Is Islam a religion of violence or non-violence? An examination of misconceptions in the Western World?

The world is full of acts of violence and acts of peace and non violence. We as people try to comprehend these acts by establishing whys. The why that we will examine is one of consistent misunderstanding and misrepresentation specifically in the Western world. When a suicide bombing occurs why is it if you asked most individuals in the west what the offending individual’s religion was their almost instant response is they were a Muslim.
Does Islam automatically mean every Muslim is willing to attack peoples who do not believe as they do. Does it mean they espouse killing all Jews? Or is the truth that a majority of all Muslims would consider themselves peace loving individuals, that you would more likely see them working alongside Jews and Christians in a nature of acceptance and love for them. But yet when we look at history we see Islam in wars against Arab peoples, in the Crusades, and in the more recent conflicts in the Middle East. So does the Quran allow for wars against others or are they more of the outcome of societal problems and conflicts in the region. We will most likely see that circumstances beyond their control contribute to the rise and the necessity to defend themselves in these various conflicts through out history. Overall it will probably be a surprise to most Westerners the true nature of what Islam teaches and practices amongst its believers. To first understand why it is perceived that Islam is a religion of violence, is to look at the factors surrounding and influencing this concept.
We in the Western World need look no further than the various outlets in which we gather information about the world around us. Various types of media outlets seem to be a large contributor to the ideology of what Islam teaches. An example of this can be found in a piece where Fox News Bill O’Rielly states “ As you know “Talking Points” believes there is a Muslim problem in the world, and that extends to the USA.” He goes on to justify this statement by making ascertation that all terrorist attacks are directly related to the Muslim faith, directly using comments like Muslim terrorists, and stating that “jihadists were already in the country” while trying to be careful to not call out law abiding Muslims in this country, while at the same time claiming that the Fort Hood massacre was the result of an Islamist jihadist. When in fact a close examination of the facts reveals that in this case an individual who had been part of the army had been seeking a discharge and not been granted one was getting ready to be deployed, was described as being odd in his work habits, was also known to be harassed and teased over the years about his Muslim faith, and even though the shooter wanted the attack to be labeled as a terrorist attack the government and prosecution have stuck to the idea that he was motivated by other motives and not solely by his own interpretation of the Quran. This would also be supported by the fact he had been part of the army, was said to get along well with others, does not even describe a radical extremist. It was the media that jumped on the idea that the sole motivation of Maj. Nidal M. Hasan was that of a Muslim terrorist attack and have continued to push the idea that this was an act of an Islamic terrorist who may have had ties to radical cleric, once again trying to perpetuate the idea that somehow this attack was coordinated by an outside Islamsist group. Further proof of the effect of the media is almost every time there is a so called terrorist attack, most American and other Moderate Muslim groups must make a general media response condemning said terrorist attacks. This would be as though every time the Westborough Baptist Church protested at a military funeral the Southern Baptist convention made a statement condemning the act. This is most likely because the main stream media has a better understanding of the beliefs associated with most Baptists in this country. There in lies a majority of the media’s problem a lack of understanding what Islam really teaches about violence. Where do Muslims stand on the subject of violence? There are two general stances, one which is the non-violent approach, and the other is the more radical extremist view which lends itself to justifying violence. We can start by examining the life of Muhammad who’s first real revelations on the subject of war and jihad are seen in the Qur’an Surah 2:190-193