In this week’s episode, we continue our exploration of Hector Avalos’, Fighting Words, and discuss the issue of violence in Islam and the Qur’an. Is Islam truly a religion of peace as so many people seem to think? As with Judaism and Christianity, Islam also creates scarce resources which result in acts of violence. Some defenders of the Islamic faith insist that today’s violent actions perpetrated by groups such as ISIS are not representative of â€true†Islam. But what exactly constitutes “true†Islam? How can one really know which Islam (moderate or radical) is more authentic, since every Islamic sect believes that it faithfully adheres to the teachings of the Qur’an. Even scholars of religion have sometimes fallen into the trap of essentialism, thinking that Islam can be defined by a specific set of attributes, and that all other “radical†forms do not truly reflect the faith. It is possible, however, to argue against such an idea and say that “perfect faith†is found only in those who emulate Mohammad. But unfortunately, such a “perfect faith†is often tainted by violence.