While Islam is commonly referred to as "the religion of peace," one has to admit that there must be different definitions of peace. Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that "peace is the tranquillity of order," and by this we understand that true peace is only possible when society (and the persons in it) are all dedicated to living according to God's law. (Unfortunately because of original sin, peace is not possible in this life, but we're obliged to do our best.)
But what about in Islam? There is the understanding that within the boundaries where that religion reigns, the House of Islam (dar al'Islam) there is peace, but not outside its borders, where one finds the House of War (dar al'harb).
But is the House of Islam peaceful? Not for Christians who live there, and certainly not for Christian women and children:
On August 14, another Christian girl, 12-year-old Muqadas Kainat
(which means "Holy Universe") was ambushed in a field near her home in
Sahawil by five Muslim men who "gang raped and murdered"
her. At the time, her father was at a hospital visiting her sick
mother. He and other family members began a frantic search, until a tip
led them to the field where his daughter's body lay. The postmortem
revealed that she had been "gang raped and later strangled to death by
five men." Police, as usual, did not arrest anyone. As a Salem News
report puts it, "Complicating matters is the fact that several
Christian girls in this remote area have been raped and forced to both
marry into the Muslim community and abandon their own religion, human
rights groups report…. there is a history in this part of Pakistan
according to the Christian community, of local authorities failing to
investigate cases of rape or other violence against Christians, often
for fear of influential Muslims or militants."
Similarly, on August 20, an 11-year-old Christian boy, Samuel Yaqoob,
went to the markets of Faisalabad to buy food for his family, never to
return. According to Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani
Christian Association, "After extensive searching his body was found
near a drain in the Christian colony, bearing marks of horrific torture,
with the murder weapon nearby. His nose, lips and belly had been sliced off,
and his family could hardly recognize him because the body was so badly
burnt. Some 23 wounds by a sharp weapon have been identified in the
autopsy. When sending his body for an autopsy, police raised the
possibility of sodomy. Parts of Pakistani culture have a strong
homosexual pederast culture, and Christian and other minority boys are
especially susceptible to rape and abuse because of the powerlessness of
their community and their despised status. In one case fairly recently,
a Christian boy was kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed by a police
officer, his body similarly being dumped in a drain."
Does this encourage conversion to Islam? There is the firm understanding that Muslim women cannot be treated this way (though there are constraints on their dignity within Islam), but does that make the faith appealing for the right reason? or do people thereby seek refuge in Islam so that they will not be abused and harassed? and what does this say about the integrity of Muslims who kidnap, rape, and kill with abandon? or found new families by coercively marrying kidnapped women and children?
There are those who say that any country or region has its criminals. To that we respond: if any of these crimes were punished by the appropriate authorities, it would speak well of Islam. But they were not. The Qur'an clearly states that non-believers do not enjoy the same rights as Muslims, and thus this behaviour must be placed squarely at the feet of Islam, not just the indiginous culture.
For the vilest beasts in God's sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who understand not (Qur'an 8:22).
For the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who reject Him: They will not believe (Qur'an 8:55).
Verily those who believe not, among those who have
received the scriptures, and among the idolaters, [shall be cast] into
the fire of hell, to remain therein [for ever]. These are the worst of
creatures. (Qur'an 98:6).
With such teachings, why would a Muslim need to worry about the rights of non-believers?
Deeply troubling. Please read the entire report, as distasteful as it may be. It's the least we can do for those who are persecuted for their faith and who will never find justice in this life.