It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims that Islam had been spread by the use of force. The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

Islam Means Peace: Islam comes from the root word "salaam", which means peace. It also means submitting one's will to Allah. Thus, Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one's will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah. Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force.

"In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice."

No compulsion in religion: Even if the Muslims intended, they could not use force it to spread Islam because the Qur'an says in the following verse:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error" (Holy Quran 2:256)

So, It is intellect that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur'an says:

"Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." (Holy Quran 16:125)

Examples of Islamic tolerance from the History:

14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians: Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years except a few years of British and French rule of parts. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.

Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years: Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never forced the people to convert. Later it is the Christian Crusaders who wiped out the Muslims from Spain and there was not a single Muslim in Spain who could call the adhan.

More than 80% non-Muslims in India: The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. They had the power of convert each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness to day that Islam was not spread by the sword.

Examples of peaceful propagation of Islam:

Indonesia and Malaysia: Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world, recently being challenged by India. Also, The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. Neither Indonesia nor Malaysia was ever invaded or ruled by Muslims conquerors. Islam propagated in these communities by the Muslim traders from their honest and courteous approaches.

East Coast of Africa: Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. Never been invaded or ruled by Muslims conquerors.

Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984: An article in Reader's Digest "Almanac", year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in "The Plain Truth" magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. There was no Islamic conquest within this time period, rather Muslim were being generally persecuted globally; yet the Muslim population increased by millions.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe: Today the fastest growing religion in America and England is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. And acceptance of Islam is much larger in numbers in women than in men. No one is forcing modern educated men and women to revert to Islam.

Scholarly Opinions: Here are what the learned people are saying albeit being non-Muslims:

Thomas Carlyle: The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam:

"The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man's head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson: rightly says,

"People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMAD (pbuh) was born".

De Lacy O'Leary: The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O'Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8):

"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

No religion condones the killing of innocents, but some people manipulate religion to justify acts of violence. So, even if Islam and other faiths have never existed, humans would have come up with other excuses to fight for domination. We have seen notorious anti-religion, secularist ideologies, like those championed by Mao and Stalin (the top mass murderers in modern history), which were responsible for over seventy million deaths in the 20th century.

Most victims of violence in the Muslim world are Muslims, who are either killed by unjustified wars, suicide bombs, or drone attacks. Over the last few decades, hundreds of thousands have been killed-most of them civilians-and many others wounded or displaced. Justice, dignity, and education, some of the most fundamental aspects of human rights, are the key to peace and prosperity anywhere in the world.

Jihad means to strive for a better, more righteous life. The major jihad is to overcome one's desires (such as greed). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says,

"The highest form of jihad is to speak a word of truth in the presence of a tyrant," "Kindness to parents is a form of jihad,"

and

"Charity to orphans and widows is jihad."’

The minor jihad is fighting in self-defence. The Prophet set the etiquettes of fighting as follows:

"Do not ask Allah to meet your enemies in battle."

and

"Do not start a war. If you must fight, then strike only at those "combatants' who attacked you. Do not attack women, children, the elderly, or those retreating in their places of worship. Do not cut down trees or kill animals."

Life is sacred in Islam. Allah says in The Quran,

"Whoever takes a life ..., it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity." (Holy Quran 5:32)

Those who manipulate verses from the Quran by taking them out of context to justify violence against innocents contradict the Quran's call for tolerance and peaceful co-existence. Islam is unequivocally against terrorism.

We have to keep in mind that all passages in the Quran calling for force (including verses in chapters 2, 8, 9, 47, and 48) strictly concern conflicts between early Muslims and the pagans of Mecca over 1400 years ago. As such, all passages should be understood in their historical context.

In Islam, fighting is allowed against aggressors regardless of their faith. Fighting against innocents is prohibited regardless of their faith. Overall, The Quran talks about one of three things regarding fighting:

— Fighting back in self-defence.
— Making peace if attackers cease.
— Or resuming the fight if a truce is violated.