But back to the peace stuff. Those who are expert in pre-Islamic history know that the Semitic root SLM originally was used thousands of years BC with the meaning of safe or at peace. In Babylonia, words such as shulmani meant "peace gifts," or "gifts to make one safe," that is to say, what we would call today "tribute" to a ruling despot. Tribute is something one pays to dissuade an attack. The person paying the tribute is in submission to the other. And so, in Middle Eastern languages one finds the words formed from S-L-M meaning either safe (or at peace), whole or unbroken, or when defining a slave/master relationship, meaning submission.

When used between equals it means peace such as in greetings in Hebrew or Arabic: Peace be unto you. However, there is a rule as to who gets to say it first: the rider should greet the one walking; the one walking should greet the one sitting; and the one entering a home should greet the one living within.

However, when used between unequals as between slave and master, loser and winner, supplicant and God, another SLM root covers the meaning of submission. For example, Musalam means "undisputed." Muslim means "One who submits." Islam means "submission to another." With regard to religion, Islam means submission to Allah and a Muslim is one who submits to Allah." Islam does not mean peace nor does Muslim mean "one who is peaceful."

When Mohammed sent letters to all the tribes not yet under his rule he ended the missives with "surrender and you will be safe." Which, to give you the taste of that pun in English: "MSLM (submit) and be SLM (safe)." Or in plain English: "Surrender or die."

In only that sense, does Islam mean peace, submit - and the result will be peace. Otherwise there is no peace.

It should be noted that the definition of submission in English when used in the context of one surrendering to another implies acceptance with fear. Which is exactly how Islam rules: by fear rather than by love. One cannot break the bonds of submission except at the pain of death.

While it is true that many American Muslims have been able to become non-Muslim without getting themselves killed, that is true only because the proportion of Muslims to non-Muslims is small. Every country with a few Muslims eventually becomes almost 99.99% Muslim, unless the Muslims are thrown out as they were in the Reconquista. Certainly one cannot become an unbeliever in a Muslim-majority country without getting his ass fatwahed.

Real Muslims do not believe that Islam means peace. CBN News traveled to London to talk with Anjem Choudary, a leading Muslim radical:

Jihad Watch, Anjem Choudary: "Islam does not mean peace. Islam means submission."

Although both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have declared that Islam is a religion of peace, Choudary begs to differ.

A Religion of Peace?

"You can't say that Islam is a religion of peace," Choudary told CBN News. "Because Islam does not mean peace. Islam means submission. So the Muslim is one who submits. There is a place for violence in Islam. There is a place for jihad in Islam."

So who are you going to believe, American Muslims who wants us to believe that Islam is a religion of peace and no threat to us, or a Muslim who has nothing to hide?

Disclaimer: 99.9% of all rattlesnakes in the world will never kill a human being. But because of their nature one should not have one roaming around the neighborhood. Likewise, 99.9% of Muslims in the world will never kill a human being, but because of their nature...

This article available in Danish here.