Slave trade diminished gradually because of Islam laws and rules. For example:

• Muslims are encouraged to free slaves to be rewarded by God and to be forgiven from sins.

• If a Muslim get a child from a slave woman the child is set free and also his mother.

Although Islam religion per Quran revelation to prophet Muhammad started by the seventh century and that slavery was not created during that time but was present long time before prophet Muhammad calling for Islam, Islam was the first God religion that tried by all means to limit the salvation trade as mentioned in Answer 1 while in other countries it continued beyond the 16th century (as in the US). Refer to related question below.

Answer 2

Yes and No. Yes, in that some slaves were freed. No, in that slavery increased and became more pervasive as Islam expanded and grew.

There was never an endemic Islamic Abolitionist Movement prior to Western Abolitionism in the 19th century. In fact, Saudi Arabia had legalized slavery until the 1960s and illegal slaves exist in Sudan, Mali, Mauritania, and Saudi Arabia among others. While the Qur'an notes that freeing a slave is an honorable thing to do, there is no compulsion to actually do it. In the 640s Caliph Omar issued one of the few Anti-Slavery edicts in Islamic history. It freed all Arab slaves and forbade the taking of new Arab slaves. This resulted in a fundamental change in the history of slavery. Prior to this, slaves were either former prisoners of war or civilians inside the state who were not the dominant ethnicity. Muslims now went abroad, hundreds of miles from the countries under their control to find non-Arabs that could be brought back to the Islamic Empires as slaves in order to skirt Omar's edict. This was what led to three types of slavery that coincided with the rise of the Islamic Caliphates: Slavic Slave Trade, Mamluks, and the Trans-Saharan African Slaves.

There was a very profitable trade with the Byzantine Empire and the Slavic Fiefdoms in the Balkans and the Ukraine that brought Slavs to the Islamic Caliphates. This is actually the genesis of the modern world "Slave", as a derivative of "Slav" which were moved and resold in the Islamic World. Slaves would be purchased in slave-markets in Europe and trekked to the Middle East for resale.

Mamluks were Kipchak Türks and Circassians from what is now Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. They were captured by Arab soldiers, enslaved, and brought to Baghdad in Iraq. They were converted to Islam and then formed into military units as a literal slave army in the service of the Abbassid Caliph. The Mamluks eventually turned their weapons against the Abbassid establishment and declared their own empires several times from the 11th century onwards.

The Trans-Sahran Slave trade in Islamic Empires was incredibly developed. Islamic States pioneered many of the quintessential parts of what would define the European Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in the 16th-19th centuries. This included long-distance travel between the slave acquisition and the market, the use of large competitive marketplaces in urban centers to auction slaves, the development of legal doctrines about what rights owners had to transfer slaves to other owners, and, contrary to Islamic teachings and modern science, that Blacks had a more beastial nature, making them better-suited to the rigors of hard work and enslavement. It should not be surprising that the Spanish and Portuguese (who had lived under Islamic States for centuries) were the first European States to re-create a complex enslavement system. Unlike the Europeans, though, Arab Muslims saw fit to castrate all of their male African slaves so that they could not form a large Black population in the Arab countries. African female slaves were often sexually abused by their masters.

Islamic Apologists often make that claim that Muslims throughout history opposed slavery, but there was no Caliph (other than Omar) who made a fatwas opposing slavery, the slave trade, or the expansion of slavery within Islamic Empires prior to the 19th centuries. Islam is just as guilty as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism in supporting slavery and giving it legal sanction historically.

• Answer 2 above is sure from a non Muslim who may be has some misunderstanding about the Quran and about the Islamic history.
• Islam per Quran revelation to prophet Muhammad; peace be upon him; was in the seventh century. At that time Quran stated many rules to limit slavery well before the west and before all other God religions.
• Quran says in this regards (meaning English translation): " And never is it for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake. And whoever kills a believer by mistake - then the freeing of a believing slave and a compensation payment presented to the deceased's family [is required] unless they give [up their right as] charity. But if the deceased was from a people at war with you and he was a believer - then [only] the freeing of a believing slave; and if he was from a people with whom you have a treaty - then a compensation payment presented to his family and the freeing of a believing slave. And whoever does not find [one or cannot afford to buy one] - then [instead], a fast for two months consecutively, [seeking] acceptance of repentance from Allah. And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise." (4:93)
• Quran says also "Allah (or God and same God in Christianity and Judaism) will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]. That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn. But guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be grateful" (5:89)
• Quran says also "And those who pronounce thihar from their wives and then [wish to] go back on what they said - then [there must be] the freeing of a slave before they touch one another. That is what you are admonished thereby; and Allah is Acquainted with what you do." (58:3)
• The Quran verses above prove that it was the Islam religion; per Quran revelation to prophet Muhammad in the 7th century; that called for slavery limitation.
• In addition to the above, prophet Muhammad urged Muslims to free slaves as far as they can to be rewarded by God mercy and forgiveness. Some Muslims even bought slavers from others just to free them.

No other religion at that time urged its followers to free their slaves just for God sake and satisfaction as demonstrated below:

• The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began around the mid-fifteenth century when Portuguese interests in Africa moved away from the fabled deposits of gold to a much more readily available commodity -- slaves. By the seventeenth century the trade was in full swing, reaching a peak towards the end of the eighteenth century. It was a trade which was especially fruitful, since every stage of the journey could be profitable for merchants. Slaves for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade were initially sourced in Senegambia and the Windward Coast. Around 1650 the trade moved to west-central Africa (the Kingdom of the Kongo and neighboring Angola).
• For two hundred years, 1440-1640, Portugal had a monopoly on the export of slaves from Africa. It is notable that they were also the last European country to abolish the institution - although, like France, it still continued to work former slaves as contract laborers.
• Between 1450 and the end of the nineteenth century, slaves were obtained from along the west coast of Africa with the full and active co-operation of African kings and merchants. (There were occasional military campaigns organized by Europeans to capture slaves, especially by the Portuguese in what is now Angola, but this accounts for only a small percentage of the total.)
• During the eighteenth century, when the slave trade accounted for the transport of a staggering 6 million Africans, Britain was the worst transgressor - responsible for almost 2.5 million. This is a fact often forgotten by those who regularly cite Britain's prime role in the abolition of the slave trade.
• As a result of the slave trade, five times as many Africans arrived in the Americas than Europeans. Slaves were needed on plantations and for mines and the majority was shipped to Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Spanish Empire
• More than 11 millions were moved from Africa to America as slaves in the period from 1450 to 1900.
• for more information refer to links below.

The above information proves the false argument mentioned in Answer 2 that Islam encouraged slavery.

NO. Most Muslims do not hate Americans. There are certainly Muslims who do like America and others who are less inclined to do this. Generally, Muslims appreciate the political rights and freedoms about America and the ease of life in America, but are significantly less supportive of US Foreign Policy. The foreign policy grievances include wars in Muslim-majority countries, the support for dictatorial regimes, the creation of coups d'état, etc.

Please see these two Related Questions:

• Why do some Muslims like Americans?
• Why do some Muslims hate Americans?