Religion of peace

The term religion of peace has been applied to different religions including Islam and Christianity to describe their allegedly peaceful natures.
Usage of the term
In the past the epithet "religion of peace and good will towards men" has been applied to Christianity.
In the 1960s, Malcolm X, acting as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, said on multiple occasions that Islam was a "religion of peace".
In 1996, the Organisation of The Islamic Conference agreed to call for "pragmatic and constructive steps to counter the negative propaganda against Islam; to remove and rectify misunderstandings; and to present the true image of Islam: the religion of peace and tolerance."
In September 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush said: "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war." Some have pointed out that the word "Islam" is etymologically related to the Arabic word meaning "peace". This prompted criticism from some quarters and a poll of United States Evangelical Protestant leaders taken in 2002 revealed that only 10% agreed with Bush that Islam was synonymous with peace.
Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia said in 2002, "Islam, as I said, is a religion of peace. However through the centuries, deviations from the true teachings of Islam take place. And so "Muslims" kill despite the injunction of their religion against killing especially of innocent people.
Dalil Boubakeur, mufti of the Paris Mosque, said in 2006, "The prophet did not found a terrorist religion, but a religion of peace."
It has been applied to Islam on some cases because of terrorist groups emerging from the religion and perceived attitudes shown by the followers of Islam towards issues relating to the religion. and in his first visit to a US mosque.
On 18 March 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Islam a religion of peace and called terrorism a dividing force, lauding the peaceful message of Sufism, at World Sufi Conference.
Sherman Jackson says that the expression does not imply a rejection of the laws of Jihad, but rather the idea that Islam desires "a state of permanent, peaceful coexistence with other nations and peoples who are not Muslims".
Jihad literally means "struggle" or "striving" in Arabic. This phrase appears in the Quran in numerous places and therefore refer to a variety of nonviolent efforts, such as the struggle to become a better person.
The term "The Religion of Peace" is used mockingly by critics of Islam, such as right-wing commentator Ann Coulter. Philosopher and New Atheist writer Sam Harris wrote, "The position of the Muslim community in the face of all provocations seems to be: Islam is a religion of peace, and if you say that it isn't, we will kill you."
When asked by reporters in 2005 if Islam was a religion of peace, Pope Benedict XVI stated that some elements of Islam can favor peace, but it also has other elements.
Islamist Sayyid Qutb wrote that Islam is the religion of peace in the sense of saving all of mankind from worshiping anything other than Allah and submitting all of mankind to him.
On 13 May 2015, ISIL released an audio message by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who asserted that Islam is not a religion of peace, but rather the religion of fighting.
Following the 2017 Barcelona attacks, the cover of Charlie Hebdo ran with an image of a van driving away from bloodied victims with the caption "Islam, religion of peace... Eternal".

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