Like all messengers of God, Jesus Christ, Moses and Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon them) faced suppression and resistance from the people who were politically and economically strong at that time. They in their own ways tried to suppress the followers of these Prophets to make sure that the word of God is not spread further. Based on these incidents, Islam laid out certain rules of engagement to defend itself and its people from violent attacks from other communities. My friends, you would be surprised on some facts that I am about to write here.

Before we get down to details, there is something I think everyone should know - JIHAD does not mean holy war or fighting, in literal terms it means to struggle, to strive and as Prophet Muhammed once said, the greater jihad is with your own self, to stay away from evil, and wrong doing and keep yourself closer to God by praying, helping the ones in need, sharing, and doing good deeds.

So in this blog, I will not refer to fighting as Jihad as it would not mean the same.

Rules of Engagement - Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) taught these features

1. First and the most important part - Fight only those who are threatening you, your family or your community. You cannot fight a war with others who are not a direct threat to you, your family or community.  To take an example

If my neighbor living next to my house threatens to me or my family, my response should be to him only and not his family. I cannot go fight this out with another neighbor if he is not a threat at all.

2. Fighting should not be  your first option, rather is should be the last resort, try and reconcile through peace process, or a dialog with the opposition

3. If fighting becomes totally necessary - i.e. all modes of reconciliation fails, Muslims should not be on the offensive mode, which practically means that Muslims should not be the first ones to attack, rather it should be a defensive mode of engagment.

4. When in fighting, do not kill your opponent, try and injure him in such a way that he will not attack you back (eg. make him unconcious)  do not injure your opponents in a way that they are handicapped for life.

5. If killing is imperative and necessary, try and kill your opponent in one blow or shot so that he does not go through the pain.

6. Do not kill Women and Children. NEVER.

7. Once the war is done, do not rampage the opposing army's property.

8. Do not illtreat the prisoners of war, give them respect, treat the injured.

9. For the families whose men are killed at war, do not illtreat them, take care of their families like your own.

There are many more that can be added to the list, but after understanding these points, I am left with a thought as to why  Islam is projected as a religion of Sword...I hope this blog will help share some knowledge about the religion and clear out some misconceptions that many have.  I am no leader, nor a religious preacher, but I can say for sure that those extremists sure need to learn about Islam before they go ahead and kill more innocent people in the name of religion.